Early life

Yang Chonggui was born in a military family. Growing up, his father Yang Xin (楊信) was named the Linzhou (麟州; modern Shenmu County, Shaanxi) prefect (刺史) during the Later Han (947–951). At a young age, Yang Chonggui was a very good horse archer, always returning with several times more game than others on hunting trips. He used dogs and falcons to hunt and saw it as a way to prepare for a career commanding soldiers as a military general.

Career under Northern Han

In his 20s, he joined warlord Liu Chong (Liu Min), quickly becoming a chief director of defense (保衛指揮使) after Liu established the Northern Han state in Jinyang (晉陽; modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) in 951. Yang showed enough gallantry in battles, some against the neighboring Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty, for the new ruler to bestow the youngster the name Liu Jiye so that they share the same surname.

In 968, Northern Han was attacked by the Song Dynasty, and its 4th ruler Liu Jiyuan sought help from Liao, but Liu Jiye suggested attacking Liao's unsuspecting reinforcement to capture their horses: "The Khitans are greedy and untrustworthy, they will definitely invade our country one day." Liu Jiyuan refused the proposal, and eventually the Song forces withdrew.

Liu Jiye was already the Jianxiong Command (建雄軍) military governor when the Song forces invaded again in 979. With Emperor Taizong of Song personally leading the troops, Song forces quickly reached Jinyang. Liu Jiyuan came out to surrender, but Liu Jiye continued fighting and defending the capital city. Impressed by his bravery, Emperor Taizong ordered Liu Jiyuan to persuade him to surrender. Having received Liu Jiyuan's message, Liu Jiye cried and bowed to the north, then took off his armor to surrender. A pleased Emperor Taizong rewarded him very well, and he changed his name to Yang Ye.

Career under Song

Knowing Yang Ye's experience in defending the same area from the Liao Dynasty, Emperor Taizong named Yang prefect over Daizhou on the frontier and the armed force director (兵馬部署) of the neighboring Sanjiao (三交) military base. Previously Yang was also named a defense commissioner (防禦使). Yang was illiterate but knew military strategies well. He would join his soldiers in military exercises, enduring the same hardship as his inferiors. Winters were very frigid in the area, but Yang never asked anyone to start a fire for him as he handled military matters outdoors. His soldiers were very loyal to him.

In 980, the Liao invasion started with roughly 100,000 Liao soldiers arriving before Yanmen, a pass on the Great Wall in Dai Prefecture and a strategic choke point. After the arrival of Song army commander Pan Mei in Daizhou, Yang and a few hundred cavalrymen took a difficult route on the west, arriving at the north and back of the enemy. As Pan and Yang attacked from both directions, the Liao army suffered a catastrophic defeat: Liao general Li Chonghui (李重誨) was captured; while Emperor Jingzong of Liao's brother-in-law and military governor Xiao Chuoli (蕭啜裏) was killed. Song forces acquired countless horses, saddles, and armor.

Following this battle, the Liao army would "retreat immediately whenever they saw Yang Ye's flag", according to History of Song. Within two years of his surrender, Yang was promoted to the nominal post of surveillance commissioner (觀察使) of Yunzhou (雲州, modern Datong, Shanxi, then still under Liao control), while retaining his appointments in Daizhou and the Sanjiao military base. Several Song border generals became jealous. Some sent letters to Emperor Taizong listing Yang's shortcomings. Emperor Taizong allegedly forwarded the letters to Yang to show his trust.

Death

In 986, the Song armies embarked on a large-scale northern campaign to take the Sixteen Prefectures from Liao. One of the three forces was led by Pan Mei, assisted by Yang Ye, along with military supervisors Wang Shen (王侁) and Liu Wenyu (劉文裕). In a little over a month, this force had already conquered 4 of the 16 prefectures, namely Huanzhou (寰州, part of modern Shuozhou, Shanxi), Shuozhou, Yingzhou (應州; modern Ying County, Shanxi) and Yunzhou, killing thousands of Liao soldiers. Yang Ye's son Yang Yanlang (Yang Yanzhao) was the vanguard general in the attacks of Shuozhou and Yingzhou. Elsewhere, Gao Hua (高化), a capable subordinate general whom Yang Ye valued and promoted, captured Liao general Dapengyi (大鵬翼).

