“Excellently!” Steward Wu then added solemnly. “Mr. Sun was highly perceptive and offered Master many useful strategies. Master praised him repeatedly. After Mr. Sun resigned and left, Master even sighed that capable talent was hard to find.” He then had a sip of water before continuing, “Once, I even heard Master say that Generals Wu and Ke on the northwestern front only fell into such a passive position because they failed to use Mr. Sun’s strategy. One wrong move led to every subsequent step going wrong.”

He Lingchuan remembered that Sun Hongye had once advised Ke Jihai on how to capture Gu City and Luyun Lake along the Wu Province front.

Gu City possessed high walls and deep moats. It was the first great obstacle blocking the official troops’ advance into Wu Province.

At the time, Sun Hongye had recommended abandoning the assault on...