Records of the Three Kingdoms
Yan Liang was a senior officer of Yuan Shao. In 200 Yuan Shao sent him with Guo Tu against Baima, where Liu Yan, Cao Cao’s governor of Dong commandery, was besieged. Cao Cao came north, used Xun You’s plan to divide the Yuan army, and then Zhang Liao and Guan Yu reached the front. Guan Yu saw Yan Liang’s standard, rode through the host, stabbed him, and came back with the head. None of the Yuan officers could stop him. That is the account in Guan Yu’s biography. Yan Liang has no biography of his own. His courtesy name and his life before this battle are not recorded.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The novel first has Yan Liang cut down Song Xian and Wei Xu, and Xu Huang cannot hold him. Only then does Cao Cao send Guan Yu. The blade falls and Yan Liang dies under his horse. The scene proves Guan Yu’s skill, and it becomes a moral weight when he leaves Cao Cao’s camp: he has killed a general of Yuan Shao and is returning to Liu Bei, who was then Yuan Shao’s guest.
Reference: Wikipedia · Yan Liang