When it comes to the word "Manmen Zhonglie", many people will think of the legendary story of several generations of "Yang Family Generals" who took the defense of the land and resisted the enemy as their own responsibility, persevered, and regarded death as a homecoming. These stories are widely circulated in folk miscellaneous dramas, commentaries, and novels, among which Yang Liulang, the son of Yang Ye, who is on the side of the state, is vividly shaped and ready to come out. With its protagonists, "Liu Lang Visits Mother", "Zhuangyuan Media", "Yuanmen Chopper", "Kou Zhun Back Boots" and other dramas have been passed down to this day, and even become the source of creation of modern film and television works.
However, it should be noted that Yang Liulang was not Yang Ye's sixth son, and he was not originally named Yang Yanzhao. Yang Liulang was the eldest son of Yang Ye, the "Golden Sword Invincible Yang Linggong", and his original name was Yang Yanlang, and Yang Yanzhao was his later name. According to the "History of Song", Yang Ye had seven sons, namely Yanzhao, Yanyu, Yanpu, Yanxun, Yanlu, Yangui, and Yanbin. Moreover, except for Yang Yanyu, who died in Shuozhou, the rest of the seven sons all died of good health, and there was no matter of Yang Silang going into exile in Fanbang and Yang Wulang becoming a monk.
Yang Liulang, who was later revered as the God of The Peach Blossom in March
In the autumn of 1004 (the first year of The Reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song), Song Liao concluded the "Alliance of Liaoyuan", and whether the "Alliance of Liaoyuan" was an equal treaty or an alliance under the city is still debated in academic circles. In fact, liao promoted peace through war in the hope of dispelling Song's plan to recover youyun's homeland through war. Empress Xiao and Emperor Shengzong of Liao understood that their proposal to restore the old lands of Guannan was as impractical as the Song people's reconquest of Yanyun's homeland. Although the Song army's offensive was weak, its defense was more than enough, and Liao had no overwhelming advantage. The two sides were evenly matched, so they had to sit at the negotiating table and reach a peace treaty acceptable to both sides.
The Alliance of Liaoyuan stipulated that the Song Dynasty would give the Liao court 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 silk horses every year; the two countries should be bounded by the Baigou River and should not invade each other. In this regard, the Song and Liao dynasties ended decades of hostility, set up mutual markets along the border, and restored diplomatic relations.
Just as the two sides were bargaining, Yang Yanzhao went to Shuzhenzong, taking advantage of the fact that the veterans of the Liao army were tired and unprepared outside the city of Liaoyuan, the Song army took the initiative to launch an attack, and then blocked and pursued the Liao army along the way, and the You, Yi and other places could be recovered. Emperor Zhenzong was worried that the war would be over and would affect the peace, so he did not reply.
In February of the second year of Jingde (1005), Yang Yanzhao was appointed as a defensive envoy to Baozhou for his merits; in May, he was appointed as the deputy capital of GaoyangGuan and became the commander of the Hebei border defense line. The vice-capital of Gaoyangguan was deployed under the jurisdiction of the fifteen military prefectures of Hebei: Bazhou, Yingzhou, Baozhou, Gaoyangguan, Yijinguan, waqiaoguan, etc.
The folk song "Little CowHerd" says that "Yang Liu lang guards the three passes", and the saying says "Liu Lang san guan is a marshal". In fact, the border passes where Yang Yanzhao was stationed were not only the three passes of Yijin, Waqiao, and Sikou, from Shanxi to Hebei, from Langya Mountain to Tianjin Tanggu, twisting and turning for thousands of miles, all of which were his duty.
Since then, Yang Yanzhao has changed from a general with less than 10,000 people under his command and responsible for one campaign direction to a commander who commands tens of thousands of people and is responsible for the entire strategic direction. Unfortunately, he was useless after that. Soon after the Song and Liao peace talks, Kou Zhun was deposed, and his successor, Wang Qinruo, vigorously encouraged Zhenzong to "seal the east and the west", engage in feudal superstition, and boast of his neighbors.
Soon, the court has a purpose - the borders of Hedong and Hebei will not be allowed to cross the border to cause trouble. Yang Yanzhao's duty was mainly to lead his men to patrol the border and fight against thieves on the border defense line. The occasional transgression immediately caused the court to be horrified. In the fifth year of the Great Zhongxiang Fu (1012), the court specifically decreed that Yang Yanzhao's troops should not deliberately create friction.
In short, while the whole country was frantically sealing the western shrines and cultivating the temple, Yang Yanzhao, who guarded the frontier, maintained a sober mind. He realized that a single covenant could not guarantee lasting peace, and that only strong armaments were fundamental to maintaining peace.
Therefore, Yang Yanzhao, who was thinking of danger in times of peace, led his troops to reorganize their armaments and fight and greatly expand tuntian. Today, the embankment of the Baigou River in bazhou to Xiongxian county is still called "Liulang Causeway". According to the provisions of the Song and Liao peace agreements, the two sides were not allowed to build city gods and dig rivers on the border, so Yang Yanzhao had to transfer the construction fortifications underground. He built a large number of tunnels in Xushui, Bazhou, Xiongxian and other places to prevent the Liao people from suddenly attacking when the water surface was frozen.
