Wu Jie吴玠

History vs. fiction

Wu Jie. A famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, admired Yue Fei. As the Military Inspector of Jingyuan Circuit, he attacked and killed Shi Bin. As the Vice Commissioner of Sichuan, he led troops to assist the king.

• based on factA famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, admired Yue Fei; Military Inspector of Jingyuan Circuit, attacked and killed Shi Bin | Vice Commissioner of Sichuan, led troops to assist the king

  Historically, Wu Jie indeed existed. His deeds are recorded in historical sources such as the History of Song. For example, the Biography of Yue Fei records: 'Yue Fei was extremely filial. His mother was left in Hebei, and he sent people to search for her and brought her back. When his mother had a chronic illness, he personally administered medicine and food. When his mother died, he did not eat or drink for three days. He had no concubines or maidservants. Wu Jie had always admired Yue Fei and wished to befriend him, so he presented a beautiful courtesan to him. Yue Fei said: "The emperor is working hard day and night; how can a great general seek pleasure at this time?" He declined and did not accept, and Wu Jie admired him even more. Yue Fei was fond of drinking when young, but the emperor admonished him: "When you reach the northern frontier in the future, then you may drink." So he stopped drinking completely. When the emperor initially built a mansion for Yue Fei, Yue Fei declined, saying: "The enemy has not been destroyed; why should I have a home?" Someone asked when the world would be at peace, and Yue Fei replied: "When civil officials do not love money, and military officials do not fear death, then the world will be at peace."' In the novel The Story of Yue Fei, Chapter 43 describes: 'Now on Ox Head Mountain, Marshal Yue was waiting for the arrival of various troops to assist the king, preparing to fight Wushu. Wushu was also discussing war matters with the princes and generals. A scout came into the tent and reported: "Your Majesty, we have learned that the Southern Dynasty's Marshal Zhang Jun leads 60,000 troops, Shunchang Marshal Liu Qi leads 50,000, Sichuan Vice Commissioner Wu Jie and his brother Wu Lin lead 30,000, Dinghai General Hu Zhang, Xiangshan General Gong Xiang, Ouhu Pass General Jin Jie, Jiujiang General Yang Yizhong, Hukou General Xie Kun, and other forces total over 300,000. They are all camped not far from here, surrounding us on all sides. I have come to report this." Upon hearing this, Wushu ordered four marshals to scout in the four directions to see which way they could go. The four marshals went and soon returned, reporting: "There are heavy troops on all sides, only the north is a big road that can be taken." Wushu then ordered all five camps to know: "If we fight the southern barbarians, if we win, we advance; if we cannot win, we retreat to the north." But the scouts only went about forty li and then returned, not reaching fifty li. So this one sentence cost the lives of six or seven hundred thousand troops.'