生平

開皇元年（581年），立為漢王。

開皇十二年（592年），封為雍州牧，加上柱國、右衛大將軍，轉左衛大將軍。

開皇十七年（597年），任并州（今山西太原）總管，領地西起太行山，東至渤海，北達燕門關，南距黃河的52州，楊堅很寵愛這幼子，特授予楊諒遇事不必拘于律令限制，可自行行事的特權。

開皇十八年（598年）高句麗嬰陽王高元率騎兵萬余進擾遼西，被營州總管韋衝擊退，隋文帝遂命楊諒、上柱國王世積為行軍元帥，高熲為漢王長史，周羅睺為水軍總管，率大軍30萬，進攻高句麗。強渡遼水又時逢雨季，軍中疫病流行，不利而還。開皇十九年（599年）突厥犯邊境，隋文帝以楊諒為行軍元帥，楊素大敗突厥。

太子楊勇被廢令楊諒心不安穩，因據守在當時天下精兵之地，心中便有了異心，上諫隋文帝說：「突厥方強，立即讓太原為重鎮，宜修武備。」隋文帝聽從。於是召了很多工人，製造兵器，貯存於并州。招僱亡命之徒，左右親戚故舊，將近數萬人。任命南梁將軍王僧辯的兒子王頍為咨議參軍，和重用以前是南陳的將軍蕭摩訶。

到蜀王楊秀因罪被廢，使得楊諒愈加不安。仁壽四年（604年）隋文帝駕崩，楊廣派車騎將軍屈突通帶著隋文帝的詔書，召楊諒回朝。楊諒知有異，不聽從遂起兵反叛。總管司馬皇甫誕勸諫不可，楊諒大怒，囚禁了皇甫誕。

王頍建議楊諒說：「大王手下將領士卒的家屬們，都在關西（函谷關以西），如果用他們當主力，就應該發動攻擊，長驅直入，直接奪取京師（首都大興），是所謂疾雷不及掩耳。如果只打算佔據北齊舊有疆域（楊諒管轄地），則應任用東方（函谷關以東）人。」楊諒不能決定，於是兼用兩種策略，宣稱「楊素謀反，要誅殺他，以清君側。」

聞喜（山西省聞喜縣）人總管府兵曹裴文安建議楊諒說：「井陘（河北省井陘縣西）以西地區（山西省），完全在大王控制之下，山東（太行山以東）武裝部隊，也由大王指揮，應該全部動員，派老弱殘兵駐守險要，但仍命他們隨時擴充土地。然後率領精銳，直入蒲津關（山西省永濟市西黃河渡口），我願充當前鋒，大王率主力繼進，閃電攻擊，挺進霸上（陝西省西安市東灞河畔）；咸陽（陝西省咸陽市）以東地區，可以從容不迫的把它平定。此時，京師震動騷擾，軍隊不能馬上集結，上下互相猜疑，人心離散。我們立即發號施令，誰敢不聽。用不了十天，大事可定。」

楊諒大喜，派大將軍余公理，從太谷（山西省太谷縣）出發，前往河陽（河南省孟州市）；大將軍綦良，從滏口（河北省武安市西南）出發，前往黎陽（河南省浚縣）；大將軍劉建，從井陘（太行八陘之五·河北省井陘縣西）出發，奪取燕趙地區（河北省）；柱國喬鐘葵從雁門（山西省代縣）出發。任命裴文安當柱國，和紇單貴、王聃、大將軍茹茹天保等率軍直指京師。到了距蒲津關一百多里處，楊諒忽然改變主意，命紇單貴破壞黃河大橋，堅守蒲州（山西省永濟縣），召回裴文安。裴文安返抵晉陽說：「軍事行動，必須詭秘神速，為的是要出敵人意料之外，大王既不親征，我又被調返，使敵人計成，大事就會永去。」楊諒不回答，任命王聃當蒲州刺史（山西省永濟縣），裴文安當晉州（山西省臨汾市），薛粹當絳州（山西省新絳縣），梁菩薩當潞州（山西省長治市），韋道正當韓州（山西省襄垣縣），張伯英當澤州（山西省晉城市）刺史。

