The Turbulent Reign of Emperor Huizong
The early life of Yue Fei unfolded against the backdrop of Emperor Huizong’s disastrous reign (1100-1125), when the Northern Song dynasty teetered on the brink of collapse. Born in 1103 in Xiangzhou (modern Anyang, Henan province), Yue Fei entered a world where artistic brilliance and administrative incompetence coexisted in the imperial court.
Emperor Huizong, the eighth ruler of Northern Song, possessed extraordinary artistic talents that earned him recognition as a “master of both calligraphy and painting.” Yet this same ruler neglected his imperial duties, indulging in extravagant palace construction projects and lavish entertainments. His reign saw the establishment of numerous specialized agencies like the Western City Office and the Construction Bureau to support his luxurious lifestyle, while the empire’s finances crumbled under the weight of his excesses.
The emperor’s fiscal policies became increasingly oppressive. The Square Field Tax Equalization Law, originally designed to uncover tax evasion by wealthy landowners, transformed into a tool for extorting common farmers. Records show some peasants saw their taxes skyrocket from 13 coins to 2,200 coins, while powerful families manipulated assessments to reduce their own burdens. This systemic corruption created unbearable conditions for Yue Fei’s family, who owned several hundred mu of poor-quality land.
Military Ambitions and National Crisis
In 1122, Emperor Huizong launched a reckless northern campaign to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun lost to the Khitan Liao dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. This ill-conceived military adventure drained the treasury accumulated since Wang Anshi’s reforms and imposed crushing new taxes nationwide. The “Exemption Fee” alone demanded 62 million strings of cash from an already overburdened population.
It was amidst this national mobilization that the 19-year-old Yue Fei, having trained in martial arts under local expert Zhou Tong, joined the regional “Dare-to-Die Corps” in Zhending Prefecture. His military talent quickly became apparent when he led 200 soldiers to eliminate the bandit groups of Tao Jun and Jia Jin near his hometown. However, his early military career was interrupted by his father’s death, requiring him to observe mourning rites.
When Yue Fei reenlisted in 1124 as a cavalryman in the Imperial Army stationed in Pingding Army, Shanxi, the geopolitical situation had dramatically worsened. The newly ascendant Jurchen Jin dynasty, having conquered the Khitan Liao, turned against their former Song allies. By 1125, Jin forces launched a full-scale invasion that would culminate in the catastrophic Jingkang Incident of 1127 – the sack of Kaifeng and capture of Emperors Huizong and Qinzong.
The Southern Song Resistance Takes Shape
As the Jin armies advanced south, Prince Zhao Gou (the future Emperor Gaozong) declared himself emperor with the support of officials like Chen Cui, Wang Boyan, and Zong Ze. However, instead of relieving besieged Kaifeng, the new emperor fled eastward with his main forces, sending only a detachment of 10,000 troops under Zong Ze to attempt a rescue.
It was during these desperate battles that Yue Fei first distinguished himself. At Caozhou, he famously charged into enemy ranks with disheveled hair and an iron staff, rallying Song troops to pursue the Jin cavalry for thirty li. His battlefield valor earned him promotion to the rank of Wuyi Lang (7b military officer) and a reputation as a fearless warrior.
When the Jin withdrew north in 1127 with their imperial captives and loot, they left behind a puppet regime under the traitor Zhang Bangchang. However, lacking popular support, Zhang soon surrendered his seal to Emperor Gaozong, who formally established the Southern Song dynasty in Yingtian Prefecture (modern Shangqiu, Henan).
The Struggle Against Appeasement
The new court initially showed promise under the leadership of hawkish chief councilor Li Gang, who appointed patriots like Zhang Suo as Hebei Pacification Commissioner and Fu Liang as Hedong Administrator. With Zong Ze’s support in Kaifeng, these appointments briefly revitalized resistance efforts in northern China.
However, Li Gang’s dismissal under pressure from Huang Qianshan and other appeasers left the anti-Jin forces fragmented. Yue Fei, disgusted by the court’s surrender policies and rumors of Emperor Gaozong’s planned retreat to Yangzhou, submitted a memorial criticizing the leadership. His outspokenness cost him his rank and military position.
Undeterred, Yue Fei joined Zhang Suo’s Hebei West Route Pacification Commission. In a revealing exchange, when Zhang asked how many enemies Yue Fei could defeat, the young officer responded with remarkable strategic insight: “Courage alone cannot be relied upon. In warfare, strategy comes first. Planning determines victory or defeat. For a general, the worry isn’t lack of courage, but lack of strategy.” This answer so impressed Zhang that he immediately promoted Yue Fei to command level.
Guerrilla Warfare and Hard Lessons
When political infighting led to Zhang Suo’s dismissal, Yue Fei’s unit became isolated north of the Yellow River. Outnumbered by Jin forces, the Song troops dispersed, forcing Yue Fei to lead his men in a grueling guerrilla campaign through the Taihang Mountains. Though they achieved some successes – including capturing dozens of enemy horses – their situation remained precarious without proper supply lines.
The turning point came when Zong Ze reorganized the northern defenses as Kaifeng Garrison Commander. Yue Fei joined Zong’s headquarters and quickly rose through the ranks with victories at Sishui Pass, Zuocheng County, Heilong Pond, and Guan Bridge, where he captured a Jurchen chiliarch named Pucha.
Zong Ze recognized Yue Fei’s exceptional talent but cautioned against reckless bravery: “Your courage and skill rival ancient generals, but you’re too fond of leading charges yourself.” He urged the young officer to study classical battle formations to prepare for higher command.
