Yue Jin () (died 218), courtesy name Wenqian, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was noted as much for his short stature as for his valour and ferocity on the battlefield. Yue Jin participated in most of Cao Cao's early military exploits, and gained multiple successes in the campaigns against Lü Bu, Liu Bei, remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels, and Yuan Shao and his associates. He was particularly praised as a capable vanguard, but his most famed accomplishment came with his supporting role in the defence of Hefei against Sun Quan's forces at the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford of 214–215.
Chen Shou, who wrote the third-century historical text Sanguozhi, named Yue Jin as one of the Five Elite Generals of his time, alongside Yu Jin, Zhang He, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.(評曰：太祖建茲武功，而時之良將，五子為先。于禁最號毅重，然弗克其終。張郃以巧變為稱，樂進以驍果顯名，而鑒其行事，未副所聞。或注記有遺漏，未如張遼、徐晃之備詳也。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Early life Yue Jin was born in Yangping Commandery (), which is present-day Qingfeng County, Henan,(樂進字文謙，陽平衞國人也。) Sanguozhi vol. 17. in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was small-sized and short but was known for his courage. When he first came to serve under the warlord Cao Cao, he was appointed as a clerk who handled administrative tasks in camp.(容貌短小，以膽烈從太祖，為帳下吏。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Around early 190, when Cao Cao was raising troops to join the campaign against the warlord Dong Zhuo who controlled the Han central government, Yue Jin was tasked to recruit soldiers for Cao Cao's camp, in which he brought back 1,000 men from his hometown. For his effort, Yue Jin was put into test as an acting Major () and Formation Breaking Commandant ().(遣還本郡募兵，得千餘人，還為軍假司馬、陷陣都尉。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Solidifying Cao Cao's position In 194, the warlord Lü Bu occupied Cao Cao's base, Yan Province, with help from defectors from Cao Cao's side when Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province. Yue Jin and Cao Hong were assigned to lead the vanguard when Cao Cao's army returned to take back Yan Province. Cao Cao and Lü Bu fought several battles around Puyang, resulting in mainly defeats for Cao Cao, but Yue Jin's contributions in those battles were still recognised by his superior. Yue Jin also participated in Cao Cao's battles against Zhang Chao at Yongqiu (雍丘; present-day Qi County, Henan) and Qiao Rui () at Ku County (苦縣; present-day Luyi County, Henan), in which he served as the vanguard and was the first to break the enemy's defences in both battles. He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guangchang Village (), and became highly valued in Cao Cao's camp.(從擊呂布於濮陽，張超於雍丘，橋蕤於苦，皆先登有功，封廣昌亭侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Between 197 and 198, Yue Jin followed Cao Cao to subdue Zhang Xiu, who feigned surrender and defeated Cao Cao at the Battle of Wancheng. Much hardships were experienced during the campaign, but Yue Jin, along Yu Jin, was recorded to have earned merit during the battles. Due to the fact that Zhang Xiu was backed by Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, Cao Cao realised that Zhang Xiu could not be defeated within a short period of time. Under the rationale that Liu Bei was asking for help in Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Jiangsu) to fight Lü Bu, Cao Cao finally relinquished his war against Zhang Xiu, and sent envoys to ask Zhang Xiu to form an alliance, which Zhang Xiu agreed upon the term that a marriage be arranged between the two families. During the siege of Xiapi, Yue Jin led a separate command and defeated one of Lü Bu's deputies outside the city before he joined the encirclement.(從征張繡於安衆，圍呂布於下邳，破別將， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