However, another Song force on the east led by Cao Bin was destroyed by a Liao force led by Yelü Xiuge, and tens of thousands of Song soldiers perished. As the Liao force with over 100,000 soldiers marched westward, Pan and Yang Ye were in Daizhou and received orders to help the civilians of the four conquered prefectures retreat back to Song territory. When Huanzhou fell to the Liao army, Yang told Pan, "Liao forces are strong and we must not fight them." He proposed a detailed plan to maximize the safety of the civilians from the 3 remaining prefectures. Per this plan, the Yunzhou civilians would leave first. The main Song force would advance from Daizhou to Yingzhou, drawing the main Liao force, thus allowing the Shuozhou civilians to leave and move to a valley called Shijiegu (石碣谷), which could be defended by a thousand soldiers with arrows. Finally a cavalry reinforcement would help the main Song force retrieve the Yingzhou civilians. The generals defending Shuozhou and Yunzhou would be notified of the plan to coordinate activities.

Wang Shen refuted his suggestion, jeering, "Such cowardice despite having tens of thousands of strong soldiers!" With the support of Liu Wenyu, he insisted that Yang immediately take his troops to take the enemy head-on. Yang reiterated his belief that such a move would bring defeat, which was met by Wang's rebuttal of "You sir have been called 'invincible', but today you are so hesitant in face of the enemy and reluctant to fight. Is your loyalty elsewhere?" Yang had no choice but to reply, "I am not evading death, but this is a bad situation which would make soldiers die and injure in vain. However, since you accuse me for fearing death, I will be the first (to die) before you all." He pointed at the end of a valley called Chenjiagu (陳家谷, in modern Shuozhou): "Gentlemen, please put infantrymen with arrows on both sides of that place, so that they could attack from both directions and provide assistance in case I retreat there. Otherwise, the situation could be dire." Pan and Wang agreed, and led their men to the place.

Liao general Yelü Xiezhen heard of Yang's arrival and set up an ambush. Yang engaged the Liao force in a bloody battle and fought from noon to dusk until he indeed retreated to the end of Chenjiagu, but no Song soldier was there, as Pan and Wang had already left. As the enemy closed in, Yang Ye's son Yang Yanyu (楊延玉) was killed, as was a 72-year-old subordinate Wang Gui (王貴) who continued fighting with his fists after exhausting all arrows. Seeing only around a hundred soldiers around him, Yang Ye told them, "You all have fathers, mothers, wives and children, no point in dying together with me. Return home and serve the emperor later." His men all cried, but nobody left.

Liao soldiers were instructed to capture Yang alive. Even with several dozen wounds on him, Yang fought on, killing about a hundred enemy soldiers by himself. He was captured when his horse was gravely wounded by an arrow from Liao general Yelü Xidi. Yelü Xiezhen yelled, "You have been fighting with our country for over 30 years. What do you have to say today!" To which Yang replied, "I deserve the death sentence." He allegedly sighed and said, "The emperor has treated me so kindly, expecting me to conquer the enemy and defend the borders in return. However, due to persecutions from treacherous officials, the royal troops have been defeated. How can I live on?" he suicided by smashing his head .

As expected Yunzhou, Yingzhou and other prefectures were recaptured by the Liao army, but according to History of Liao, it was because Song generals "abandoned the cities and fled when they heard of (Yang) Jiye's death".

Aftermath

Yang Ye's severed head was presented to the young Emperor Shengzong of Liao and his mother Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan. This was such a great victory for the Liao, where Buddhism was the state religion, that Kailong Temple (開龍寺) in the capital Shangjing (上京, in today's Baarin Left Banner) conducted religious activities for a month and provided food for over 10,000 monks.

In the Song Dynasty, the Yang family was initially compensated only 100 rolls of silk, 100 rolls of textile and 10 stones of rice for Yang Ye's death. In comparison, the family of a lesser general He Huaipu (賀懷浦) who also died in the same battle was compensated 100 rolls of silk, 100 strings of coins, 20 bottles of wine, and 15 sheep, indicating possible scapegoating against Yang. What exactly happened afterwards is unclear, but a few months later Emperor Taizong proclaimed the following edict:

Yang Ye's six surviving sons were also given official appointments, especially Yang Yanzhao, who would become a prominent general himself.

