Zhuge Jin

Zhuge Jin (onyomi: Shokatsu Kin) is a minister for Wu during the Three Kingdoms era. He is Zhuge Liang's older brother, Zhuge Ke's father, and may or may not be Zhuge Dan's cousin. He was greatly trusted by Sun Quan. His most important accomplishment was in smoothing relations between Wu and Shu. Some anecdotes about his son state that he had an elongated face resembling a donkey.

In Famitsu's second most wanted Dynasty Warriors character poll, he placed tenth with 67 fan votes. In a 2020 poll, he was the first most wanted.

Roles in Games
Zhuge Jin is one of the more prominent Wu NPCs in Dynasty Warriors. He tends to appear in their battles from around Chibi until around Hefei Castle. He is mostly given a supporting role in these battles without any significant unique events. In Dynasty Warriors 8, he participates in some of Wu's hypothetical battles as well and shares some unique dialogue with Zhuge Dan in Ambition Mode.

In Warriors Orochi, Zhuge Jin serves as Sun Shang Xiang's replacement officer during Wu's attack on Koshi Castle. He is also a substitute for Sun Ce or Sun Quan in the sequel.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts him as one of Wu's top ministers. He has very high domestic skills and is among the top politics officers in each game. He is one of the few political figures that also have some leadership ability and is well-versed in naval warfare. His skill in the eleventh installment mirrors his historical role in the Shu and Wu diplomacy and allows him to force debates against the other force's strategist in order to enforce any diplomatic demands.

Voice Actors

 * Matthew Mercer - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English-uncredited)
 * Jackson Robinson - Dynasty Warriors 8 (English-uncredited)
 * Masato Hirano - Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series
 * Yūma Uchida - Sangokushi Legion
 * Kensuke Satō - Youkai Sangokushi (Japanese)
 * Joji Kokubo - Sangokushi Hadou (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Do you know how the rest of the world views the Zhuge clan?"
 * "Master Zhuge Liang is a dragon, you are a tiger. And I am a... dog."
 * "What's wrong? There's nothing to be discouraged about. Dogs can be very clever."
 * "Yes... I will do my best to ensure I don't end up as an inferior canine."
 * Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Dan; Dynasty Warriors 8

Historical Information
Zhuge Jin was the oldest son of Zhuge Gui, an assistant to the governor of Taishan commandery. The older brother of Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun, Zhuge Jin was known as very filial in his youth, having mourned the death of his mother deeply and a good relationship with his stepmother. In the 180's, he went to Luoyang and studied various classic texts of history and poetry. Zhuge Gui passed away in 193 when Cao Cao started a campaign to avenge his father's death against Tao Qian and most of Zhuge Jin's family sought refugee with his uncle Zhuge Xuan in Yuzhang commandery south of the Yangzte River. Zhuge Jin, however, sought refugee elsewhere and went to Wu commandery instead.

In 200, Zhuge Jin's talent was discovered by Hong Zi, an official in service of Sun Quan. The latter employed Zhuge Jin and made him Chief Clerk. He was quite respected within Sun Quan's court and known to be very persuasive. Sun Quan's subjects Zhu Zhi and Yin Mo angered the former on one occasion and Zhuge Jin was able to calm him down, saving the two. During that time, he also befriended Bu Zhi and they became known as two of the greatest talents in Wu.

After the allied victory at Chibi, Liu Bei eventually took control over Jing Province. After the conquest of Chengdu, Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin to Liu Bei and demanded the return of Jing. Liu Bei refused, causing Lu Meng to start an invasion of southern Jing, in which he took three commanderies. At the same time, Cao Cao led a campaign to conquer Hanzhong and Liu Bei sought to renew his alliance with Sun Quan. Zhuge Jin was sent as Chief Ambassador to Liu Bei and the two agreed on splitting Jing Province in half. Due to Zhuge Liang's service under Liu Bei, Zhuge Jin would only meet him in public places to prevent any thoughts on him being disloyal.

In 219, Zhuge Jin was part of Lu Meng's invasion force of Jing Province. They managed to conquer all of Liu Bei's holdings in Jing and captured and executed Guan Yu. Zhuge Jin was made a marquis for his contributions. Lu Meng died shortly later and Zhuge Jin succeeded him as Administrator of Nanjun. During the following two years, Zhuge Jin was further promoted to "General Who Pacifies the South". At that time, Liu Bei led a campaign to retake Jing. Zhuge Jin sent a letter to Liu Bei, stating that Cao Pi in the north was a much greater threat and he should withdraw. Liu Bei ignored the letter and continued his campaign. Some officials in Sun Quan's court heard about Zhuge Jin sending a letter to Liu Bei and suspected him to defect. Sun Quan ignored them. Liu Bei was defeated one year later at Yiling.

