There is great controversy in history about how the Yang family will join the Northern Song Dynasty. So far, two completely different statements contradict each other, becoming the focus of debate between the Yang family's fans and history buffs. One theory is that under the onslaught of Zhao Guangyi's army of Emperor Taizong of Song, the ministers and generals of taiyuan, the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, went out of the city and surrendered. The Northern Han Emperor Liu Jiyuan could not bear it in this critical situation and took the initiative to go out of the city to surrender to Zhao Guangyi. However, Yang Ye, the leader of the Yang family generals, refused to surrender, leading the Yang family generals and the Northern Han soldiers and civilians to resist until Liu Jiyuan personally came forward to persuade him to surrender, and then had to open the taiyuan city gates. Another theory is that Yang Jiye saw that things could not be done, and in order to protect the military and civilians in Taiyuan, he took the initiative to persuade Liu Jiyuan to go out of the city and surrender.
Both of these claims have a large number of supporters in the folk, so there is a great controversy among the fan groups of Yang Jiajian. Generally speaking, Yang Jiajian's novels, dramas and other works of art adopt the first statement, which also reflects the noble character of Yang Ye and the Yang family who will be loyal to the country. However, in many historical documents and literati notes, a large number of contents describing the second situation have been described, which makes it difficult for many fans of yang jiajian to accept. This is a bit of a denial of the meaning of the Yang family's loyalty, so it has formed a great contradiction and conflict. However, the second theory not only appears in the song dynasty national history documents, but also in Zhao Guangyi's edict to Yang Ye, which also has corresponding words, which makes people have to believe that there is a possibility.
From the perspective of the scope of folk circulation, the first theory is the most extensive, following the story of the Yang family. Most of its supporters are fans of the Yang family's story, with the largest proportion of ordinary people at the grassroots level. The second theory is relatively narrowly circulated, and is mainly accepted by scholars and historians. Combined with the historical background of the time, the second situation is more likely to exist. The first case is mostly a story compiled by the Song Dynasty in recognition of the loyalty of the Yang family generals and to boost the morale of the Song army. This story looks very attractive, and has the theme of loyalty and patriotism, which is in line with the main theme of the anti-Liao resistance at that time. However, there are many doubts and contradictions in the story, which cannot be matched with historical materials.
In the first theory, Yang Ye was the last person to lead General Yang and the Taiyuan military and civilian resistance to the end. The Song army could not attack Taiyuan City for a long time, and Zhao Guangyi cherished Yang Yecai, so he asked liu Jiyuan, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, who surrendered, to persuade him to surrender. Liu Jiyuan took the initiative to write a letter of persuasion to Yang Ye, and Yang Ye cried after reading the letter, and in the performance of loyalty and patriotism, he painfully announced the decision to surrender to the Song Dynasty. In the rendition and novel, there is also a passage that says that Yang Ye planned to resign his post and go into hiding after surrendering, but it was Zhao Guangyi who sent various generals of the Song Dynasty to persuade him in turn to keep him. This statement all revolves around the theme of loyalty and patriotism, the plot is very legendary, and there are many details, which is completely different from the writing and content of history books.
This statement first appeared in the personal history book "Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms" in the Northern Song Dynasty, and later gradually continued into other history books and notes of the literati. Judging from the source of this history book, its authority is greatly reduced. The author of the history book is named Lu Zhen, who is the third person of the Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi Chunhua Three Years of Nongchen Kesun He Bang Jinshi. Lu Zhen's official fortunes were still good in his life, and he served as an official in many places, especially on the border of Song and Liao, so he was trusted by the emperor and the imperial court. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, he participated as a revisionist in the revision of the national history of the Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi periods, so he was slightly famous in the field of historiography. He not only sent envoys to the Khitans, but also served as a zhizhi of the Song Dynasty and repaired the emperor's living notes, which shows that Song Zhenzong had great trust in him.
The Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms is a history book written by Lu Zhen in his private time, which belongs to the private compilation of history books, which is very different from the official national history. This historical book mainly records the history of the nine kingdoms of Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Former Shu, Later Shu, Northern Han, Southern Han, Fujian, and Chu in the Five Dynasties. Among them, through the way of folk collection, many historical materials have been supplemented, which has become a supplementary material for the history of the Song Dynasty. However, private history books are not officially rigorous and do not require more evidence. Official history books not only re-record, but also emphasize original materials, such as edicts, objects, and so on. Private histories do not have so many resources to corroborate, so many historical materials cannot be confirmed. Lu Zhen, as the compiler of the History of the Song Dynasty and the Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms, has two theories of the same event, which makes people feel very confused.
In fact, from the perspective of other history books, there are many errors and contradictions in the "Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms". For example, this statement says that Liu Jiyuan first surrendered, and then wrote a letter to persuade Yang Ye to surrender. This is a bit strange, since Liu Jiyuan surrendered, why can Yang Ye still fight against the Song army in Taiyuan City? Taiyuan was the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, and Liu Jiyuan's surrender would naturally directly lead the Song army into the city, so how did Yang Ye live by himself in Taiyuan City? Taiyuan was a famous fortified city in ancient China, and it was quite possible to rely on jiancheng to resist foreign armies. But the fortress was breached from within, Liu Jiyuan surrendered, and the Song army entering the city was a necessary condition, where would there be room for Yang Ye to resist? If after Liu Jiyuan surrendered, the Song army could not enter the city, this problem was big, whether Yang Ye was loyal to the jun or betrayed the jun?
Judging from Yang Ye's historical data, it is unlikely that he will lead the Taiyuan military and civilians to resist the Song army. In the process of Zhao Kuangyin's first attack on Taiyuan, Yang Ye and Feng Jinke were forced to withdraw to Taiyuan because they were outnumbered. At that time, Liu Jiyuan was furious and stripped the two men of their military power. That is to say, from that time on, Yang Ye was a nominal bodyguard, and he was not qualified to mobilize any Taiyuan army. Later, Yang Ye led the Yang family to break through from Taiyuan with hundreds of cavalry, but was blocked by the famous Song general Dang Jin, and returned to the city after the breakthrough failed. After Zhao Kuangyin withdrew, Yang Ye advised Liu Jiyuan not to join forces with the Khitan and asked him to send troops to seize the Khitan land of Hedong, but Liu Jiyuan did not comply. Judging from the above historical data, when Zhao Guangyi attacked Taiyuan, Yang Ye did not have too many troops, and he was not even trusted by Liu Jiyuan.
In this context, Liu Jiyuan went out of the city and surrendered, can he safely leave Yang Ye in the city? If Yang Ye was doing things in the city, wouldn't he be very passive. Liu Jiyuan surrendered in order to save his life, and if Yang Ye did something, wouldn't it make his life insecure? Therefore, from this point of view, Liu Jiyuan's surrender out of the city will inevitably show an attitude of abandoning resistance to the Song army, and people like Yang Ye must be taken with him, not left in the city.
Judging from the historical data of the Northern Han War, Liu Jiyuan's surrender was the result of many promotions. On the one hand, the Northern Han Dynasty ministers of culture and military affairs went out of the city to surrender, and even took the army with them, making Liu Jiyuan very passive. On the other hand, many ministers took the initiative to persuade Zhao Guangyi to write a letter promising to "protect Fugui". In this environment, Liu Jiyuan went out of the city and surrendered, just to continue his life, and in order to show sincerity, he would naturally open the gate of Taiyuan to the Song army.
