Over the years, as Yang Xiu became more and more accustomed to ruling over the region and grew arrogant and wasteful beyond the appropriate levels for an imperial prince. After Yuan Yan died in 593, without anyone to check his behavior, he made an armillary sphere – an item that only an emperor would be permitted to have. He also seized many men of the Liao (獠) tribe and castrated them to serve as his eunuchs, and used vehicles and decorations only appropriate for an emperor. Emperor Wen often told Empress Dugu, "Yang Xiu will surely suffer a violent end. While I do not need to worry while I am alive, when his brother becomes emperor, he will surely revolt." In one of the campaigns against Cuan Wan's forces, Yang Xiu sent his jester Wan Zhiguang (萬智光) to serve as the assistant to the general Yang Wutong (楊武通). Emperor Wen, finding this out and believing this act to be inappropriate, began to divide the forces under Yang Xiu's command.