Yue Fei (1103-1141) was a military strategist and national hero in the Southern Song Dynasty. The word Pengju was from Tangyin, Xiangzhou (now Henan). When he was young, he was diligent and studious, and he developed good martial arts. At the age of 19, he joined the army to resist Liao. Soon after, due to his father's death, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown to observe his filial piety. In 1126, the Jin army invaded the Central Plains on a large scale. Yue Fei joined the army again and began his military career in fighting against the Jin army and protecting his family and the country. Legend has it that before Yue Fei left, his mother Yao tattooed the four characters "Loyalty to Serve the Country" on his back, which became a creed that Yue Fei followed throughout his life.

After Yue Fei surrendered, he was quickly promoted to Bingyilang due to his bravery in combat. At this time, Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, was besieged by the Jin army. Yue Fei followed Deputy Marshal Zong Ze to the rescue and defeated the Jin army many times. He was appreciated by Zong Ze and praised him for his "wisdom, courage and talent, which Gu Liang generals cannot defeat." In the same year, the Jin army broke through Kaifeng and captured the two emperors Hui and Qin, and the Northern Song Dynasty fell. In May of the second year of Jingkang, King Zhao Gou of Kang ascended the throne as Gaozong, moved his capital to Lin 'an and established the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei wrote to Gaozong, demanding that the lost territory be recovered and was dismissed. Yue Fei then switched to Zhangsuo, the commander of Hebei Province, and served as the commander of the Central Army. He fought against the Jin Army in the Taihang Mountains and made many military achievements. Later, he returned to Tokyo to stay in Zongze, and became a martial arts officer due to his military exploits. After Zong Ze's death, he succeeded Du Chong from Tokyo to guard Kaifeng.

In the third year of Jianyan (1129), Jin general Wu Shu led the Jin army to invade the south again. Du Chong led his army to abandon Kaifeng and flee south. Yue Fei had no choice but to follow him south. In the autumn of that year, Wu Shu continued his southern invasion, and Du Chong, who was transferred to Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), surrendered without fighting. The Jin army was able to cross the natural danger of the Yangtze River and soon captured Lin 'an, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing), Mingzhou and other places. Gaozong was forced to go into exile at sea. Yue Fei led his lone army to fight behind enemy lines. He first attacked the Jin army defenders in Guangde and won six battles and six victories. When the Jin army attacked Changzhou, they led their troops to aid and won four battles. The following year, Yue Fei set up an ambush on Niutou Mountain, defeated the Jin Wushu, and recovered Jiankang. The Jin army was forced to withdraw north. From then on, Yue Fei's fame spread throughout the country, and his reputation shook Heshuo. In July, Yue Fei was promoted to Tongzhou Town Governor and Governor of Taizhou. He had more than 10,000 troops and established a strong anti-Jin brigade, the Yue Family Army, with strict discipline and courage in combat.

Yue Fei's Northern Expedition

In the third year of Shaoxing, Yue Fei won the Gaozong Award of "Jingzhong Yue Fei" for annihilating Li Cheng, Zhang Yong and other "army thieves and wandering bandits." In April of the following year, Yue Fei sent his troops north, defeated the Jin puppet and puppet Qi army, and recovered six prefectures including Xiangyang and Xinyang. Yue Fei was also promoted to the rank of Jiedushi of the Qingyuan Army due to his merits. In December of the same year, Yue Fei defeated the Jin soldiers in Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui), and the Jin soldiers were forced to return north. In the fifth year of Shaoxing (1135), Yue Fei led his army to suppress the Yangyao Uprising Army and recruited 50,000 to 60,000 elite soldiers, greatly increasing the strength of the "Yue Family Army".