Therefore, in this environment, it was impossible for Yang Ye to reorganize the army and lead the Taiyuan military and people to stick to it. It also doesn't make any sense. Because what Yang Ye needed was not to hold firm, but to repel the army besieged by Zhao Guangyi. With the Khitan reinforcements defeated by the Song Dynasty, Taiyuan City was isolated and helpless, so why did Yang Ye keep the city? Moreover, Yang Ye and Khitan have always been at odds, and even if the Khitan sent the second wave of troops, they would not take the initiative to go to Taiyuan to save Yang Ye, so this kind of defense of the city was worthless. Therefore, the possibility of the existence of the first statement is very small, but the possibility of the existence of the second theory is extremely large, and it also expresses the process of the fall of the Northern Han Dynasty at that time, the most representative of which is Zhao Guangyi's edict to Yang Ye.
The edict reads: "Fight with all your might, be unswerving, be swaying with swift speed, and change with lightning." Knowing that the golden soup is not safe, the jade is burned. Make a decision to surrender, entrust yourself to ask for orders, be loyal to what you do, and be good at self-scheming. The reasons for Yang Ye's persuasion of Liu Jiyuan to surrender have been almost summarized here, and Zhao Guangyi's approval has been obtained. In fact, at that time, Yang Ye was not the only one who persuaded Liu Jiyuan to surrender, but many veteran generals of the Northern Han Dynasty came forward to persuade him. On the one hand, they did not want to burn the jade stone of Taiyuan City, and on the other hand, they also hoped to continue to serve as officials in the Song Dynasty. Zhao Guangyi does not praise others, but only praises Yang Ye because Yang Ye is different from others. Yang Ye had a chance to escape, and his younger brother Yang Chongxun surrendered to the Song Dynasty with the Yang clan of Linzhou before he did, so Yang Ye did not need to stay in Taiyuan at all.
On the eve of Liu Jiyuan's surrender, Yang Ye had neither military power nor the need to stay. He didn't even need to take the initiative to surrender to the Song Dynasty, he only needed to escape from Taiyuan City and return to the Yang clan of Linzhou to ensure future glory and wealth. However, he did not do so, but actively promoted Liu Jiyuan's surrender. It can be seen from this that Yang Ye's original intention was not for personal self-interest, but for the military and civilian people of Taiyuan. The Northern Han Xuanhui, who was higher and more powerful than Yang Ye, made Fan Chao and Ma Bujun command Guo Wanchao and others to lead the army to surrender before Yang Ye. Compared with them, from the perspective of human nature, Zhao Guangyi naturally appreciates Yang Ye more. And Zhao Guangyi is a literati, and his view of things is different from that of a military general, so he looks at Yang Ye differently.
Both the rendition and the statement circulating in the novel that the Yang family will return to the Song dynasty were developed from the Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms. The Chronicle of the Nine Kingdoms was born after the Yongxi Northern Expedition and absorbed many legends and stories circulated by the folk at that time. The Yongxi Northern Expedition was the biggest defeat of Zhao Guangyi's Northern Expedition to the Liao State, and it was also the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty's complete suppression by the Liao State strategy. In this war, Yang Ye was besieged by the Liao army in order to cover the yanmen pass army and civilians retreating south, and finally had to go on a hunger strike and martyrdom. After the defeat, the morale of the Song army was low, and it was impossible to resist the Liao army. Therefore, Zhao Guangyi vigorously publicized Yang Yening's indomitable spirit in an attempt to revive the morale of the Song army and resist the southern invasion of the Liao state. In this context, the story of Yang Yezhongjun's patriotism has become the best propaganda material, so the Yang family will also begin to circulate in the folk.
Combining the two statements for comparison, it can be seen that the differences between the two statements also reflect the different manifestations of history in the official and folk. Chinese literati have a tradition of writing history since ancient times, which can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, this kind of official, standardized thing is difficult for the private sector to accept. On the one hand, the level of knowledge of the common people is limited, and they are not able to understand the historical materials of the text. On the other hand, it is also because many contents are not suitable for private dissemination, which is easy to cause controversy. The story of Yang Jiajian is a product of special historical conditions, and many places have been modified according to the needs of different dynasties and historical environments. Although there is truth in the history books, the people prefer the Yang family general they imagined in their hearts.