Sun Shao

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Sun Shao (孫韶), born Yu Shao (c.188 – 242), courtesy name Gongli (公禮) was a general of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, and is presumed by some to be the adopted son of Sun Ce. His uncle, Sun He had been granted the Sun family name by Sun Jian, and Sun Shao is presumed to have been given his name by proxy. Since Sun He and Sun Ce were as close as brothers, it is possible that Sun Ce adopted Shao, as is suggested in the fictional account of the Three Kingdoms era, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but no such mention of it is made in either man's Sanguozhi biography. A few accounts mistakenly call Sun Shao Sun He's son.

After the death of Sun Ce in 200, Sun Quan assumed control of the nation. Sun Yi, the Grand Administrator of Danyang, was assassinated by rebels in 203, and when Sun He plotted to avenge Yi's death, the assassins killed He as well. After the deaths of the assassins at the hands of Sun Yi's former generals, Sun Shao assumed control of the commandery and established strong defenses. Sun Quan saw this and gave Sun Shao high praise.

In 224, the Emperor of Wei, Cao Pi, led a large force to attack Wu via Guangling. Lü Fan and Xu Sheng collaborated on a defense, constructing a false wall along the Yangtze that halted Cao Pi's progress. Sun Shao, meanwhile, led a squadron of volunteers, along with his subordinate general, Gao Shou, to attack Cao Pi's main army and take them by surprise. The attack worked, and Sun Shao's army was able to capture the bulk of the Wei army's baggage. (Romance of the Three Kingdoms suggests that Sun Shao performed his feat in contradiction to Xu Sheng's explicit orders; however, this account is fictional, and no mention of Sun Shao landing in trouble as a result of his actions appears in any of the official histories).

Ten years later, in 234, Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng were tasked with attacking Huaiyin in coordination with other attacks made by the allied forces of Wu and Shu. However, all of these attacks failed. Still, Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng were able to make some progress, a distinction that the other commanders were unable to claim.

Sun Shao served Wu in many battles with Wei, and his success rate was among the highest - he lost very few engagements and was widely regarded in his time as one of Wu's premier commanders, even becoming General Who Guards the North. In addition, he was given the hypothetical title of Governor of Youzhou; although Youzhou was a territory that Wu did not control, it was an indication by Sun Quan that Sun Shao would be in command of the province once it was settled (which it never was, being far from Wu territory). Sun Shao was also given authority to appoint, replace, and execute subordinate officials of his own accord.

In 242, Sun Shao died of natural causes. He had three sons; Sun Yue, Sun Kai, and Sun Yi. All three served as generals in Wu; in 263, Sun Yi was part of a desperate attack to rescue Shu general Jiang Wei and the former officer of Wei, Zhong Hui, but Jiang Wei was defeated before Sun's troops could arrive. Sun Kai launched a punitive campaign against some bandits, but some suggested that he was in league with the bandits, and Sun Hao became suspicious of him; thus, Sun Kai fled to Jin. Sima Yan made him General of the Cavalry, and after the conquest of Wu in 280, he took over his father's former post at Danyang.