Yang Yanzhao (958-1014), whose real name was Yang Yanlang,and a native of Taiyuan (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi), was a famous general of the Northern Song Dynasty and the main figure in the famous military family "Yang Family General" who defended the country.
In the "Yang Family General" novels, operas and folklore, Yang Yanzhao is the sixth son of Yang Ye, the old Linggong of the Golden Dao and the famous anti-Liao general, so he is called "Yang Liulang".
But in fact, Yang Yanzhao is the eldest son of Yang Ye, why is Yang Yanzhao, the eldest son, called "Yang Liulang" and has become the little brother of the sixth oldest?
Yang Yanzhao's first appearance in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty was in the third year of Emperor Taizong's reign (986), when Emperor Taizong of Song decided to go north to the Liao state in order to recover the lost northern barrier "Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures".
In this "Yongxi Northern Expedition", the Song army was divided into Shanxi and Hebei to attack the Liao army, with the commander of the Western Route Army pan Mei, Yang Ye as the deputy marshal, and the 28-year-old Yang Yanzhao as the vanguard.
The Song army, under the leadership of the Yang family's father and son, attacked the Liao army outside Yanmen Pass, recovering many cities along the way. Under the city of Shuozhou, Yang Yanzhao was shot through the arm by random arrows, but the more courageous he became, the Liao army saw the brave Yang Yanzhao for the first time.
After Yang Yezhan's death, Yang Yanzhao began to take on the heavy responsibility of resisting the Liao on the border of the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the second year of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (999), Emperor Shengzong of Liao and his mother Empress Xiao led a large-scale invasion of the liao army to the south, and soon attacked Suicheng (present-day eastern Xushui County, Hebei), which was then defended by Yang Yanzhao.
At that time, Suicheng was not only a small city, but also had few defenders, and the Liao army launched a fierce siege because Empress Xiao personally came to the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were all in danger and panicked.
Yang Yanzhao, on the other hand, was calm and self-assured, and he gathered all the young and strong men in the city, issued them weapons, and asked them to climb the city wall to resist the Liao army that was besieging the city with the Song army.
At that time, it was just early winter, the day was not cold, but one night the temperature plummeted, taking this opportunity, Yang Yanzhao ordered people to take water to sprinkle the city wall, and by dawn, the water was all frozen, hard and smooth, and overnight, Suicheng became a "ice city" that was both strong and smooth.
In the face of such a smooth ice city, the Liao army could not climb and attack the city at all, and had to retreat. After this battle, Yang Yanzhao's wei wei was shaken at the border pass, and people called the Suicheng city guarded by Yang Yanzhao as "Tiesui City".
In the winter of the third year of Xianping (1000), the Liao army once again invaded the border of the Northern Song Dynasty in a big way. Yang Yanzhao ambushed his elite troops west of Yangshan (羊山, in present-day western Xushui County, Hebei), while he himself led a small number of cavalry to attack the Liao army from the north with the enemy unprepared, and retreated while fighting to lure the Liao army to pursue.
When they retreated to the bottom of Yangshan Mountain, the Song army's ambush troops rose up and launched a general attack, Yang Yanzhao lost his headache and attacked the Liao army, the Liao army was defeated, Yang Yanzhao beheaded the Liao general, and used a box to carry the enemy general's first rank to report to the merits.
In this battle, the Song army won a complete victory and won a rare victory of the Song army against the Liao army, and in order to commemorate this great victory, the local people changed "Yangshan Mountain" to "Yang Mountain" to commemorate Yang Yanzhao's mighty military feats.
Yang Yanzhao guarded the border of the Northern Song Dynasty for more than 20 years, and Xiao Yong was good at fighting and fighting against the Liao army, which made the Liao army feel frightened.
In ancient times, people called Sirius the Six Wolf Star, and regarded it as the star of the general, because Yang Yanzhao was the Song army general who caused the liao army the most headache, so the Liao people believed that Yang Yanzhao was the sixth lang star in the sky, so they called Yang Yanzhao "Yang Liulang".
There is also a definite record in the Zhengshi "Song Shi Yang Yanzhao Biography": "Yan Zhaozhi was brave and good at war, and he received a gift to the XiJun army, and did not ask about family affairs." Riding in and out is like a small colonel, the orders are strict, and the soldiers are bitter and bitter, and when they encounter the enemy, they must be the first, they must be victorious in the battle, and they are pushing the merits to the bottom, so the people are happy to use it. In the border defense for more than twenty years, the Khitan was worried about it, and his eyes were Yang Liulang. ”
In the seventh year (1014) of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Yang Yanzhao died at the age of fifty-seven, and Song Zhenzong sighed deeply and sent eunuchs to escort the coffin back to his hometown, and most of the people around Heshuo wept bitterly when they saw his coffin.