Yang Guozhong

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Yang Guozhong
Biographical information
Born	c. 700 Great Tang
Died	15 July 756 Mawei Station, Great Tang
Species	Human
Political information
Affiliations	Tang dynasty Order of the Ancients Golden Turtles

Yang Guozhong (楊國忠; c. 700 – 756), born Yang Zhao (楊釗), was a leader of the Golden Turtles who acted as a high official in the government of Tang dynasty. In his official posts of Chancellor of the Right (右相) and Secretary of the Ministry of Culture (文部尚書), he was one of Emperor Xuanzong's last prime ministers.

His tenure, secured through nepotism by his cousin Yang Guifei, was marked by pervasive corruption and abuses of power. He was most infamous for his intractable feud with the jiedushi An Lushan, who he frequently accused to the Emperor of plotting treason, and thereby instigating him into rebellion. Their antipathy went deeper, for they were secret rivals within the Golden Turtle organization itself. Whether the rumours he spread were justified all along or they formed a self-fulfilling prophecy, schism within their secret society spilled over into a nation-wide civil war. In 755, Lushan established a splinter faction called the Yeluohe, which he organized as an elite force in his massive army, and began his devastating march on Chang'an under the false pretext of ousting Guozhong to save the Tang.

Despite Lushan's capture of Luoyang in early 756, his forces were still kept at bay from the imperial capital with the stalwart defence of Tong Pass, commanded by Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing. Guozhong made the critical error of sabotaging this by orchestrating the wrongful executions of the two commanders, leaving Chang'an entirely exposed to Lushan's army. With the Fall of Chang'an in July, Guozhong fled from the city with the Emperor and Yang Guifei, but he and his cousin were blamed by the soldiers escorting them for the years of escalating tragedies and disasters. At Mawei Station, their guards mutinied and assassinated them.

Behind the scenes

Historically, Yang Gouzhong was the child of Yang Xun and Lady Zhang, not Lady Zhang's brother and Empress Wu's lover, Zhang Yizhi, and an unknown woman. ^{[citation needed]}

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Dynasty (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One (mentioned only)