The army of the Song dynasty was in the heat of a seesaw battle with the invading armies of a militant nomad state - the Great Liao from China's north.  In the Song army, there was a family of generals named Yang, who fought hard and victoriously in many a battle against the invading enemy. However, they were either sabotaged by the capitulation wing of the Song Court or distrusted by the Song Emperor. In a battle of Jin Sha Tan, the Yang army was defeated by the Liao with tremendous losses: all but three of the eight brother generals perished. One of the survived quit fighting and became a monk; another was captured by the enemy and became the Liao's first son-in-law. Yang Yanzhao was the only male of his generation to lead the Yang Family army and therefore made its Commander-in-Chief. Opera Wu Tai Shan retold the meeting of Yang Yande and Yang Yanzhao in Wu Tai Shan.