In winter 581, the official Xuan Min (宣敏), after returning from an inspection of the Shu region (modern Chongqing and Sichuan), suggested that Emperor Wen should make the region the fief for one of his sons, pointing out the region's wealth and strategic importance and that Northern Zhou had fallen because its imperial princes lacked the power to defend the state. Emperor Wen liked the proposal, and so changed Yang Xiu's title to Prince of Shu and made him the commandant of Yi Province (roughly modern Chengdu, Sichuan), in charge of the 24 surrounding provinces. Emperor Wen made the official Yuan Yan (元巖) Yang Xiu's chief of staff, and it was said that Yuan served Yang Xiu capably, keeping his behavior proper. Yang Xiu did not participate in the campaign against Chen Dynasty in 589 that destroyed Chen and unified China, in which his older brothers Yang Guang the Prince of Jin and Yang Jun the Prince of Qin participated; instead, the soldiers from his region were commanded by Yang Su, implying that Yang Xiu might not be old enough to command troops personally by this point.