Yin Li

Yin Li (onyomi: In Rai) is a bandit who worked alongside Zang Ba from Taishan Commandery. He numbers among the bandits who join the warlord Lu Bu as proper military officers. When Lu Bu fell, Yin Li surrenders to Cao Cao and works as a commander in the state of Wei.

Role in Games
Yin Li first appears in Dynasty Warriors 5 at Xiapi. He defends the southern gate of Xiapi and is the subordinate officer of Wei Xu. If he is caught in the flood attack, he will be defeated instantly. If he and Wei Xu are still around after the flood attack, Yin Li will join Wei Xu in defecting to Cao Cao's side. Yin Li appears in several battles of Dynasty Warriors 6; typically serving in both Lu Bu and Diao Chan's Story Modes' later stages.

His next appearance is in Dynasty Warriors 7, where he fights to protect Xu Province from Cao Cao's invasion. He joins his fellow Taishan bandits in fighting on the front lines in the first half of the fight and defends the central garrison's gates in the second half of the battle.Dynasty Warriors 8, where he guards the eastern garrison blocking the way to the floodgates at Xiapi. In the expansion Yin Li helps capture Puyang and at the climatic Showdown of Xiapi, he defends the southwestern section of Xiapi, even after the flood attack causes many of Lu Bu's forces to change sides.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms series re-added Yin Li for its thirteenth entry, giving him middling stats that favor warfare. In the fourteenth entry, his one character trait increases the stats of his unit when battling on mountainous terrain (Mountain Warlord). He also cooperates well with all other members of the Taishan bandits during battle.

Historical Information
The first recorded information about Yin Li comes from his appearance as a bandit under the command of Zang Ba. Like many bandits in his time, Yin Li was also known by a nickname. His was Lu'er, which meant black boy. In the year 190, Yin Li joined Sun Guan and Wu Dun under Zang Ba as mountain bandits based out of Kaiyang County in Xu Province.

When Lu Bu seized Xu for himself in 196, Zang Ba and his fellow bandits, including Yin Li, attempted to resume their terrorizing of local villages. Lu Bu sent Gao Shun to stop their raids, but Yin Li and his fellow marauders drove him off and sued for peace, joining Lu Bu's forces to avoid annihilation. Shortly afterwards, in 198, Yin Li watched his new master be outmatched by Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Li joined Zang Ba in surrendering to Cao Cao, becoming his subordinates. Cao was quick to make use of them, separating them to help encourage loyalty to Cao's own authority. Yin served as an administrator of Dongguan commandery.

Yin Li remained loyal to the Cao family, even into the beginning of the Wei state under Cao Pi. When his new emperor began looking south to find a weak point in the Wu forces, Yin Li joined the campaign at Dongkou. It was during this campaign that Yin Li was killed, fighting against the Wu commander Quan Cong.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Yin Li's appearance in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is fairly brief. He is first mentioned among the Taishan Mountain bandits, whom Lu Bu intends to recruit to his side in the coming conflict with Cao Cao and Liu Bei in Chapter 18. In the following chapter, Yin Li, alongside Su Quan, Wu Dun, and Chang Xi set up a 30,000 strong spear line intended to intercept Cao Cao's main force. Unfortunately for them, Xu Chu was with his lord and scattered them all easily with just his own battalion. Once Lu Bu is subdued and Zhang Liao submits, Zhang is sent to approach Yin Li and his fellow bandits, recruiting most of them to Cao Cao's side.