In 223, Cao Pi launched a huge invasion of Wu. Zhuge Jin was appointed General of the Left and sent to hold Jiangling along with Pan Zhang and Yang Can. The Wei forces camped at the northern side of the Yangtze and the Wu forces on the other side. Zhuge Jin advanced and tried to occupy an island between the two positions. The Wei commander Xiahou Shang anticipated the move and conducted a night raid on Zhuge Jin's position. Zhuge Jin's fleet was set on fire and defeated. Zhuge Jin managed to escape and the Wei forces withdrew due to a plague in the region.

Three years later, Sun Quan himself attempted to attack Wei. He personally attacked Jiangxia and sent Zhuge Jin to lay siege on Xiangyang. Xiangyang was defended by Xu Huang, who left his position due to illness. He was replaced by Sima Yi, who defeated Zhuge Jin and killed his subordinate Zhang Ba. Sun Quan himself was unable to overcome Wen Ping's defense of Jiangxia and retreated as well. Later that year, Zhuge Jin and Lu Xun were authorized to modify the legal code as they saw fit. In 229, Sun Quan declared himself Emperor of Wu and Zhuge Jin was promoted to Grand General and designated Governor of Yu Province.

Sun Quan led a campaign against Hefei in 234 and sent Zhuge Jin and Lu Xun to attack Xiangyang. Sun Quan withdrew after he was unable to overcome the defense. At that time, one of Lu Xun's subjects was captured by Tian Yu's forces. Zhuge Jin sent a letter to Lu Xun, urging him to withdraw. Lu Xun instead ordered his men to plant crops. When Zhuge Jin inquired Lu Xun about that, Lu Xun stated that they had to keep their men calm and prevent them from realizing that they were isolated. Then, Zhuge Jin and Lu Xun made a feint attack on Xiangyang. The Wei army retreated to the city and prepared the defenses. Zhuge Jin and Lu Xun then swiftly withdrew their own forces while the enemy was occupied with the defense.

In 239, Zhou Yu's son Zhou Yin was banished due to a misdeed. Zhuge Jin and other officials wrote letters to Sun Quan and spoke in his defense. Sun Quan was reluctant at first, but decided to repeal the punishment later. Zhou Yin, however, passed away before he returned home. Two years later, Sun Quan launched another campaign against Wei. Zhuge Jin was sent to occupy Zuzhong and apparently was the only one successful in his task. Zhuge Jin passed away later that year and was succeeded by his second son Zhuge Rong. His oldest son Zhuge Ke would eventually rise to the rank of Commander-in-chief.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Zhuge Jin's role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is largely the same as in actual history, although the novel includes several passages with his younger brother Zhuge Liang. During the prelude of the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu asked Zhuge Jin to make Zhuge Liang defect to Sun Quan. Zhuge Jin agreed and attempted to persuade his brother by reminding him of the story of Bo Yi and Shu Qi, two elders of the Shang Dynasty who chose to starve to death when Shang was taken over by Zhou. Zhuge Liang realized Zhuge Jin's intentions and turned the tables, asking Zhuge Jin to join Liu Bei instead, who was a scion of the Imperial Family. Zhuge Jin was impressed and left, assuring Zhou Yu of his own loyalty to Sun Quan.

Later, when Sun Quan demanded the return of Jing Province, Zhang Zhao came up with a plan to send Zhuge Jin to Chengdu and pretend that his family was imprisoned and would die if Liu Bei refused to return the province. Zhuge Jin agreed to the ruse and traveled to Yi. Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei knew of the ploy and while Zhuge Liang pretended to be upset, Liu Bei agreed to give the eastern half to Sun Quan, but the rest would stay in his hands due to him preparing an attack on Hanzhong and not knowing what to do with Guan Yu. Zhuge Jin went to see Guan Yu, who was also aware of the plan and refused to hand over the provinces. When Zhuge Jin returned to Chengdu, Liu Bei assured him that Jing would be returned after the conquest of Hanzhong. Zhuge Jin returned to Wu, but Sun Quan was angry at Liu Bei.

During the conquest of Jing against Guan Yu, the Wu forces pursued the general to Maicheng. Zhuge Jin went to the city walls and tried to persuade Guan Yu to surrender, but the latter refused. Guan Ping then drew his sword, but Guan Yu kept him back and Zhuge Jin was allowed to leave. When Liu Bei attacked Wu to avenge Guan Yu, Zhuge Jin went out to meet him at Jing and offered the return of Jing Province and execution of Guan Yu's murderers, but Liu Bei was angry and sent Zhuge Jin back.