Ren Jun

Historical Record

Ren Jun, styled Boda, was a man of Zhongmou in Henan. At the end of the Han, when the realm fell into great chaos, the Guandong region was generally shaken. At the time, the magistrate of Zhongmou, Yang Yuan, was deeply troubled by this and meant to abandon his office and flee. Ren Jun advised Yang Yuan: "Dong Zhuo has wrought chaos, and there is no one in the realm who does not look askance at him; yet none has been the first to rise against him. It is not that they have no such intent, but that the time has not come and they dare not act rashly. If you can take the lead in raising the call, there will surely be those who respond." Yang Yuan asked, "Then how should it be done?" Ren Jun answered: "Now Guandon has more than ten counties, with no fewer than ten thousand able-bodied fighting men. If you can provisionally exercise the authority of the Intendant of Henan and unite and employ them, nothing will fail to succeed." Yang Yuan adopted his advice and appointed Ren Jun as his recorder. Ren Jun then memorialized on Yang Yuan's behalf to provisionally take charge of the affairs of the Intendant of Henan, ordered the counties to hold firm, and afterward raised troops^[1].

It happened that Cao Cao raised troops in Guandon, and when he entered the territory of Zhongmou county, the people did not know what to do; only Ren Jun and Zhang Fen of the same commandery took counsel together and at last led the whole commandery to submit to Cao Cao. Ren Jun further gathered several hundred household troops from his clan and retainers and, together with Yang Yuan, went over to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was greatly pleased by this, memorialized to appoint Ren Jun as cavalry commandant, gave his own younger sister to him in marriage, and treated him with great closeness and trust. Whenever Cao Cao went on campaign, Ren Jun often stayed behind to guard the rear and supply provisions. At the time there was famine and drought, and the army's grain supply was insufficient; the Yulin Superintendent Zao Zhi of Yingchuan proposed instituting the agricultural-colony system. Cao Cao then appointed Ren Jun as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, who recruited the people to farm colonies near Xu, and in the end obtained a million hu of grain. Thereafter the various commanderies and kingdoms also set up agricultural officials, and within a few years grain was stored up everywhere, the granaries all full^[1].

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ren Jun's image appears mainly in the rise of Cao Cao's power and the logistical support of his military actions. In chapter 14, after Cao Cao made himself General-in-Chief and Marquis of Wuping, he bestowed a series of rewards on his civil and military followers. Among them, Mao Jie and Ren Jun were appointed together as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, charged with overseeing the supply of money and grain. This broadly accords with the historical record that Ren Jun served as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, charged with the agricultural colonies to solve the army's grain problem, but the novel pairs him with Mao Jie and emphasizes his role of "overseeing money and grain," highlighting his importance in logistical management^[2].

However, in chapter 17, the novel's depiction of Ren Jun departs somewhat from the historical fact in a highly dramatic episode. Cao Cao led an army of one hundred and seventy thousand in a stalemate with Li Feng and others for over a month; the army's grain was greatly consumed, and the various commanderies, due to drought, could not supply it in time. The grain officer Ren Jun and his subordinate, the granary officer Wang Hou, reported to Cao Cao the shortage of army grain. Cao Cao proposed the stratagem of "using a smaller measure to distribute it, to relieve the emergency for the time being," intending to dole out grain by a smaller measure to ease the crisis temporarily. When Wang Hou worried that the soldiers would complain, Cao Cao said, "I have a plan of my own." In this episode, Ren Jun appears as the "grain officer" and directly takes part in the decision-making over grain distribution, even indirectly bringing about the famous episode of Cao Cao "borrowing a head to settle the army's hearts" (unique to the novel). The histories do not record Ren Jun directly taking part in such specific grain-distribution stratagems, and there was no such person as Wang Hou; this is a literary invention of the novel to shape Cao Cao's image^[3].

Key Relationships

Ren Jun's key relationships are chiefly embodied in his close ties with the Cao Wei group and his collaborators in particular historical events. First, he was a loyal servant of Cao Wei (serves): at the outset of Cao Cao raising an army he led the whole commandery to submit, and won Cao Cao's trust and important employment, even being given Cao Cao's younger sister in marriage, which shows how special his standing was^[1].

In the early period, Ren Jun once advised the Zhongmou magistrate Yang Yuan (advises_in), prompting Yang Yuan to provisionally take charge of the affairs of the Intendant of Henan and raise troops, displaying his outstanding insight and stratagem^[1].

Ren Jun was close with Zhang Fen of the same commandery (friend_of); the two took counsel together and at last decided to lead the whole commandery of Zhongmou to submit to Cao Cao, which shows their deep friendship and common political stance^[1].

In addition, Ren Jun also had an important collaboration with Zao Zhi (friend_of) in instituting the agricultural-colony system. Zao Zhi proposed the agricultural colonies, while Ren Jun was appointed by Cao Cao as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior to handle the colony affairs concretely; the two together made an enormous contribution to Cao Wei's army grain supply^[1].

In the novel, Ren Jun was also appointed together with Mao Jie as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, charged with overseeing money and grain, which to some extent also constructs a colleague relationship between them (unique to the novel)^[2].

Signature Scenes

Ren Jun has two signature scenes: one is his contribution in the histories to the establishment and development of the Cao Wei regime, and the other is the dramatic episode given to him in the novel.

First, persuading Yang Yuan to raise troops and leading the whole commandery to submit to Cao. At the end of the Han, amid great chaos, the Zhongmou magistrate Yang Yuan wished to abandon his office and flee, but Ren Jun stepped forward and, with his foresight, persuaded Yang Yuan to provisionally take charge of the affairs of the Intendant of Henan and call on the counties to raise troops. Then, when Cao Cao entered the territory of Zhongmou, Ren Jun again, with singular discernment, after taking counsel with Zhang Fen, resolutely led the whole commandery to submit to Cao Cao. This action not only brought Cao Cao precious troops and territory but also laid the foundation for Ren Jun's important standing in Cao Cao's camp; Cao Cao was therefore "greatly pleased" and "gave him his younger sister in marriage," showing how he valued Ren Jun. This scene fully displays Ren Jun's character of being "generous and measured yet understanding of reason," and his extraordinary ability to grasp the situation in a chaotic age^[1].

Second, as Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, instituting the agricultural-colony system. During Cao Cao's campaigns, the shortage of army grain became a major difficulty. Ren Jun was appointed Agricultural Colonel of the Interior, charged with instituting agricultural colonies near Xu. He recruited the people to farm colonies and successfully obtained a million hu of grain, greatly easing the army grain crisis and laying a solid material foundation for the long-term development of the Cao Wei regime. This measure both reflects Ren Jun's outstanding administrative ability and underscores his key role in logistical support. It was precisely through the efforts of Ren Jun and others that Cao Wei was able to have "grain stored up everywhere over several years, the granaries all full," providing a solid backing for Cao Cao's unification of the north^[1].

Third, the "grain officer" and "using a smaller measure to distribute it" (unique to the novel). In chapter 17 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ren Jun appears in the role of "grain officer" and reports to Cao Cao the shortage of army grain. Cao Cao proposes the stratagem of distributing grain by a "smaller measure" and in the end borrows Wang Hou's head to settle the army's hearts. Although this episode has no record in the histories, and Wang Hou is a fictional figure, this scene in the novel greatly highlights Ren Jun's responsibility in army grain management and indirectly involves him in Cao Cao's controversial decision to solve the army grain crisis, leaving readers with a deep impression^[3].