Sun Yi

Sun Yi (184–204), courtesy name Shubi, was Chinese military general and politician who was a younger brother of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Sun Yi was the third son of the warlord Sun Jian and his wife Lady Wu; he had a younger full brother, Sun Kuang. He was known for his martial valour and fiery personality, which made him resemble his eldest brother Sun Ce. He was nominated as a xiaolian (civil service candidate) by Zhu Zhi and served in the office of the Minister of Works. After Sun Jian was killed in action at the Battle of Xiangyang in 191, Sun Ce succeeded him and took over command of his troops. Between 194 and 199, Sun Ce launched a series of conquests in the Jiangdong region and established his power base there. In 200 CE, when Sun Ce was mortally wounded during a hunting expedition, his adviser Zhang Zhao and other subjects believed that he would designate Sun Yi as his successor, but Sun Ce chose his second brother Sun Quan instead. In 202, Sun Quan killed Sheng Xian, the Administrator of Wu Commandery. Some of Sheng Xian's associates and protégés went into hiding in the mountainous areas of Jiangdong. In the following year, Wu Jing, the maternal uncle of Sun Quan and his brothers, died in office while serving as the Administrator of Danyang Commandery. Sun Yi, who was 19 years old then and held the rank of a Lieutenant-General, was appointed as the new Administrator of Danyang. Danyang was adjacent to Wu Commandery, so Sun Yi reached out to some of the disgruntled followers of Sheng Xian, enticing them to Danyang and offering them positions in the Danyang administration in order to stabilise the region. Two of these men, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan came to work for Sun Yi. Dai Yuan was appointed as a Civil Assistant while Gui Lan was given a high military command with the slightly irregular title "Grand Chief Controller". Gui Lan and Dai Yuan were still dissatisfied and they harboured the intention of rebelling. They forged close ties with Bian Hong (邊鴻, also rendered 邊洪), an aide of Sun Yi. Once, when Sun Quan was away on a campaign, they took advantage of the situation to set their plans into motion. At the time, the various chiefs of the counties in Danyang were scheduled to meet Sun Yi in the commandery capital. Before the meeting, Sun Yi asked his wife, Lady Xu, who was versed in divination, to predict the events of the meeting.