After Lü Bu's defeat and death, Cao Cao focused on preparation to the upcoming war with his rival Yuan Shao, and Yue Jin was assigned to the border. When the warlord of Bing Province, Zhang Yang, vacillated on the predicament upon choosing Cao Cao or Yuan Shao as his ally, his subordinate Yang Chou () murdered him and took his head to Cao Cao. However, Sui Gu (), a former Heishan bandit, killed Yang Chou when he was on his way to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan). In order to merge Zhang Yang's remnants, Yue Jin intercepted Sui Gu when the latter attempted to go back north, and successfully hunted down his prey and took control of the Bing Province troops. He then brought his troops to join Cao Cao's eastern campaign against Liu Bei, who had just killed Che Zhou (), the Governor of Xu Province, and taken control of the province. Within a very short time, Liu Bei was defeated, and his aide, Guan Yu, was captured alive. Yue Jin was promoted to Colonel Who Attacks Bandits () for his achievements.(... 擊眭固於射犬，攻劉備於沛，皆破之，拜討寇校尉。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Cao Cao's northern campaign
Skirmishes Yue Jin participated in the pivotal Battle of Guandu in 200, in which Cao Cao pitted his forces against those of his rival, Yuan Shao. Before Cao Cao led the main army to the frontline, Yue Jin was assigned several thousand soldiers to reinforce Yu Jin at Yan Ford (延津; north of present-day Yanjin County, Henan). After rendezvousing with Yu Jin, they selected 5,000 elite soldiers composed of infantry and cavalry, and raided Yuan Shao's detached encampments along the Yellow River southwest from Yan Ford. They snaked up to as far as Ji County (汲縣; 25 li southwest of present-day Weihui, Henan), and crossed the river to raid Huojia County to the north. In all, they had set fire to some 30 enemy camps, killed thousands of enemies, captured several thousand men alive, and forced the surrender of some 20 officers, including He Mao () and Wang Mo ().(渡河攻獲嘉，還， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Major engagements Later on, Cao Cao ordered Yu Jin to camp at Yuanwu County (原武縣; present-day Yuanyang County, Henan) and summoned Yue Jin back. A series of engagements were fought, and some of Yuan Shao's top generals had been killed, but Yuan Shao still possessed a huge army, which put much pressure on Cao Cao. The war had been dragging on for months, and Cao Cao's supplies nearly depleted. When Cao Cao considered retreating, he received a piece of intelligence concerning the whereabouts of his enemy's food storage, which was guarded by Yuan Shao's general Chunyu Qiong. Determined to bet on the information, he picked Yue Jin as his vanguard in this desperate mission, and sneaked their way to Wuchao (烏巢; in present-day Yanjin, Henan) with 5,000 troops composed of mainly cavalry. Under the cover of night, they were unopposed until they arrived the enemy encampment, where they set fire to Yuan Shao's supplies. Chunyu Qiong attempted to fight back with his larger force, but was slain by Yue Jin in the chaos. The success of this raid in Wuchao enabled Cao Cao to score a decisive victory over Yuan Shao's at Guandu.(... 從擊袁紹於官渡，力戰，斬紹將淳于瓊。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
After the ultimate defeat and subsequent death of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao marched his troops northwards into Ji Province and You Province to stamp out Yuan Shao's heirs and supporters. Cao Cao's progress was checked at the Battle of Liyang (黎陽; northeast of present-day Xun County, Henan), where the war entered a stalemate when the two forces fought on the open field.Sanguozhi vol. 6. Yue Jin then targeted the unit of Yan Jing (), an officer under Yuan Shang, routed it. Yan Jing's defeat frightened the Yuan brothers, who went back into the city and fled during the night. Yue was promoted to acting Guerrilla General (). He then followed Cao Cao to besiege Ye (in present-day Handan, Hebei) and breached the city's walls. During the Battle of Nanpi, Yuan Tan personally led a counter-offensive, and inflicted considerable damage to Cao Cao's elite cavalry force: the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry (). Nevertheless, Yue Jin climbed the city wall and opened the east gate, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry took its revenge by taking Yuan Tan's head.(從擊譚、尚於黎陽，斬其大將嚴敬，行游擊將軍。別擊黃巾，破之，定樂安郡。從圍鄴，鄴定，從擊袁譚於南皮，先登，入譚東門。譚敗，別攻雍奴，破之。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
