the tang emperor gaozong installed two puppet qaghans, the cousins ashina buzhen and ashina mishe, and controlled the region by proxy. buzhen and mishe were enemies of helu who had aided su dingfang during his campaign against helu and the western turkic khaganate. gaozong divided the ten tribes of the area among the two cousins. buzhen governed half of the tribes located in the west, while mishe governed the other half located in the east.