During the battle of Mount Twin Wolves, he was surrounded by enemies. His eldest three sons had already died and his fourth and fifth sons were missing. His sixth son Yang Yanzhao asked the seventh son to seek aid while he tried to fight a way out for the father. Feeling hopeless, Yang Ye saw in a distance a headstone on the ground. The name on it was Li Ling, a famous Han Dynasty general who in 99BC was forced to lead an army of 5,000 to attack the 80,000-men strong Xiongnu army from the north. Fighting valiantly for over 10 days and killing over 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, Li received no reinforcement and defected to his enemy in the end, resulting in the execution of his entire family back home. Refusing to become another Li Ling, Yang Ye decided to commit suicide by ramming his head on the stele.