Ren Jun (died 204),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Boda, was a military officer serving under the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China. Leaving his home, he was an early follower and trusted aide of Cao; Ren would often oversee the supply lines and was entrusted with implementing the key

tuntian ''Tuntian'' (屯田) or ''tunken'' (屯墾) was a form of frontier "military-agricultural colonies" or settler colony in the history of China. Troops were sent to takeover strategic under- or uncultivated land and convert them into self-sustai ...

farming system.

Life

Ren Jun was from Zhongmu County (),

Henan Commandery Henan Commandery ( zh, 河南郡) was a commandery in China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern northern Henan province. During the reign of King Xuanhui of Han, Sanchuan Commandery (三川郡) was established. It was named Sanchua ...

() which is present-day

Zhongmu County Zhongmu County (; postal: Chungmow) is a county of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan. It has an area of and a population of 680,000. Located in the ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. In 189, the general

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful ...

took advantage of the power vacuum, created in the aftermath of the conflict between the regent

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He (the emp ...

and the eunuch faction, to seize control of the Han central government. He changed the Emperor, setting up the young figurehead

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

and began a brutal rule in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

that sparked revolt from many powerful figures who formed a coalition.''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 59. Zhongmu was right in the path of the northern half of the coalition armies so Yang Yuan (), the Prefect of Zhongmu County, started panicking and wanted to abandon his post and leave. Ren Jun advised him to stay and urged him to take the lead in calling for everyone to rise up against Dong Zhuo and overthrow him. When Yang Yuan asked him what he should do, Ren Jun advised him to assume the position of acting Intendant of Henan (), bring all the counties in Henan Commandery under his leadership, and rally as many men as possible to form an army to fight Dong Zhuo's forces. Yang Yuan appointed Ren Jun as his Registrar () and proceeded to implement his suggestions when Ren Jun memorialized Yang Yuan as Intendant, though there would be other claimants like Zhang Yang. while Zhu Jun held the official title and Yang Yuan's control was limited to the eastern part of Henan.

Service under Cao Cao

In 190, another potential power entered Henei.

had raised an army to join a coalition of warlords on a

campaign against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the i ...

and sought to pursue the retreating Dong Zhuo. When he entered Zhongmu County, the various officials in Henan Commandery could not decide on whether they should follow Cao Cao. After discussing with Zhang Fen (), Ren Jun decided that he would follow Cao Cao and Zhongmu joined Cao Cao. Ren Jun also gathered all his family members, relatives, servants and

retainers Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for ...

, numbering a few hundred people in total, and brought them along to join Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao would suffer a heavy defeat against Dong Zhuo's general Xu Rong, so was forced to leave Henan and rebuild his army. Yang Yuan and Zhang Fen disappear from the records, but Ren Jun left Henei to stay with Cao Cao. Cao Cao was so pleased to gain such support from Ren Jun that he appointed him as a Cavalry Commandant (). He also arranged for Ren Jun to marry one of his second cousins and treated Ren Jun as a close aide.

Role with supplies and agriculture

Since then, whenever Cao Cao went on military campaigns, he put Ren Jun in charge of logistics and the provision of supplies for his troops at the frontline. In 196, Cao Cao received

and brought him to his base in Xu County (許縣; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

), which became the new imperial capital. Cao Cao effectively gained control over the Han central government and the figurehead emperor. In 196, Cao Cao made a change, involving Ren Jun that would have significant impact in his successes as a warlord, securing supplies for all his campaigns and taxes, drawing in refugees to settle lands and tying people to him. During the early stage of the civil war, famine was rampant and warlords struggled to maintain consistent supply to their armies. An official Zao Zhi (), also advocated by trusted aide Han Hao, suggested implementing the ''

'' system of agriculture to produce a sustainable supply of grain for Cao Cao's growing army. Cao Cao heeded Zao Zhi's suggestion and appointed Ren Jun as Agriculture General of the Household (), giving him the salary and authority of the head of a commandry, to supervise the implementation of the ''tuntian'' system. Within years, the ''tuntian'' system turned out to be a success as the granaries became fully stocked with grain. There was a saying that “the wealth of the army and the state began with Zao Zhi and accomplished by Ren Jun”. In 200, during the

Battle of Guandu The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory ...

between Cao Cao and his rival

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred tow ...

, Ren Jun was in charge of logistics and transportation of weapons, equipment, supplies, etc., to the frontline. After Yuan Shao's forces attacked Cao Cao's supply trains on a number of occasions, Ren Jun organised the supply trains into groups of 1,000 wagons and arranged for them to travel along several different routes heavily protected by camps and pickets. Yuan Shao's forces did not dare to attack Cao Cao's supply trains after that.

Promotion and death

Cao Cao proposed to the Han imperial court to commend Ren Jun for his achievement by enfeoffing him as a Marquis of a Chief Village () with a marquisate of 300 taxable households. Later, he promoted Ren Jun to the position of a Changshui Colonel (), an honorary position. Ren Jun died in 204. Cao Cao shed tears when he learnt of Ren Jun's death.

Family

Ren Jun's eldest son, Ren Xian (), inherited his father's peerage and marquisate. As he had no son to succeed him, his marquisate was abolished after his death. In late 220, Cao Cao's son and successor

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

usurped the throne from

, ended the

, and established the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

with himself as the new emperor. After his coronation, Cao Pi awarded Ren Jun the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

"Marquis Cheng" () to honour him for his contributions. He also enfeoffed Ren Lan (), another of Ren Jun's sons who had narrowly avoided being entangled in Wei Feng's failed plot of 219, as a Secondary Marquis ().

Appraisal

Ren Jun was known for being generous, understanding, and magnanimous while Cao Cao valued his honest advice. During times of famine, Ren Jun provided much assistance to his friends, acquaintances and distant relatives and did not hesitate to use his personal wealth to help the needy and poor. He gained much respect and admiration from the people for his kindness.

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

in his appraisal of the figures in the volume of biographies that Ren Jun's is contained in, put Ren Jun in a list of exceptional administrators and one of the famed administrators of his generation in Wei, noted his early following of Cao Cao and agricultural development that filled the granaries.(任峻始興義兵，以歸太祖，闢土殖穀，倉庾盈溢，庸績致矣) ''Sanguozhi vol''.16.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ren, Jun Year of birth unknown 204 deaths Generals under Cao Cao Politicians from Zhengzhou