Who they were
A Southern Song general of peasant origin, fighting the Jurchen Jin after the north was lost in 1127. Legend says his mother tattooed “utmost loyalty to serve the nation” (尽忠報国) on his back.
What they did
His disciplined “Yue Family Army” won campaign after campaign, and by 1140 had pushed toward Kaifeng. But the court of Emperor Gaozong and chief councillor Qin Hui wanted peace: it recalled him — tradition says by twelve urgent gold-plaque edicts — then imprisoned him on fabricated charges. He was executed in 1142; the charge is remembered by Qin Hui’s phrase “moxuyou” (“perhaps it exists” — no evidence needed).
Legacy
Rehabilitated by a later emperor, he became China’s martyr-patriot archetype. At his temple by West Lake in Hangzhou, iron figures of Qin Hui and his wife kneel in eternal disgrace.