Yue Jin
After Lü Bu's defeat and death, Cao Cao focused on preparation to the upcoming war with his rival Yuan Shao, and Yue Jin was assigned to the border. When the warlord of Bing Province, Zhang Yang, vacillated on the predicament upon choosing Cao Cao or Yuan Shao as his ally, his subordinate Yang Chou () murdered him and took his head to Cao Cao. However, Sui Gu (), a former Heishan bandit, killed Yang Chou when he was on his way to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan). In order to merge Zhang Yang's remnants, Yue Jin intercepted Sui Gu when the latter attempted to go back north, and successfully hunted down his prey and took control of the Bing Province troops. He then brought his troops to join Cao Cao's eastern campaign against Liu Bei, who had just killed Che Zhou (), the Governor of Xu Province, and taken control of the province. Within a very short time, Liu Bei was defeated, and his aide, Guan Yu, was captured alive. Yue Jin was promoted to Colonel Who Attacks Bandits () for his achievements.