Yu Jin

Yu Jin (died between September 221 and January 222), courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese general who served under the warlord Cao Cao during the end of the Han dynasty. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the eastern Han dynasty, and fought in many of the campaigns which established his position as a central figure in the period. In 219, Yu Jin was tasked with leading forces to relieve Cao Cao's general Cao Ren, who was being besieged in Fancheng by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, but his armies were destroyed in a flood due to heavy rains. Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu and became a prisoner-of-war, but was transferred to the custody of another warlord, Sun Quan, after Sun Quan's forces captured Guan Yu's bases in late 219. Sun Quan treated Yu Jin like a guest and in 221 sent him back to the state of Cao Wei, which was founded in late 220 by Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi pardoned Yu Jin and restored him to the position of a general. However, Yu Jin died later that year in regret after visiting Cao Cao's tomb, where he saw illustrations of the Battle of Fancheng depicting his surrender to Guan Yu. Chen Shou, who wrote the third-century historical text Sanguozhi, named Yu Jin as one of the Five Elite Generals of his time, alongside Zhang He, Yue Jin, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.