Yang Feng (died 197) was a military general who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China.

Life

Yang Feng was a leader of the White Wave Bandits. Later, he became a subordinate of Li Jue. In 192, Li Jue,

Guo Si Guo Si () (died 197), also known as Guo Duo, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He assisted Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns and served as a ...

and other former followers of the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful ...

banded together and attacked the Han imperial capital,

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, and seized control of the central government and the figurehead

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

. In 195, when internal conflict broke out between Li Jue and Guo Si, the former took Emperor Xian hostage while the latter took the emperor's subjects hostage to threaten each other. During this time, Yang Feng and Song Guo (宋果), another of Li Jue's subordinates, plotted to assassinate their superior but failed and were forced to leave Chang'an. After three months, Zhang Ji managed to persuade Li Jue and Guo Si to make peace, and allow Emperor Xian to return to the old imperial capital,

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

. Yang Feng was appointed as General Who Revives Righteousness (興義將軍), after which he joined Guo Si, Yang Ding (楊定) and Dong Cheng in escorting the emperor back to Luoyang. Just as they reached the vicinity of Xinfeng (新豐) and Baling (霸陵), Guo Si changed his mind and wanted to bring Emperor Xian to Mei County (郿縣) instead. The emperor fled to Yang Feng's camp for shelter. Yang Feng, Yang Ding and Dong Cheng protected the emperor when Guo Si tried to seize him back. Guo Si retreated after his defeat, while the emperor resumed his journey to Luoyang under Yang Feng's protection. Later in 195, Li Jue and Guo Si regretted their earlier decision to let Emperor Xian leave Chang'an, so they led their troops to pursue the emperor. Yang Feng led his troops to fight Li Jue and Guo Si but lost. He then summoned the White Wave Bandits, led by Li Le (李樂), Han Xian, Hu Cai (胡才) and others, to come to Emperor Xian's aid. Xiongnu forces led by

Qubei Qubei (; pinyin: Qùbēi, 195–216) was a leader of the Southern Xiongnu and supervisor of the Five Divisions who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. An uncle to the last ''chanyu'' of the Southern Xiongnu, Huchuquan, Qubei ...

also responded to the call and came to help Emperor Xian.(李傕、郭汜既悔令天子東，乃來救段煨，因欲劫帝而西， ... 而張濟與楊奉、董承不相平，乃反合傕、汜，共追乘輿，大戰於弘農東澗。承、奉軍敗，百官士卒死者不可勝數，皆棄其婦女輜重，御物符策典籍，略無所遺。 ... 天子遂露次曹陽。承、奉乃譎傕等與連和，而密遣閒使至河東，招故白波帥李樂、韓暹、胡才及南匈奴右賢王去卑，並率其眾數千騎來，與承、奉共擊傕等，大破之，斬首數千級，乘輿乃得進。董承、李樂擁衛左右，胡才、楊奉、韓暹、去卑為後距。傕等復來戰，奉等大敗，死者甚於東澗。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 72. They continued on their journey towards Luoyang after that. Li Jue quickly returned with more troops and defeated Yang Feng and killed several officials who fled with Emperor Xian. The emperor escaped across the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

and reached Anyi (安邑). Around August 196, Emperor Xian returned to Luoyang under the escort of Yang Feng and Dong Cheng. In recognition of their contributions, he appointed Yang Feng as General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍) and ordered him to garrison at Liang State (梁國). Around the same time, the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

led his forces into Luoyang, found Emperor Xian, and escorted him to his base in Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

), which became the new imperial capital. Yang Feng tried to stop Cao Cao but could not catch up in time. After having Emperor Xian and the new central government firmly under his control, Cao Cao led his troops to attack Yang Feng in November 196 and defeated him. Xu Huang, one of Yang Feng's subordinates, surrendered and became a general under Cao Cao. While Yang Feng fled south to join the warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He decla ...

, Cao Cao proceeded to conquer Liang State (Yang Feng's previous base). After joining Yuan Shu, Yang Feng and Han Xian pillaged and looted several counties in Yang and Xu provinces. In 197, Yuan Shu wanted to declare himself emperor and desired to have a neighbouring warlord,

Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...

, as an ally. So he proposed a marriage between his son and Lü Bu's daughter. However, Lü Bu rejected the proposal after listening to Chen Gui's advice. In anger, Yuan Shu ordered his general Zhang Xun (張勳), with Yang Feng and Han Xian as his subordinates, to lead troops to attack Lü Bu. Lü Bu heeded Chen Gui's suggestion and managed to induce Yang Feng and Han Xian to turn against Yuan Shu. Yang Feng and Han Xian then joined Lü Bu in attacking Yuan Shu's forces, led by Zhang Xun, and defeated the enemy. After driving back Zhang Xun, Yang Feng and Han Xian led their men to pillage several territories until Zhongli (鍾離) before turning back. Later in 197, they were ordered by

to lead their troops to loot the warlord

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

's supplies. However Liu Bei successfully lured them into a trap and killed Yang Feng while Han Xian managed to escape.(《後漢書·卷七十二·董卓列傳第六十二》：奉、暹奔袁術，遂縱暴楊、徐間。明年，左將軍劉備誘奉斬之。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 72.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Feng 2nd-century births 197 deaths Generals during the end of the Han dynasty Han dynasty people killed in battle

Life

See also

References