Fact1: film is set in early Northern Song dynasty of northeastern China, Fact2: Former Northern Han general and patriarch of Yang clan Yang Ye pledges allegiance after Northern Han 's fall, Fact3: Yang 's seventh son participated in martial arts tournament with father 's rival Pan Renmei 's son Yang Yanzhao 's place to win Zhou 's former princess Chai Meirong 's hand in marriage, Fact4: Khitan army hopes to take revenge on Yang Clan and followers for past defeat, Fact5: Yang Yanping set out with small band of Yang Clan 's elite soldiers to fight through Led by eldest son army of thousands to reach to Wolf Mountain
Output: The film is set in the early Northern Song dynasty, AD 986, of northeastern China. Former Northern Han general and the patriarch of the Yang clan Yang Ye pledges allegiance to the new Han Chineseruled Song regime after Northern Hans fall. Years later Yangs seventh son, Yang Yansi, participated in a martial arts tournament with his fathers rival Pan Renmeis son Pan Bao in his sixth brother Yang Yanzhaos place to win Later Zhous former princess Chai Meirongs who is Yang Yanzhaos childhood sweetheart hand in marriage, which ended in the latters death. The following morning Yang and Pan meet with the emperor about the issue; Yang executes 30 whiplashes to his young sons as punishment. Later, Songs border stations are burned, signaling an invasion from the Khitanruled Liao regime. The Khitan army hopes to take its revenge on the Yang Clan and their followers for a past defeat that killed a Khitan general ten years previously. It was noted that the leader of the invading Khitan army is Yelu Yuan, son of the deceased Khitan general. Due to politics and Pan Baos death, Pan Renmei is awarded with 50,000 troops to repel the Khitan army. As punishment, Gen. Yang is given a lesser taskto lead the charge and be the scout. When the two armies meet, Pan Renmeis lack of experience and inept leadership causes chaos among the Song army, and the Khitan forces emerge with a decisive victory. All the while Gen. Yang is trapped behind enemy lines in an abandoned town in front of Wolf Mountain. The Khitan army surrounds the town, allowing no one to leave. Pan, however, refuses to send troops to rescue Yang as revenge. This leaves Yang Yes wife, She Saihua, devastated as she sends her seven sons to rescue him. It is later revealed that this is exactly what Yelu Yuan wanted, and the sons fall into his deadly trap. Led by the eldest son, Yang Yanping, the seven brothersincluding the two youngest, who unlike their brothers have never seen combatset out with a small band of Yang Clans elite soldiers to fight through an army of thousands to reach to the Wolf Mountain. When they finally arrive in the town, the Khitan army starts bombarding it with catapults and unleashes a fierce attack. The seven escape with their father, but are the only ones of the clan to survive; all the soldiers with them are killed. In the escape the father is wounded with a poisoned arrow. and he ultimately kills himself. The sons decide to bring their fathers body home for a proper burial and to allow their mother to see her beloved husband one last time. Before sending off the seven sons, She Saihua visits a fortune teller, who gives her a slip of paper saying: Seven will set off, six will return. By the end of the film, Yang Yansi dies after Pans archers fill him full of arrows under his orders after he escaped from Wolf Mountain, and Yelu Yuan personally hunts Yang Yes surviving sons and kills five of them. However, Yang Yanzhao alone defeats and kills Yelu in combat, seemingly proving the prediction wrong. It turns out, though, that the message was correct; what it actually meant was that Yang Yanzhao, who was son 6, was the one who would return and have a greater destiny than his siblings. He returned with his fathers body, the brothers weapons and Yelu Yuans severed head. Although four of Yang Yes sons bodies were recovered, two had never been found. After his fathers and brothers funerals, Yang Yanzhao marries Chai Meirong. His victory over Yelu Yuan redeemed his fathers failure to stop the Khitan army, and the Khitan empress had to halt her assault on the Song empire due to the loss of her general. Because of the sons courageous actions, Yang Yanzhao rises to his late fathers position as general and the Yang Clan developed a legendary reputation in China.