隋煬帝派楊素率騎兵五千，襲擊王聃、紇單貴據守的蒲州，攻破，進而率步兵與騎兵共四萬取晉陽。楊諒派趙子開守高壁嶺，楊素擊敗他。楊諒得知消息大為恐懼，親率大軍在蒿澤（汾陽縣北湖泊）佈陣抵抗。不料下大雨，楊諒打算率軍撤退，王頍勸諫說：「楊素孤軍深入我方陣地，人困馬乏，大王率領精銳部隊，親自出擊，一定取得勝利。而今見到敵人就要退走，顯示我們膽怯，使軍心沮喪，更增加對方軍隊的氣焰，大王千萬不可回軍。」楊諒不聽從，退守清源（山西省清徐縣）。楊素進而發動攻擊，楊諒與之大戰，死了一萬八千人，楊諒退保晉陽，楊素四麵包圍，楊諒束手無策，請求投降，文武百官上奏楊諒罪當死，隋煬帝說：「始終是兄弟，在情不忍心，欲饒恕免其一死。」於是削為民，除其戶籍，楊諒遂被囚禁而死。兒子楊顥也因此被禁錮，宇文化及弒逆隋煬帝之時，遇害。

家庭

王妃

• 豆盧氏，隋朝上柱國、夏州總管、楚襄公豆盧勣之女

子女

• 楊顥：被禁錮，當宇文化及弒逆隋煬帝之時，遇害。

傳記文獻

• 《隋書》卷45，列傳第10

• 《北史》卷71，列傳第59

相關條目

• 隋與高句麗的戰爭

Background

It is not known exactly when Yang Liang was born, but it is known that he was the youngest of the five sons of Yang Jian and Yang Jian's wife Dugu Qieluo. As the third of his older brothers, Yang Jun, was born in 571 (the fourth, Yang Xiu, similarly has an unknown birth year) and he was already born at least by the time that Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen in 581, he would have been born sometime between 573 and 580. In 581, after Emperor Wen took the throne, he created his sons imperial princes, and Yang Liang was created the Prince of Han.

During Emperor Wens reign

Yang Liang did not participate in the campaign that destroyed rival Chen Dynasty in 589 and unified China (in which his older brothers Yang Guang the Prince of Jin and Yang Jun the Prince of Qin participated), suggesting that he was not yet old enough by that point. In 592, he was made the governor of the capital province Yong Province (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). In 597, he was made the commandant at Bing Province (并州, roughly modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), and was in charge of the 52 provinces north of the Yellow River. In 598, when Emperor Wen attacked Goguryeo, Yang Liang served as co-commander of the operation (along with the general Wang Shiji (王世積))—a campaign that ended disastrously, as a drought prevented food supplies from being sent by water, and therefore the army ran out of food. As it arrived at Liao River, the border between Sui and Goguryeo, there began to be an epidemic in the army. Further, the ships commanded by the former Chen general Zhou Luohou encountered a storm and suffered great losses. The Sui forces were forced to withdraw, although Goguryeo then sued for peace. (During the campaign, the general Gao Jiong served as Yang Liang's lieutenant, and, due to his senior status, often disobeyed the young Yang Liang, causing Yang Liang to be so displeased that he complained to his mother Empress Dugu, further straining the relationship between Empress Dugu and Gao over Gao's refusal to endorse Yang Guang, her favorite son, as crown prince, and in 599, at Empress Dugu's urging, Emperor Wen removed Gao from his post.)

