Jin reorganised his men and led them towards Wuyin County in a dignified manner even though they had lost the battle. Before reaching Cao Cao's position, Yu Jin encountered about a dozen injured and naked men on the road. When he asked them what happened, they told him that they were robbed by the Qingzhou Corps (). Yu Jin turned furious and said: "The Qingzhou Corps are part of Lord Cao's army. How dare they become robbers!" He then led his men to attack and punish them. Some of the Qingzhou soldiers escaped to Wuyin County and accused Yu Jin of committing the crimes they were responsible for. When Yu Jin reached Wuyin County, he immediately set up defensive fortifications around the camp instead of reporting directly to Cao Cao. His subordinates told him: "The Qingzhou soldiers framed you. You should explain matters to Lord Cao as soon as possible." Yu Jin replied: "The enemy is still in pursuit and may reach here anytime. If we don't set up defences now, how can we expect to hold them off? Lord Cao is intelligent and wise. Those accusations aren't a cause for concern." After the defences were set up, Yu Jin went to meet Cao Cao and explained everything. Cao Cao felt pleased and he said, "How dangerous it was for me when we were defeated at the Yu River. General, you're able to bring order to chaos and hold your ground against a fierce enemy, and you display unwavering loyalty. Even the famous generals of ancient times couldn't have done better than you!" Yu Jin was awarded the title "Marquis of Yishou Village" () in recognition of his contributions. In 198, Yu Jin followed Cao Cao on another campaign against Zhang Xiu at Rang County (穰縣; or Rangcheng 穰城, in present-day Dengzhou, Henan). He also participated in the Battle of Xiapi against Lü Bu, which resulted in Lü Bu's defeat and execution. Later, he joined Shi Huan () and Cao Ren in defeating Sui Gu () at Shequan County (射犬縣; present-day Qinyang, Henan). Guandu campaign In early 200, when war broke out between Cao Cao and his northern rival Yuan Shao, with the latter initially having the upper hand, Yu Jin volunteered to lead the vanguard to engage Yuan Shao's forces. Cao Cao was impressed with Yu Jin's courage, so he placed Yu Jin in command of 2,000 infantry and