Yue Fei’s famous response became immortalized in Chinese military thought: “To array troops and then do battle is the normal method of warfare. The subtlety of application lies in one’s own mind.” Nearly a millennium later, Mao Zedong would quote this line in On Protracted War to illustrate flexible command.
The Defense of Jiankang
After Zong Ze’s death, his successor Du Chong reversed all anti-Jin preparations, disbanding local militias and creating internal divisions that led to mutinies. When Jin forces advanced south in 1129, Du fled Jiankang (modern Nanjing), deliberately breaching the Yellow River dikes in a catastrophic act that diverted the river’s course and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.
During the chaotic retreat, Yue Fei emerged as a stabilizing force. At Maijia Crossing, his rear-guard actions saved 20,000 Song troops from annihilation after Wang Xie’s betrayal. Later at Jurong County, Yue Fei unified scattered forces through a combination of persuasion and martial demonstrations, declaring: “With your numbers and strength, you could perform great deeds for the court, recover the Central Plain, and return home in glory! If you wish to join me, you must wash away past thoughts. If not, kill me first, for I’ll never follow you in rebellion!”
His leadership preserved discipline during desperate times, though supply shortages occasionally led to looting. The situation improved when Yixing County Magistrate Qian Chen invited Yue Fei’s troops to garrison his town, providing access to granaries with ten years’ worth of provisions.
The Liberation of Jiankang
As Jin forces pillaged their way south, Yue Fei launched relentless attacks on their rear guard, winning four engagements near Changzhou and capturing eleven Jurchen officers including a wanhu (commander of 10,000). These harassing actions, combined with Han Shizhong’s naval blockade at Zhenjiang, trapped the Jin commander Wuzhu (better known as Jin Wushu) in a desperate situation at Huangtiandang for over twenty days.
Though the Jin eventually escaped by bribing local guides to reveal forgotten waterways, Yue Fei continued his pursuit, capturing strategic positions like Niutou Mountain, Yuhuatai, and Xin Fort before finally liberating Jiankang. His campaign statistics were staggering: over twenty enemy officers captured (including one wanhu and several qianhu), more than 300 Jurchen soldiers taken prisoner, and at least 3,000 Jurchen heads taken (identifiable by their earrings), not counting non-Jurchen casualties.
The psychological impact on Jin Wushu was profound. Historical records describe how after returning north, “whenever meeting acquaintances, he would weep and recount the hardships south of the river, nearly failing to return alive.” This traumatic experience made him reluctant to campaign south of the Yangtze for years afterward.
Strategic Mastery at Xiangyang
Yue Fei’s greatest military achievement came in 1134 with the Xiangyang Campaign. After the puppet Qi regime’s general Li Cheng defeated Song loyalist Li Heng and occupied six prefectures in the Han River valley, the strategic situation became critical. The Qi forces threatened to sever connections between the Song’s Sichuan and lower Yangtze territories.
With rare consensus between hawks and doves at court, Emperor Gaozong authorized a major counteroffensive under Yue Fei’s command. The preparations were meticulous: Yue Fei received expanded authority, reinforcements from other armies, substantial supplies (60,000 dan of rice and 400,000 strings of cash), and coordination with neighboring commands.
The campaign, launched on April 19, 1134, demonstrated Yue Fei’s operational brilliance. He first captured the strategic fortress of Yingzhou in a single day, then split his forces in a bold centrifugal maneuver – personally leading the main force west along the Han River to Xiangyang while sending Xu Qing and Zhang Xian east to Suizhou.
By May 18, Yue Fei entered Xiangyang without major resistance, achieving the primary objective. The following day, Xu and Zhang took Suizhou, securing the southern exit of the Sui-Zao Corridor – a vital passage between the Nanyang Basin and Jianghan Plain.
When Li Cheng counterattacked in June with a reported 300,000 troops, Yue Fei exploited his opponent’s poor deployment. Noticing Li had placed cavalry in confined riverside terrain and infantry on open plains, Yue Fei reversed conventional tactics – sending Wang Gui’s spearmen against the cavalry and Niu Gao’s horsemen against the infantry. The compressed Jin cavalry couldn’t maneuver effectively and were driven into the river, while their infantry collapsed without cavalry support.
After regrouping, Yue Fei executed a masterful converging attack on Dengzhou, with Zhang Xian advancing from Henglin Road and Wang Gui from Guanghua Army. This pincer movement trapped the Jin-Qi allied forces, leading to their decisive defeat on July 23 and the recapture of all six prefectures.
Legacy of a Military Genius
The Xiangyang Campaign showcased Yue Fei’s operational artistry – his ability to identify geographic chokepoints, divide forces purposefully, and concentrate strength at decisive moments. His innovative tactics, like using infantry against cavalry and vice versa, demonstrated his mastery of the principle “know yourself, know your enemy.”
At just 31, Yue Fei became the youngest military governor (jiedushi) in Song history, joining an elite group that included Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun. His campaigns not only secured the Southern Song’s survival but demonstrated that Jin forces could be defeated through strategic brilliance and determined leadership.
Yue Fei’s later career would see further triumphs against the Jin and the suppression of the Yang Yao rebellion, but his unwavering commitment to recovering northern territories eventually brought him into conflict with the appeasement faction at court. His tragic execution in 1142 at the age of 39 only cemented his status as China’s paradigmatic loyal general – a commander whose military genius was matched only by his unyielding patriotism.
The campaigns of 1127-1134 established Yue Fei’s reputation as the Southern Song’s most formidable general. His innovative tactics, strategic vision, and ability to inspire troops transformed what could have been mere defensive operations into offensive victories that reshaped the military balance. Though ultimately betrayed by his own court, Yue Fei’s legacy endured as both a military model and a symbol of resistance against foreign domination.