Yu Jin 于禁

When the Yellow Turbans rose up, Bao Xin gathered a following, and Yu Jin joined him. When Cao Cao came to govern Yan Province, Yu Jin went to him with his band, became a squad leader (dubo), and was placed under General Wang Lang. Wang Lang recommended him as a man with the talent to serve as a grand general, and Cao Cao summoned him, spoke with him, and made him a Major (jun sima). He went to Xu Province, took Guangwei, and became Commandant Who Breaks Through Formations (xianzhen duwei). Records, Wei 17 §27

When Lü Bu was attacked at Puyang, Yu Jin separately broke two of Lü Bu's camps south of the city, and he defeated Gao Ya at Shouchang. He attacked Shouzhang, Dingtao, and Lihu, and besieged Zhang Chao at Yongqiu, taking them all. In the campaign against the Yellow Turbans Liu Pi and Huang Shao, when Huang Shao and his men raided Cao Cao's camp by night, Yu Jin led his own troops against them, beheaded Huang Shao and the others, and made all their followers surrender, for which he became Colonel Who Pacifies the Caitiffs (pinglu xiaowei). At Ku he beheaded Qiao Rui and three other commanders. Records, Wei 17 §28

When Zhang Xiu, who had surrendered at Wan, rebelled again and Cao Cao was defeated and fell back to Wuyin, the army was thrown into disorder and everyone made his own way by byroads to find Cao Cao, but Yu Jin alone kept the few hundred men under him in order and withdrew while fighting. On the road he saw people who had been plundered by the Qingzhou troops, and declaring that the Qingzhou troops, whom Cao Cao had treated leniently, had instead turned to banditry, he attacked them and denounced their crimes. The Qingzhou troops ran off and accused him before Cao Cao, but Yu Jin, saying that the enemy was behind them, first dug trenches and finished setting up camp before going to see Cao Cao. Cao Cao said, "In the crisis at the Yu River I was in dire straits, yet you, General, kept your army in order amid the chaos; how could even the famous generals of old surpass this?" and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Yishou Precinct. Records, Wei 17 §29–31

He followed in attacking Zhang Xiu at Rang and capturing Lü Bu at Xiapi, and together with Shi Huan and Cao Ren he beheaded Sui Gu at Shequan. When Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shao, Yu Jin volunteered for the vanguard, held Yanjin with 2,000 foot soldiers, and fended off Yuan Shao's attack. Then, with Yue Jin and others, he took 5,000 foot and horse along the Yellow River as far as Ji and Huojia, struck Yuan Shao's detached camps, burned more than thirty strongholds, and received the surrender of more than twenty of Yuan Shao's officers. At Guandu, when Yuan Shao's archers shot from earthen mounds and the army was afraid, Yu Jin guarded the earthen mound and fought hard, and after Yuan Shao was defeated he became Lieutenant General (pian jiangjun). Records, Wei 17 §32–34

After Ji Province was pacified, Chang Xi rebelled again and Yu Jin attacked him, and Chang Xi, an old friend, came to Yu Jin to surrender. The generals said he should be sent to Cao Cao, but Yu Jin said that Cao Cao's standing order was not to pardon those who surrendered after being besieged, and, shedding tears, he beheaded him. Cao Cao sighed that it was fate that Chang Xi had come over to Yu Jin rather than to himself, and valued Yu Jin all the more. Records, Wei 17 §34–36

He became General of Tiger-like Might (huwei jiangjun) and attacked Mei Cheng together with Zang Ba and others. When Zhang Liao was locked in a standoff with Chen Lan, Yu Jin kept the provisions coming without a break, enabling Zhang Liao to behead Chen Lan and Mei Cheng. At this time Yu Jin was counted among the famous generals together with Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, Zhang He, and Xu Huang, and on each of Cao Cao's campaigns they took turns leading the vanguard and guarding the rear. He ran his army strictly and took none of the enemy's goods for himself, so he received especially large rewards, but because he governed his subordinates by the law he did not greatly win the hearts of his troops. When Cao Cao wished to take over Zhu Ling's camp, he sent Yu Jin, who commanded awe, with a few dozen horsemen to seize it, and no one dared move. He was promoted to General of the Left and granted the staff and axe of authority (jia jieyue). Records, Wei 17 §36–37

In the 24th year of Jian'an (219) Cao Cao had Cao Ren attack Guan Yu at Fan and sent Yu Jin to help him. In autumn heavy rains fell and the Han River overflowed, so that the water rose several zhang even on level ground and all seven armies of Yu Jin and the others were submerged. Yu Jin climbed to high ground with his generals and looked out over the water, but there was nowhere to escape, and when Guan Yu came to attack on large boats, he surrendered. Only Pang De refused to bend and died. Cao Cao grieved for a long time and said, "I have known Yu Jin for thirty years; how could I have imagined that in the face of danger he would prove inferior to Pang De?" Records, Wei 17 §38

Guan Yu sent the captured Yu Jin and the others to Jiangling, and when Sun Quan took Jiangling, Yu Jin came to be in Wu. When Sun Quan rode out with Yu Jin at his side, their horses' heads side by side, Yu Fan rebuked Yu Jin, asking how a surrendered captive dared ride abreast of his lord. After Cao Pi took the throne and Sun Quan declared himself a vassal, in the 8th month of the 2nd year of Huangchu (221) Sun Quan sent Yu Jin and the others back. Records, Wu 2 §26–27Records, Wu 12 §9Records, Wei 17 §39Records, Wei 2 §21 · 27

When Cao Pi summoned him, Yu Jin's beard and hair had turned white and his face was haggard, and he wept and knocked his head on the ground. Cao Pi consoled him with the old stories of Xun Linfu and Meng Mingshi and appointed him General Who Pacifies Distant Lands (anyuan jiangjun). Intending to send him as an envoy to Wu, Cao Pi had him first go north to Ye to pay his respects at the Gao Mausoleum, having arranged beforehand for the mausoleum building to be painted with scenes of Guan Yu winning the battle, Pang De in his fury, and Yu Jin surrendering. On seeing this, Yu Jin fell ill from shame and resentment and died, and he was posthumously named Marquis Li. Records, Wei 17 §39–40

In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that when Cao Cao achieved his military feats, five men stood first among the fine generals of the day, and that Yu Jin was the most renowned for being resolute and weighty, but failed to end well. Records, Wei 17 §74