In real history, how did the generals of the Yang family, who numbered between 3,000 and 100,000, perish in the end?

As a well-known story in China, "Generals of the Yang Family" has long been widely circulated. Storytelling books say that the Yang family, as a general in the Northern Song Dynasty, was full of loyal and loyal people, from Yang Linggong to She Taijun, from the seventh son of the Yang family to Mu Guiying Yang. Zongbao and many characters have long become part of Chinese culture.

So, as the "biggest" general of the Yang family, what kind of person was his ancestor Yang Linggong in history?

Today we will talk about the historical prototype of "Yang Linggong".

The prototype of "Yang Linggong" in history is Yang Ye. He was originally a heroic general in the Northern Han Dynasty. He was also called "Yang Wudi" because of his bravery and invincibility.

When Song Taizong destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, Yang Ye persuaded Liu Jiyuan, the last emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, to surrender. Song Taizong liked Yang Ye's martial arts talent and promoted him as a key player, and Yang Ye became a general in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yang Ye was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Yanmen Pass to guard this important northern border town.

In 980 AD, a hundred thousand troops of the Liao Kingdom attacked Yanmen Pass. This battle was of great significance.

Because the Song Dynasty had just suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Gaoliang River not long ago, and the morale of the army fell to the bottom. Although they had won the Battle of Mancheng, if the Liao army broke through Yanmen Pass and drove south, then the Northern Song Dynasty would have There is a danger of annihilation of the country.

At this time, Yang Ye only had a few thousand soldiers and horses, and opposite him was the 100,000-strong army of Xiao Du Li of the Liao Kingdom. A well-known minister, the Liao Jing sect sent this person to fight, obviously to achieve great success.

Faced with the critical situation, Pan Mei, the commander-in-chief of the Song Army in Shanxi at that time, insisted on sticking to Taiyuan, and the defense of Yanmen Pass was very weak.

Facing the Liao army's heavy pressure, Yang Ye resolutely decided to adopt surprise attack tactics. He only left part of his army to defend Yanmen Pass, and personally led the elite cavalry to ambush the Liao army at Yanmen Pass. He planned to "capture the thief and capture the king" and launch a surprise attack on the Liao army, killing the enemy general in one fell swoop and disintegrating the enemy.

Xiao Du and Li were completely unprepared. Yang Ye copied him from behind and was suddenly attacked by the Song Army's cavalry.

The Liao army was in chaos. Hundreds of Yang Ye's elite troops attacked the center of the Liao army. When he saw a general riding a tall horse under the command of the Liao army formation, he led his troops to attack fiercely, and the Liao army was dispersed. , and that person is Xiao Duoli.

As a result, Xiao Duoli was killed by the Song army in the melee. The Liao Kingdom's 100,000-strong army was leaderless and had to be defeated. Yang Ye took advantage of the situation to pursue him, and the defenders in Yanmen Pass also fought out.

Yang Ye pursued the Liao army for dozens of miles, captured and beheaded him, and captured alive the Liao army commander Li Chonghai and others.

In the Battle of Yanmen Pass, Yang Ye was so powerful that the Liao State was so frightened that it did not dare to invade the Shanxi border of the Song Dynasty for several years.

However, this battle also made Pan Mei jealous of Yang Ye, and even wrote a letter to impeach Yang Ye. Fortunately, Song Taizong understood the officialdom and was not swayed by Pan Mei. Instead, he rewarded Yang Ye heavily.

Yang Ye made great achievements, but the good times did not last long. Six years later, the Northern Song Dynasty's 200,000-strong army once again went on the Northern Expedition, and the result was a disastrous defeat. In this battle, Yang Ye was also defeated and captured because of the "betrayal" of friendly forces, and went on a hunger strike. die.

And Yang Ye’s boss in that battle happened to be Pan Mei. Now some people are excusing Pan Mei, thinking that this battle was not Pan Mei’s fault, but when we connect Pan Mei’s jealousy in the Battle of Yanmen Pass, we will find that this is Something fishy.

Pan Mei was a close confidant of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, so her life was saved. Although she was demoted, it could only be regarded as painless.