Yue Fei (March 24, 1103 - January 27, 1142), courtesy name Pengju, was born in Tangyin, Xiangzhou (now Tangyin County, Henan Province). During the Southern Song Dynasty, he was a famous anti-Jin general, militarist, strategist, national hero, calligrapher, and poet, ranking first among the "Four Generals of the ZTE" in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Yue Fei joined the army four times since he was twenty years old. From the second year of Jianyan (1128) when he met Zongze to the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1141), he participated in and directed hundreds of battles, large and small.
When the Jin army attacked Jiangnan, it was unique and advocated resisting the Jin army and regaining Jiankang. In the fourth year of Shaoxing (1134), six counties of Xiangyang were recovered. In the sixth year of Shaoxing (1136), he led the Northern Expedition and successfully captured Shangzhou, Guozhou and other places.
In the tenth year of Shaoxing (1140), Wanyan Zongbi destroyed the alliance and attacked the Song Dynasty. Yue Fei sent his troops to the northern expedition. The people of the two rivers rushed to tell each other, and the rebels from all over the country responded one after another and attacked the Jin army. The Yuejia Army successively regained Zhengzhou, Luoyang and other places, defeated the Jin army in Yancheng and Yingchang, and marched into Zhuxian Town. However, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou and Prime Minister Qin Hui insisted on seeking peace and urged their teachers with twelve "gold-character plaques".
During the peace negotiations between the Song and Jin Dynasties, Yue Fei was falsely accused by Qin Hui, Zhang Jun and others and imprisoned. In January 1142, he was killed together with his eldest son Yue Yun and general Zhang Xian on trumped-up charges.
Another anti-golden general, Han Shizhong, went to question Qin Hui on what basis he said that Yue Fei had rebelled. Qin Hui could not provide any evidence, so he shamelessly said: "There is no reason."
Han Shizhong angrily said to He said: "How can you conquer the world with three words?" In early 1142, Song Gaozong and Qin Hui killed Yue Fei. At that time, Yue Feigang was 39 years old.
After Yue Fei was killed, Lin'an jailer Kai Shun secretly buried his remains. After the death of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne, and Yue Fei's injustice was vindicated. People reburied Yue Fei's remains on Qixia Ridge by the West Lake, and later built a Yue Temple to the east of Yue Fei's tomb. During the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei was granted the title of King of Hubei.
Yue Fei was an outstanding commander-in-chief of the Southern Song Dynasty. He valued the people's resistance to the Jin Dynasty and concluded the "Union Heshuo" plan, advocating that the civilian anti-Jin Dynasty rebels north of the Yellow River and the Song army cooperate with each other to regain lost territory;
He runs the army with clear rewards and punishments, strict discipline, and he can be considerate of his subordinates and lead by example. The "Yue Family Army" he leads is known as "if you freeze to death, you will not tear down the house, and if you starve to death, you will not take captives." The Jin army once commented that "it is easy to shake the mountains, but it is difficult to shake the Yue family's army" to show their sincere admiration for the Yue family's army.
Extended information:
1. Introduction to Yue Fei's Northern Expedition:
In 1127, when Jingkang was humiliated, the Jin soldiers attacked Kaifeng and the Northern Song Dynasty fell.
In the spring of 1134 (the fourth year of Shaoxing), Yue Fei wrote to the Song Dynasty to request the Northern Expedition to recover the lost territory. In May, the Yue family's army crossed the river from Ezhou (now Wuhan, Hubei) and began the Northern Expedition. In the first battle, Yingzhou (today's Zhongxiang, Hubei) was captured, and then the troops were divided into two groups. Yue Fei ordered Zhang Xian to attack Suizhou, while he led the main force to Xiangyang Prefecture (today's Xiangyang, Hubei).
In July, in order to prevent the Yue family army from continuing to move north, the Jin Dynasty sent reinforcements and tens of thousands of troops to join the defeated general Li Cheng. They lined up more than 30 camps in the northwest of Dengzhou in an attempt to block the Song army's northward advance. The Yue family army fought bravely, defeated the Jin and puppet Qi coalition forces in one fell swoop, and took advantage of the victory to capture Dengzhou. Yue Fei then divided his troops to regain Tangzhou (now Tanghe, Henan) and Xinyang one after another. In August, Yue Fei was promoted to the military governor of Jingyuan Army by Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty.
In 1136 (the sixth year of Shaoxing), the Northern Expedition was launched again, occupying Yiyang and Luoyang. Later, due to fighting alone, he was forced to withdraw to Ezhou. Yue Fei's ambition was not fulfilled during this Northern Expedition, so he wrote "Man Jiang Hong". In 1140 (the tenth year of Shaoxing), Jin Wushu invaded the south. Yue Fei sent troops to defeat the Jin soldiers, regained Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and entered Zhuxian Town, which was only forty-five miles away from Feng. The morale of the Yue family army was high and they shouted "Go straight to Huanglong".
In the subsequent anti-Jin war, Yue Fei achieved greater victory, but Song Gaozong Zhao Gou and Prime Minister Qin Hui began to frame Yue Fei in order to completely realize the purpose of controlling the army and suppressing the main war faction. Reluctantly, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty sought peace and summoned Yue Fei back to Beijing with the 12th degree gold medal.
In 1141 (the eleventh year of Shaoxing), Yue Fei's Northern Expedition failed due to political reasons, and Yue Fei was also killed.
Emperor Gaozong and Qin Hui actually poisoned Yue Fei to death in Fengbo Pavilion on unfounded charges such as "prompting the army to conquer Jiqi" and "criticizing Chengyu". Yue Fei was only 39 years old when he died.
2. Later generations’ evaluation:
Yue Fei’s resistance to the Jin Dynasty was carried out when the Jurchen nobles looted and killed in the war against the Southern Song Dynasty, causing serious damage to the local economy. He protected the people's lives and property and safeguarded the high level of economic and cultural development in the Central Plains region, which was in the interests of the people. He was just and his achievements are indelible. Yue Fei was honest and upright throughout his life and never cared about personal gains and losses. Therefore, Yue Fei should be an outstanding anti-gold hero with excellent qualities.
Yue Fei was honest and upright throughout his life and never cared about personal gains and losses. Someone asked him: "When will the world be at peace?" Yue Fei said: "If civil servants do not love money and military ministers are not afraid of death, then the world will be at peace!".
He persisted in resisting the Jin Dynasty throughout his life, fought in more than a hundred battles, large and small, without losing a single battle, and protected the lives and property of the people of the Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, he was respected by people of all generations.
He wrote the masterpiece "Man Jiang Hong". "I am so angry that my head is full of anger, and the rain is resting at the corner. I look up, look up to the sky and roar, my heart is strong. Thirty years of fame and dust, eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Don't wait for a while, your young head will turn white, and you will feel empty and sad.
The shame of Jingkang has not yet snowed; the hatred of the ministers will be destroyed. I drove a long chariot to break through the gap in the Helan Mountain. I was hungry and drank the blood of the Xiongnu. "
Yue Fei, together with Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi, and Han Shizhong, is also known as the "Four Generals of Zhongxing in the Southern Song Dynasty".
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