Yang Jingyu - After Yang's Death

After Yang's Death

The Japanese initially buried Yang's beheaded body carelessly in the wild. It was then rumored that the Japanese commander-in-chief in the area, General Shōtoku Nozoe (野副昌德), was having nightmares and feared that it was Yang's ghost. Panicked, Kishitani ordered his men to rebury the body properly with full cemetery ritual and military respect, honoring Yang — though an enemy — "a true warrior".

Yang's death was a great blow to his remaining troops, who turned their sorrow into anger. Over the next few months, Japanese forces reported increasing attacks by "fierce, mad insurgents".

After the end of the Second World War, Yang's severed head was recovered by the People's Republic of China, rejoined to his body and reburied with full military honor. The Mengjiang County was also renamed to Jingyu County in his memory. Many traitors who betrayed Yang and contributed to his death were tracked down and executed.