Invincible Yang Temple

Liao Dynasty had built an "Invincible Yang Temple" in Gubeikou shortly after his death. Its earliest mention was a 1055 poem "Passing Gubeikou's Invincible Yang Temple" (過古北口楊無敵廟) by Song politician Liu Chang (劉敞), who went to Liao on a mission that year. In a 1089 poem, "Gubeikou's Invincible Yang Temple" (古北口楊無敵廟), Su Zhe who was also visiting Liao, compared Yang to the Jin Dynasty (266–420) general Zhou Chu who was similarly persecuted by his superior.

This temple is still at the location today in Gubeikou, Miyun County, Beijing.

In fiction

In the popular The Generals of the Yang Family legends, Yang Ye married She Saihua, a woman skilled in martial arts and archery. In most versions, his weapon is a poled golden glaive. The older Yang Ye is usually called Yang Linggong (楊令公, literally "Commander Lord Yang").

During the battle of Mount Twin Wolves, he was surrounded by enemies. His eldest three sons had already died and his fourth and fifth sons were missing. His sixth son Yang Yanzhao asked the seventh son to seek aid while he tried to fight a way out for the father. Feeling hopeless, Yang Ye saw in a distance a headstone on the ground. The name on it was Li Ling, a famous Han Dynasty general who in 99BC was forced to lead an army of 5,000 to attack the 80,000-men strong Xiongnu army from the north. Fighting valiantly for over 10 days and killing over 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, Li received no reinforcement and defected to his enemy in the end, resulting in the execution of his entire family back home. Refusing to become another Li Ling, Yang Ye decided to commit suicide by ramming his head on the stele.

The Water Margin character, Yang Zhi, is stated to be one of Yang Ye's descendants, and Yang Ye is mentioned to have been one of the many generations to have wielded Yang Zhi's legendary sabre.

Notes and references

Sources

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生平

楊業本名重貴，并州太原（今山西太原）人，北宋抗遼名將。年少時便擅長騎射，立志成為名將。楊業少時倜儻任俠，善于騎射，喜好打獵，獵獲總比他人多。讀書不多，但忠烈武勇，甚有智謀。北漢建立後，年僅弱冠的楊業即追隨北漢世祖劉崇，任保衛指揮使，以驍勇遠近聞名。後屢立戰功，遷升建雄軍節度使，國人號為"無敵"。，授保衛指揮使，以驍勇聞名。後周廣順元年（951年），後漢北京留守兼中書令劉崇在太原稱帝，建立北漢。楊業效力劉氏凡三十年，被賜姓劉氏，改名繼業，官至侍衛親軍馬步軍都虞候，領建雄軍節度使，被稱為「太原驍將」。

北宋太平興國四年（979年），宋太宗平定北漢，素聞楊業驍勇，便遣使召見，溫言撫慰，命其復姓楊氏，單名業，授左領軍衛大將軍，還朝後授鄭州防禦使。太平興國五年三月，楊業在雁門關大破遼軍，威震契丹。

宋太宗認為楊業熟悉邊防，不久即命楊業知代州兼三交駐泊兵馬部署，臨行前賞賜甚厚。次年（980年），宣徽南院使、開府儀同三司、兼三交都部署潘美自三交口巡撫至代州，遇遼國應州彰國軍節度使、駙馬都尉、侍中蕭咄李率部南侵，即命楊業率麾下數百騎兵抄小路從背後夾攻，大敗遼軍，蕭咄李死于陣中，應州馬步軍都指揮使李重誨被生擒，繳獲大量鎧甲馬匹。潘美以功封代國公，楊業升雲州觀察使，仍判代州事。楊業一介降將，未及一年便立功邊境，遭到潘美嫉恨，秘密向宋太宗上書進讒。宋太宗眷遇正隆，將讒書封送楊業，以示信任。