In the sixth year of Shaoxing, Yue Fei once again sent troops to the Northern Expedition, captured Yiyang, Luoyang, Shangzhou and Guozhou, and then besieged the Chen and Cai areas. However, Yue Fei soon found that he was alone in the process. Without reinforcements or food and fodder, he had to withdraw to Ezhou (now Wuchang, Hubei). During this Northern Expedition, Yue Fei wrote the term "Manjiang Red", a masterpiece that has never been fulfilled:

His hair was angry, and the rain stopped where he leaned against the railing.

I looked up and roared to the sky, feeling fierce.

Thirty years of fame, dust and soil, eight thousand miles of road clouds and moon.

Don't be idle, white the young man's head, empty and sad!

Jingkang's shame has not yet been eradicated.

When will the hatred of courtiers die?

Build a long cart and break through the Helan Mountains! The soldiers were hungry for Hu Krupp meat and laughed about drinking Xiongnu blood.

Wait until the beginning, clean up the old mountains and rivers, and turn to the sky!

Yuefei Tomb in Hangzhou

In the seventh year of Shaoxing, Yue Fei was promoted to Marshal. He repeatedly suggested that Gaozong send troops to the Northern Expedition and recover the Central Plains in one fell swoop, but Gaozong rejected them all. In the ninth year of Shaoxing (1119), Gaozong and Qin Hui negotiated peace with the Jin Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty declared themselves ministers to the Jin Dynasty and paid tribute. This made Yue Fei furious and asked for "the cessation of the strike and retreat to Linquan" to show his protest. The following year, Wushu broke up the peace treaty and invaded the south again on a large scale. Yue Fei was ordered to send troops to counterattack. They successively recovered Zhengzhou, Luoyang and other places, defeated the Jin army's elite cavalry "Tiefutu" and "Guaizima" in Ruicheng, and took advantage of the victory to occupy Zhuxian Town, only 45 miles away from Kaifeng. Wu Shu was forced to retreat to Kaifeng, and the Jin army's morale was depressed. They lamented that "the mountains were easy, and the Yue family's army was difficult" and did not dare to go to war.

In Zhuxian Town, Yue Fei recruited troops and contacted the Hebei Rebellion Army to actively prepare to cross the Yellow River to recover lost territory and attack Huanglong Prefecture. He excitedly said to the generals,"Go straight to Huanglong Mansion and drink with you!" "At this time, Gaozong and Qin Hui were all bent on seeking peace and issued twelve golden board edict ordering Yue Fei to withdraw his troops. Yue Fei couldn't suppress the sadness in his heart and looked up to the sky and sighed: "Ten years of work have been destroyed in one piece! All the states and counties you have acquired will be closed in one day! It is difficult to revitalize the country! The world of heaven and earth has no reason to recover! "His ambition was difficult to fulfill, so he had to teach with tears.

After Yue Fei returned to Lin 'an, he was relieved of his military power and appointed as deputy envoy of the Privy Council. In August of the eleventh year of Shaoxing, Gaozong and Qin Hui sent people to seek peace with Jin. Jin Wushu required that "Yue Fei must be killed before peace can be negotiated." Qin Hui falsely accused Yue Fei of treason and imprisoned him. On January 27 (December 29 of the lunar calendar) in 1142 (the 11th year of Shaoxing), Qin Hui poisoned Yue Fei to death in Fengbo Pavilion in Lin 'an for the crime of "unwarranted". Yue Fei was only 39 years old in that year. His son Yue Yun and his general Zhang Xian were also killed at the same time. During the reign of Ningzong, Yue Fei was rehabilitated and was posthumously granted the title of King E.

Yue Fei was good at strategy and strict in governing the army. His army was famous for "freezing to death without tearing down houses, and starving to death without seizing." During his military career, he personally participated in and commanded 126 battles and never lost. He was a veritable victorious general. Yue Fei has no special military works left behind, but his military thoughts and military management strategies can be found in books, memorials, poems, etc. Later generations compiled Yue Fei's articles and poems into "Yue Wumu's Remains", also known as "Selected Works of Yue Zhong and King Wu".