Emperor Wen refused. In 585, with Ashina Shetu under attack from one of his subordinate khans, the Datou Khan Ashina Dianjue, Emperor Wen in fact sent Yang Guang to aid Ashina Shetu.

In 588, Emperor Wen moved Yang Guang's headquarters to Shouchun (??, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), and made him the commandant there as well as the head the branch of the executive bureau established there. In winter 588, Emperor Wen launched a major attack