Yang Ang

Yang Ang (onoyomi Yō Kō) is a general during the Late Han Dynasty who served Zhang Lu. He fought against Cao Cao at Yangping Gate and died defending the pass.

Roles in Games
Yang Ang first appears in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends at Jiameng Gate, where he, Yang Ren, and Yang Song defend the forts blocking access to Zhang Lu. Ang defends the center fortress guarding his lord. He also appears at Yangping Gate, guarding the eastern passage leading to the pass. When the Wei forces reach him, Shu officers Li Yan and Lei Tong arrive as reinforcements. In Dynasty Warriors 7 Yang Ang returns towards Yangping Gate, this time defending the fort directly forth of the Wei army camp. Within the Xtreme Legends expansion, Zhang Lu's side of the battle can be fought and here Yang Ang stays in the main base, defending his master.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms portrays Yang Ang as one of Zhang Lu's generals. Military-wise, he is decent with his Leadership and War stats in the high 60s to low 70s. His other stats, however, fall short. With Domestic and Politic stats around the mid 30s to low 40s, he is not very good at maintaining or expanding infrastructure.

In Sangokushi Eiketsuden, he serves as an enemy under Zhang Lu. His unit is a catapult-based one and he is shown to have a role at Jiameng Gate.

Historical Information
Yang Ang's birth date and place of origin were unknown. He was first mentioned as part of the military detachment that Ma Chao borrowed from Zhang Lu in 213. Ma Chao planned to attack the city of Jicheng in Liang Province in order to begin reclaiming the territory that had been loosely united under his father. Yang Ang helped to capture Jicheng after forcing it's governor Wei Kang to surrender. Ang was ordered by Ma Chao to execute Wei Kang, which led to Yang Fu and other officials who had surrendered to instead rise up in rebellion against Ma Chao and Zhang Lu's forces. upon their defeat, Ma Chao accompanied Yang Ang back toHanzhong, with Ma Chao officially becoming a general under Zhang Lu.

During Liu Bei's conquest of Yi Province, it was said in historical records that Yang Ang was amongst the generals present at Jiameng pass who faced off against Huo Jun until Ma Chao's defection to Liu Bei's side. Ang's presence is not formally confirmed as there is confusion about names of the officers present. What was more certain, however, is that in 215 Zhang Lu sent Yang Ang to build up the defenses at Yangping pass. He was sent there to defend against Cao Cao who was preparing to attack Zhang Lu and capture Hanzhong. Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei accompanied Yang Ang, and and the two subsequently began setting up earthen blockades and training troops against Cao Cao's forces. These defenses initially held, with Cao Cao's vanguard initially being forced to retreat, but when Cao Cao launched a night assault, Yang Ang and Zhang Wei were caught off guard. Some of Cao Cao's forces accidentally stumbled upon Zhang Wei's camp and overwhelmed his forces, forcing him to flee. As the remaining defender, Yang Ang was overwhelmed and slain in battle by Cao Cao's generals, Gao Zuo and Xie Piao.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Yang Ang makes his only appearance in the novel in Chapter 67, where his actions mirror history fairly closely. He accompanied Zhang Wei and Yang Ren to defend Yangping Pass. They scored an initial success by attacking Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He's camp while their forces were still exhausted from marching to the pass, crushing the Wei vanguard. Yang Ang and his comrades proceeded to dig in, causing Cao Cao to feign a retreat. The trick lured Yang Ang out against Yang Ren's advice. The following day would prove to be quite foggy, and Yang Ang's forces were forced to fortify the path and wait till the fog had dissipated. While waiting out the fog, Xiahou Yuan managed to accidentally locate Yang Ang's camp and capture it from its few remaining defenders. In the confusion, Ang missed Yang Ren's attempt to retake the camp, arriving long after Ren and Zhang Wei had to retreat. Yang Ang was caught between Xiahou Yuan's forces and Cao Cao's forces, finally falling at Zhang He's hands. When Zhang Lu threatened to execute Yang Ren for his failure, Yang Ren shifted the blame to Yang Ang for disregarding his advice.