t with him. The
foes of the Tangs were put down in quick succession. A great Tartar
confederacy was overthrown by the vigorous young general. Four years
sufficed for the work. At the end of that time Lichimin was able to
announce that he had vanquished all the enemies of the empire, both at
home and abroad.

His victories were followed by a triumph which resembled those given to
the great generals of ancient Rome. The city of Singan was the capital
of the new dynasty, and into it Lichimin rode at the head of his
victorious legions, dressed in costly armor and wearing a breastplate of
gold. His personal escort consisted of ten thousand picked horsemen,
among them a regiment of cuirassiers dressed in black tiger-skins, who
were particularly attached to his person and the most distinguished for
valor of all his troops. Thirty thousand cuirassiers followed, with a
captive king of the Tartars in their midst. Other captives testified to
the glory of the conqueror, being the vanquished defenders of conquered
cities, whose abundant spoils were displayed in the train.

Into the city wound the long array, through multitudes of applauding
spectators, Lichimin proceeding in state to the Hall of his Ancestors,
where he paid obeisance to the shades of his progenitors and detailed to
them the story of his victorious career. Unlike the more cruel Romans,
who massacred the captives they had shown in their triumphs, Lichimin
pardoned his. The principal officers of the army were richly rewarded,
and the affair ended in a great banquet, at which the emperor gave his
valiant son the highest praise for his services to the country. The
rejoicings ended in a proclamation of general amnesty and a reduction of
the taxes, so that all might benefit by the imperial triumph.

Yet there was poison in the victor's cup of joy. His brothers envied
him, intrigued against him, and succeeded in instilling such doubts in
the emperor's mind that Lichimin fell into disgrace and was strongly
tempted to leave the court. The intrigues, which had first dealt with
his good name, were next directed against his life, a plot to murder
him being devised. Fortunately it was discovered in time, and the death
they had planned for their brother fell upon themselves, leaving him the
emperor's unquestioned heir. The same year (626 A.D.) the emperor
retired to private life and raised his great son to the throne.

Lichimin, as emperor, assumed the name of Taitsong, a title