Final answer:
Yang Jian was an aristocratic general who allowed warlords to keep their territories if they acknowledged him as their feudal lord. He became the first emperor of the Sui dynasty and implemented centralized governance to maintain control.
Step-by-step explanation:
The aristocratic general who was willing to allow the warlords to keep their territories if they would acknowledge him as their feudal lord was Yang Jian. He was a Mongol general from northern China who later became the first emperor of the Sui dynasty. Yang Jian consolidated his control over the empire by creating a powerful centralized government and granting lands to his soldiers acquired through conquest. To prevent regional administrators from amassing followers into rebellious armies, he periodically moved them to different territories.