Yang Guangmei first followed general
Guo Wei under
Later Han. After Guo Wei overthrew Later Han to found the
Later Zhou, he followed the future
Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou in conquering southern
Anhui and became a governor (刺史) of Baizhou (白州). As an old acquaintance of
Emperor Taizu of Song, who overthrew Later Zhou and founded the
Song dynasty, Yang Guangmei was promoted to Military Messenger of
Qingzhou in 962. Yang Guangmei led a modest and simple life and won the hearts of his constituents, and when he was asked to come back to the capital in 964, hundreds of citizens begged him to stay, blocking the way until soldiers started beating the leaders. He was one of the military commanders in the conquest of
Later Shu Kingdom and also participated in the conquest of
Northern Han Kingdom during
Emperor Taizong's reign, becoming a
jiedushi. He was generous to his subordinates and former friends; when he died in 978 from an illness, his family was left penniless. ==References==