雍熙三年（986年），宋太宗發兵三路進行北伐，檢校太師、忠武軍節度使潘美為雲應路行營都部署（主將），雲州觀察使楊業為副都部署（副將），從西路連下雲、應、寰、朔四州，因主力東路軍戰敗奉命退還代州。不久，宋太宗命潘美出兵掩護四州百姓內遷，時遼國北院樞密使耶律斜軫、彰國軍節度使蕭撻凜已越過雲、應二州攻陷寰州，直逼朔州。出兵前，楊業建議說：「現在遼軍銳氣正盛，最好避免與之決戰。朝廷目的在于取得數州百姓，我們應當從大石路出兵應州（示意切斷遼軍後路），出發之前派人悄悄通知雲州百姓先南下（到應州），如果遼軍回應州保護後路，則朔州百姓立即南下石碣谷（撤往代州），派強弩千人守住谷口，再派騎兵作為機動部隊居中救援，（而我軍在應州與遼軍相持，遼軍也不敢越過我軍襲取雲州、應州撤退的百姓）這是保護三州百姓的萬全之策。」西上閣門使、蔚州刺史、雲應路行營兵馬都監（監軍）王侁立即反對，要求從西邊往朔州尋求與遼軍進行主力決戰，另一監軍（史書未載其差遣，可能是雲應路行營兵馬副都監）軍器庫使、順州團練使劉文裕也贊成王侁的提議。楊業力執不可，受到王侁譏諷：「君侯素號無敵，如今逗留不進，莫非有他意？」楊業本是降將，最忌諱別人說他有二心，為明心志自請為先鋒出戰。

宋軍抵達朔州陳家谷，遼軍也已趕到附近。楊業敦請主將潘美在陳家谷口布陣，自己作為先鋒繼續前進。遼軍主將山西諸路兵馬都統耶律斜軫派副將山西兵馬副部署蕭撻凜設伏，自己與楊業交戰後假裝敗退，楊業中伏大敗。監軍王侁派人在高台眺望戰況，看到楊業追擊遼軍，便率兵前去爭功，潘美不能阻止王侁，于是一起沿著河邊行軍二十里，得知楊業戰敗後又立即撤退而不救援。楊業殺出重圍後且戰且退，到達陳家谷口只剩淄州刺史王貴和兒子楊延玉等殘部百餘人，發現潘美已經撤退，傷心欲絕，對部下說：「你們都有父母妻兒，俱死無益，可歸報天子。」但大家都慷慨赴死，無人逃難。楊業藏匿于樹林中，被右皮室（遼軍精銳部隊名）詳穩（部隊主官名）耶律奚底射中，墜馬被擒。遼軍主將耶律斜軫責罵楊業擅開邊釁，楊業但稱有死而已，又嘆息說：「受皇帝厚恩，本想立功邊境以報答，卻受奸臣逼迫而戰敗，無顏苟活人世。」于是絕食三天而死。

宋太宗聞訊震悼，將潘美削秩三等，責授檢校太保；王侁、劉文裕除名（削去官籍），王侁配隸金州，劉文裕配隸登州；贈楊業檢校太尉、大同軍節度使，賜其家布帛千疋，粟千碩；以其子供奉官楊延昭（時名楊延朗）為崇儀副使，殿直楊延浦、楊延訓為供奉官，楊延瑰、楊延貴、楊延彬為殿直。

家庭

妻：史書未載。自清以來，方志或云府州折氏。如清光緒年間續修《岢嵐州志》卷九《人物·節婦》條記載：「楊業『娶折德扆女』，『折性敏慧，嘗佐業立戰功，號楊無敵』」。案《宋史·折德扆傳》，折德扆父「折從阮自晉漢以來獨據府州」。折家歸附後周之後，「父子俱領節鎮，時人榮之」。折、楊兩家同為地方豪強，麟州、府州又相鄰，兩家結姻親之好並非全無可能。

子：楊延昭、楊延浦、楊延訓、楊延瑰、楊延貴、楊延彬、楊延玉。《宋史·楊業傳》記載為七子，《續資治通鑒長編》言楊業僅五子，而《東都事略》中則只提到楊延昭一個兒子。

歷史影響

楊業與其子楊延昭、孫楊文廣三代為將，頗負盛名。北宋著名文學家歐陽修，稱讚楊業、楊延昭「父子皆名將，其智勇號稱無敵，至今天下之士至於裡兒野豎，皆能道之。」宋元的民間藝人把楊家將的故事編成戲曲，搬上舞台。到了明代，民間又把他們的故事編成《楊家將演義》、《楊家將傳》，用小說評書的形式在社會民間廣泛傳播。

影視作品

• 《楊家將》中，由常文治飾演

• 《楊家將》中，由楊澤霖飾演

• 《楊門虎將》中，由狄龍飾演

• 《鐵血楊家將》中，由張衝飾演

• 《少年楊家將》中，由翁家明飾演

• 《忠烈楊家將》中，由鄭少秋飾演

• 楊麗花版電視歌仔戲《楊家將》中，由張文彬飾演

• 葉青版電視歌仔戲《楊家將》中，由陳昇琳飾演