In present-day Xiong County, that is, Waqiao Pass in the Song Dynasty, there are Datai Tunnels in Beixing Village, Xiongxian Town, and Qigang Village in the west of Shuangtang Township. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hebei Yongqing also found hundreds of square kilometers of tunnels, one end pointing directly to Xin'an Town (Song Sikou Pass) and the other end directly into Bazhou Town (Song Yijin Pass). Archaeologists named it "Ancient Battle Road" and local villagers called it "Yingbing Cave", which is said to have been repaired by Yang Liulang when he was guarding sanguan, which is consistent with the record of "Yingma Cave, Ruled by Yang Yanzhao" in the "Bazhou Chronicle" during the Ming Jiajing period.
In 1964, archaeologists excavated 200 meters and found that the tunnel was made of brick, with a coupon roof, and a flap and ventilation holes. The tunnel cave is 1.78 meters high, and can only crawl on the lows, and there is a cave room that can accommodate several people, with built-in lampstands, water tanks, water hyacinths and other things. Archaeologists speculate that this may be Yang Yanzhao's underground combat headquarters. Later generations wrote "Lead Horse Cave":
Song Ye is partial to the water, and the public opinion map has now exhausted the Yanyun.
Wild wilderness sand Pingling Valley different, cultivators Juju said six generals.
In addition to building many tunnels, Yang Yanzhao also dug moats and planted stumbling piles. Jiang Yikui's "Chang'an Ke dialect" of the Ming Dynasty says: "Bazhou, so Tang Yijin Guanye ... Yang Yanzhao repaired to control the Khitan ... There are more than seventy wells along the city, also dug by Yan Lang, called the moat well, watering the city in the middle of winter, and the prisoners do not dare to force it. ”
It is worth mentioning that Yang Yanzhao was as honest and good at governing the army as his father, and the "History of Song" said: "(He) supervised the bravery and good war, and the rewards were given to the XiJun army, and he did not ask about family affairs." Riding in and out is like a small colonel, the orders are strict, and the soldiers are bitter. When encountering the enemy, we must be the first, march in victory, push the merits below, and the people will be happy to use it. The "Continuation of the Zhizhi TongjianChang" said that it was "bitter with the soldiers, cold is not risky, and summer is not covered." Because Yang Yanzhao does not engage in specialization, has a rare and valuable quality and a simple and approachable style, he is deeply expected by the public and sincerely supported by the people.
Even Yang Si, who was also known as him, admired him. In the third year of Xianping, Yang Si was appointed as an envoy of the Baozhou regiment because of his outstanding military achievements, while Yang Yanzhao was still an assassin. Yang Si pleaded: "I have the same official position as Yan Zhao, and my merits are also equal, if I am suddenly promoted above Yan Zhao, I will not be able to serve the public." I would rather take up my old official position. When Emperor Zhenzong heard this, he sighed again and again, so he promoted Yang Yanzhao to a higher position.
Because Yang Yanzhao had high prestige in the army, Yang Si would be so humble. Otherwise, the rewards for the same merit will be different, the soldiers will not be satisfied, and the morale will be low, which will affect the combat effectiveness. The fact that only Yang Si was promoted and not Yang Yanzhao could be seen in the style of the court's behavior, and it was not surprising that the Song court's strength was weak.
Wood shows in the forest, and the wind will destroy it. Because Yang Yanzhao had been actively reorganizing the armaments at the border pass, Zhenzong was always worried that he would cross the border and cause trouble, and sent people to supervise the army several times. There were also ministers in the court who made rumors to Zhenzong. Emperor Zhenzong was overwhelmed and said to the chancellor Wang Dan, "Yang Si and Yang Yanzhao are both generals who guard the border pass. The two of them were loyal to the country, but there were ministers in the DPRK who often attacked them. So that they will not be wronged. "The historical data does not say who is jealous of Yang Yanzhao, so it leaves room for the imagination of literary and artistic creators." Someone in the Yuan Dynasty based on this incident and created the miscellaneous drama "Xie Jinwu Fraudulently Demolished Qingfeng Mansion".
After that, Yang Yanzhao became angry and died of hatred in the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1014), at the age of 57. When the news came out, Zhenzong was very sad and sent his close eunuchs to mourn the guardian spirits. The people of the river traced the news and wept at the coffin.
Exactly where Yang Yanzhao was buried is not recorded in historical records. According to the "Chronicle of Renqiu County", there is a local Liulang Tomb, but it is also said that Yang Yanzhao was buried in Taiyuan. The Qing people have poems to praise:
Imprisoned in the ancient battlefield of sanguan, Yanzhao career tomb head frost.
Only in the blind string of imano tune, the appendix can still say Rokuro.
This article is excerpted from the "War Code 019"
