In the Romance, it's stated that Guan Yu left behind three main commanders--Mi Feng, Fu Shiren, and Pan Jun--to block Wu so he could attack Fan. Fu Shiren and Mi Feng are well known, but can you tell us about the third guy, Pan Jun? All the Romance says of him is that he's kind of a jerk and that Guan Yu should have left a different officer (it names Zhao Lei in particular) to block Wu instead.
Let's review everyone here.
SGZ 45.4 tells us that Shi Ren (Junyi) was from Guangyang. He was assigned to guard Gong'an under Guan Yu but betrayed him to Sun Quan. Guan Yu's biography (SGZ 36.1) concurs with this. It inserts the character 傅 in front of his name (leading to the misnomer Fushi Ren). SGZ 2 and SGZ 54.3 both agree with SGZ 45, so we can conclude that the character 傅 is a corruption or an error.
Mi Fang was the brother of Mi Zhu (SGZ 38.2). Their sister was married to Liu Bei before he fled to Jing province. At the time of the Fan campaign, Mi Fang was the head of Nan canton, with his headquarters at Jiangling (which he shared with Guan Yu). His family had a reputation for being skilled at the horse and bow, and he successfully helped suppress a revolt after defecting to Wu, so he was not without some talents.
Pan Jun was by far the most important and interesting of these men. His biography (SGZ 61.1) is a bit on the longer side.
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Pan Jun was from Wuling in the unfashionable part of Jing. He distinguished himself as a scholar when he was young and became a military adviser in Jiangxia (where he would have served Huang Zu. He was later made magistrate of Xiangyang, making him a figure of substantial note at Liu Biao's court. When Liu Bei took over, Pan Jun became one his advisers. During the campaign for Yi province, Pan Jun was left in Jing to manage the province's affairs.
Pan Jun initially refused to serve Sun Quan when he annexed Jing but changed his mind after receiving a personal visit. He subsequently advised Sun Quan in securing the territory. When Sun Quan took the imperial title, Pan Jun was made one of the Nine Ministers. Eventually he became Minister of Ceremonies (which Wu appears to have treated as the chief of the Excellencies), a title he retained for the rest of his life.
The most notable exploit of Pan Jun's career was a campaign in the 230s. Over the course of several years he subdued the various tribes of western Jing, bringing the territory firmly under Sun Quan's control. Many of Wu's future commanders first saw serious campaigning during this episode.
However, Pan Jun and Sun Quan started to fall out later in life. Sun Quan began listening to corrupt officials and Pan Jun had no patience for that. Back when he was just a military advisor he had executed the corrupt chief of Shaxian. He wrote repeated letters to Sun Quan warning him about the unscrupulous officials at his court but to no avail. A particularly powerful official, Lu Yi, tried to have Pan Jun ousted but failed.
Eventually Pan Jun got fed up with being nice. He traveled to Jianye attempting to simply murder Lu Yi himself and face the consequences. However, Lu Yi avoided the meeting. Soon, the officials were able to prevail upon Sun Quan to punish Lu Yi, who was duly executed. Nevertheless, the rift between Sun Quan and his advisers never fully healed, and Pan Jun himself died not long after this.
Who is Pan Jun and how did he become so prominent in Wu's court after defecting from Shu?
He was a scholar from Jing who served as an adviser to Liu Biao. Liu Bei inherited him, and he joined Wu when Sun Quan conquered Jing in 219. His excellent administrative skills and sway over the people of Jing made him a prominent figure. He was also an accomplished general.
Pan Jun was from Hanshou, in Wuling (Jing province). He was a noted scholar in his youth, and his reputation earned him appointment under Liu Biao as Wuling’s Officer of Merit, in charge of recommending talented locals for service. He was praised by Wang Can and became a member of Liu Biao’s personal staff, with particular responsibility for Jiangxia. He famously killed a corrupt official there and was later put in charge of a county. Pan Jun was known as a strict but fair governor.
After Liu Bei took over Jing, Pan Jun became a senior member of his staff. When Liu Bei invaded Jing, Pan Jun was left behind with Guan Yu, where he was largely responsible for Jing’s civil matters, along with Ma Liang.
When Sun Quan conquered Jing, Pan Jun initially rejected his regime. However, a personal visit from Sun Quan changed his mind and Pan Jun brought many of Jing’s locals to accept Sun Quan’s rule. He also led an army against some of Liu Bei’s loyalists and defeated them. For this, he was made a general and marquis. He remained in Jing, overseeing operations against the tribes of Wuling.
When Sun Quan took the throne in 229, he made Pan Jun his Minister of Ceremonies. Both of Pan Jun’s children married into the Sun family. Pan Jun was also married to the sister of Shu’s Jiang Wan. A rival once tried to use this to slander him, but to no effect.
Pan Jun was soon moved to Wuchang, where he oversaw the army along with Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin. In 231, Pan Jun led a large army to suppress a tribal revolt in Wuling, along with Lü Dai, Lü Ju, and others. This was an extensive campaign and was finally completed in 234, and Pan Jun returned to Wuchang to oversee military affairs.
Later in the decade, many of Wu’s long-serving officials were slandered by the corrupt minister Lu Yi. Pan Jun was among them. In 238, he traveled to Jianye planning to kill Lu Yi even if it meant he would be executed for it. However, Lu Yi evaded Pan Jun and the matter was later solved through other means.
Pan Jun passed away in 239. He was regarded as one of Wu’s top ministers, equal to Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin.