In 599, when Sui forces attacked Tujue's Dulan Khan, Ashina Yongyulü, Yang Liang was nominally the overall commander of the operations, but did not go to the front. In summer 600, when Dulan Khan's successor Bujia Khan Ashina Dianjue (阿史那玷厥), who was a rival claimant to the Tujue throne to the Sui-supported Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan, attacked Sui, Yang Liang was one of the four commanders (along with his brother Yang Guang and the generals Yang Su the Duke of Yue and Shi Wansui (史萬歲) the Duke of Taiping) sent by Emperor Wen to engage Bujia Khan, and they defeated him, although Yang Liang's contribution to the campaign was unclear.

Meanwhile, Emperor Wen much favored Yang Liang, but Yang Liang was becoming ambitious and troubled by the removal of his oldest brother, Yang Yong, as crown prince in 600. (Yang Guang replaced Yang Yong as crown prince.) He therefore persuaded Emperor Wen that his headquarters at Taiyuan was the key to the defense against Tujue, so Emperor Wen permitted him to produce weapons and build up Taiyuan's defenses. Two of his trusted generals, Wang Kui (王頍) and Xiao Mohe, both of whom believed that they should have been given greater responsibility by Emperor Wen, also encouraged him to eventually consider rebelling. Yang Liang was further troubled after another brother, Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu, was deposed over charges of wastefulness in 602. (Part of the charges against Yang Xiu, which appeared to have been manufactured by Yang Guang, was that Yang Xiu secretly cursed Emperor Wen and Yang Liang, but there was no evidence indicating that Yang Xiu actually did so or that Yang Liang believed Yang Xiu did or resented Yang Xiu over it.)

Rebellion against Emperor Yang

In 604, Yang Guang became emperor (as Emperor Yang) after Emperor Wen's death. (Most traditional historians believe that Emperor Wen was murdered at Yang Guang's order, although they admit a lack of direct evidence.) Emperor Yang, apprehensive of Yang Liang's intentions, did not initially announce Emperor Wen's death, and sent the general Qutu Tong (屈突通) to Taiyuan to, using an edict in Emperor Wen's name, summon Yang Liang to the capital Daxing. However, Yang Liang figured out the edict to be a forgery, and declared a rebellion, supported by governors of 19 provinces. However, even though Wang Kui pointed out to him that he needed to make a quick election between the strategies of attacking Daxing quickly (in which case he needed to advance as fast as he could) or to try to hold his territory north of the Yellow River (in which case he needed to make certain that the generals in charge of his operations were largely people from the old territory of Northern Qi), Yang Liang could not decide which set of strategies to use, and therefore used a mixed approach. As his rationale for rebelling, he declared that Yang Su had committed treason. (As the modern historian Bo Yang pointed out, falsely accusing Yang Su of treason was an unconvincing declaration. Bo suggested that even if Yang Liang had not known about Yang Guang's involvement in Emperor Wen's death by that point, he still nevertheless should have accused Yang Guang of patricide.)

Yang Liang made initial gains, and his forces, commanded by Pei Wen'an (裴文安), quickly captured the strategically important Pu Province (蒲州, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and were poised to cross the Yellow River to attack the capital region. For reasons unclear then, Yang Liang changed his mind and destroyed the bridge over the Yellow River, stalling his own advances, although he soon advanced south from Taiyuan himself to again make another offensive. Soon, Yang Su, loyal to Emperor Yang, advanced north and met Yang Liang's forces. Against Wang's suggestion that he should engage Yang Su quickly, Yang Liang withdrew to Qingyuan (清源, near Taiyuan), thus losing initiative. Yang Su defeated him and captured Xiao Mohe, forcing him to retreat back to Taiyuan, where Yang Su put him under siege. Wang Kui committed suicide. Eventually, Yang Liang surrendered. Even though officials largely suggested that Yang Liang should be executed, Emperor Yang did not do so, but reduced him to commoner rank and put him under imprisonment. He died in imprisonment, and although it was unclear the year he died, it appeared to be not long after his capture. His son Yang Hao (楊顥, different person than Yang Jun's son who later was declared emperor) was also imprisoned, and when Emperor Yang was assassinated by the general Yuwen Huaji in 618, Yang Hao was also killed.