In 206, Cao Cao wrote a memorial to Emperor Xian, praising the efforts of Yue Jin, Yu Jin and Zhang Liao in the campaigns in northern China. Yue Jin was promoted to General Who Breaks and Charges () by the Han imperial court in recognition of his contributions.(建安十一年，太祖表漢帝，稱進及于禁、張遼曰：「武力旣弘，計略周備，質忠信一，守執節義，每臨戰攻，常為督率，奮彊突固，無堅不陷，自援枹鼓，手不知倦。又遣別征，統御師旅，撫衆則和，奉令無犯，當敵制決，靡有遺失。論功紀用，宜各顯寵。」於是禁為虎威；進，折衝；遼，盪寇將軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Winding-up When a local gentry and relative of the Yuans, Gao Gan, reneged on his surrender and revolted, Cao Cao despatched Yue Jin to suppress the rebellion. Yue Jin outflanked Gao Gan by adopting a circuitous route to the north of Gao's position.(進別征高幹，從北道入上黨，回出其後。) Sanguozhi vol. 17. However, Gao Gan outmanoeuvred his opponent by retreating to Hu Pass (壺關; in present-day Huguan County, Shanxi), where he relied on the mountain pass's strong defences. Several battles were fought on the field, resulting in defeats on Gao Gan's side, but Gao Gan remained defiant, and Yue Jin was unable to take the pass alone. When the reinforcements led by Cao Cao arrived, they breached the pass and killed every defender. Later, Yue Jin and Li Dian were assigned as vanguards to attack a pirate force led by Guan Cheng (), whom they defeated and forced into surrender. As Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) had yet to be pacified, Cao Cao ordered Yue Jin to garrison at Yangzhai County (陽翟縣; present-day Yuzhou, Henan) later.(進別征高幹，從北道入上黨，回出其後。幹等還守壺關，連戰斬首。幹堅守未下，會太祖自征之，乃拔。太祖征管承，軍淳于，遣進與李典擊之。承破走，逃入海島，海濵平，荊州未服，遣屯陽翟。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
War with Sun Quan After Cao Cao successfully unified central and northern China under his control in 208, he assembled an army to attack Liu Bei, who had allied with the warlord Sun Quan, who controlled the Jiangdong region in southern China. However, he was decisively defeated by the allies at the Battle of Red Cliffs later that year and was forced to retreat north.
Battle of Jiangling
As a result of the disastrous defeat at the Red Cliffs, Cao Cao's huge army was scattered around the northern plain above the Yangtze River. Yue Jin was ordered to station inside the city of Xiangyang, in anticipation of counterstrikes by Sun Quan's general Zhou Yu. When Liu Bei's general Guan Yu was attempting to cut the connection between Jiangling County and Xiangyang, he was stymied by Yue Jin, who led his army out and defeated him. During Guan Yu's second attempt to block the waterway of Xiangyang, Yue Jin attacked Guan Yu again on the water near Xiakou (夏口; in present-day Wuhan, Hubei) and drove him away.(後從平荊州，留屯襄陽，擊關羽、蘇非等，皆走之， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
The war dragged on and Cao Cao's side had suffered high casualties in the battles. Knowing Cao Cao's position in Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) had worsened, Yue Jin raised an army in Xiangyang and hurried down to Jiangling County, where he attacked and won several skirmishes over Liu Bei's forces. Yue Jin forced the barbarians of southern Jing Province to surrender, and mimicked Guan Yu's infiltration strategy to attack Du Pu () and Liang Da (), the respective chiefs of Linju () and Jingyang () counties, which were Liu Bei's territories. Yue Jin defeated and totally routed the forces of Du Pu and Liang Da.(... 南郡諸縣山谷蠻夷詣進降。又討劉備臨沮長杜普、旌陽長梁大，皆大破之。後從征孫權，假進節。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
Battle of Xiaoyao Ford