Lu Su

Lu Su (172–217),courtesy name Zijing, was a politician, diplomat and military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was recommended by Zhou Yu as a talent to Sun Quan in 200 CE when Sun had just taken over the reins of power from his elder brother and predecessor, Sun Ce. As one of Sun Quan's most important subjects in the warlord's early career, Lu Su is best known for the following contributions he made. Firstly, in 200 CE, he drafted a long-term strategy for Sun Quan to emerge as one of three major contending powers in China – a plan similar to Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Plan, which was proposed about seven years later. Secondly, before the Battle of Red Cliffs in late 208, he was the first person to persuade Sun Quan to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Thirdly, he succeeded Zhou Yu as the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces in 210 after Zhou's death and maintained the Sun–Liu alliance. Fourthly, in 215, he represented Sun Quan at the negotiations with Liu Bei's general Guan Yu during the Sun–Liu territorial dispute over Jing Province.