Yang Qin杨钦

History vs. fiction

Yang Qin. A general under Yang Yao, fierce and brave, surrendered to Song and persuaded Yu Duan and others to surrender. Yang Yao's younger brother, surrendered the water stronghold to Song. Yang Yao's younger brother, secretly...

• based on factYang Yao's general, fierce and brave, after surrendering to Song, persuaded Yu Duan and others to surrender. | Yang Yao's younger brother, surrendered the water stronghold to Song. ; Yang Yao's younger brother, secretly defected to Yue Fei. ; Yang Yao's cousin, secretly helped Yue Fei by presenting a map

  Historically, Yang Qin indeed existed. His deeds are recorded in historical sources such as the History of Song. For example, the Biography of Yue Fei records: "Fei then went to Dingzhou. Huang Zuo recruited Yang Qin to surrender. Fei was delighted and said: 'Yang Qin is fierce and brave; now that he has surrendered, the rebels' core has collapsed.' He appointed Qin as Wu Yi Daifu and treated him with great courtesy, then sent him back to the lake. Two days later, Qin persuaded Yu Duan, Liu Shen, and others to surrender. Fei pretended to scold Qin: 'If the rebels have not all surrendered, why have you come back?' He had him beaten and sent him back into the lake. That night, they attacked the rebel camp and subdued tens of thousands of their troops. Yao refused to submit, floating on the lake in a boat with wheels that moved swiftly, and with collision poles on the sides that shattered any official boat that approached. Fei cut down trees from Junshan to make huge rafts, blocked the harbors and channels, and floated rotten wood and tangled grass downstream. He chose shallow places and sent skilled cursers to provoke the rebels, cursing as they went. The rebels angrily chased them, but the grass and wood accumulated, and the boat wheels were blocked and could not move. Fei quickly sent troops to attack; the rebels fled to the harbor but were blocked by rafts. The official troops, riding on rafts, covered with oxhide to shield against arrows and stones, used huge logs to smash the rebel boats, destroying them all. Yao jumped into the water and was captured and beheaded by Niu Gao. Fei entered the rebel stronghold, and the remaining chiefs exclaimed in awe: 'How divine!' and all surrendered. Fei personally visited the stockades to comfort them, released the old and weak to return to farming, and registered the young and strong as soldiers. Indeed, the rebels were pacified in eight days. Zhang Jun sighed: 'Yue Hou's divine calculations!' Initially, the rebels relied on their stronghold, saying: 'To attack us, one must fly here.' By then, people took his words as an omen. They captured over a thousand rebel boats, and the Ezhou naval force became the best along the river. An edict appointed him as Zhizhi of Qi and Huang, but Fei declined military affairs due to eye disease, but it was not permitted. He was promoted to Jianxiao Shaobao and enfeoffed as a duke. He returned to the army at Ezhou and was appointed as Zhaotaoshi of Jinghu South and North and Xiangyang circuits." In the novel "The Story of Yue Fei", Chapter 53 describes: "Now Marshal Han had received the date for the joint campaign with Marshal Yue, and ordered Yang Hu, Ruan Liang, Geng Mingchu, and Geng Mingda to each take small boats to intercept and kill, with Niu Gao providing support on the water. He himself led his two sons and various deputy generals, deploying large warships to attack. That day, Yang Yao heard that Yue Fei had come to break the 'Five Directions Formation' and that Han Shizhong was also attacking from the water, so he hurriedly ordered Yang Qin to guard the Dongting Palace, Wu Shangzhi to protect the family, and he himself, with Grand Tutor Hua Pufang and others, sailed large and small warships to meet Han Shizhong in battle."