穷兵黩武 — “Exhaust soldiers and defile military power”

Lu Kang, a renowned general of the late Eastern Wu period, was appointed Jianwu Commandant at the age of twenty, leading 5,000 troops inherited from his father, Lu Xun. In 264 AD, Sun Hao ascended the throne of Eastern Wu, and the thirty-eight-year-old Lu Kang was made Grand General Zhenjun.

At that time, the Eastern Wu court was plagued by extreme corruption. Sun Hao was debauched and tyrannical, maintaining thousands of palace maids and plundering women from the populace. He also arbitrarily executed people using horrific tortures like flaying faces and gouging out eyes. Lu Kang was deeply displeased with Sun Hao's conduct and repeatedly submitted memorials, urging him to strengthen external defenses and improve internal governance to bolster national power. On one occasion, he presented as many as sixteen urgent matters in a single memorial. However, Sun Hao disregarded his advice.

In 272 AD, Bu Chan, a Wu general garrisoned in Xiling, defected to the Jin Dynasty. Upon learning this, Lu Kang immediately led his army to quell the rebellion. Anticipating that the Jin army would inevitably come to Bu Chan's aid, he ordered his troops and civilians to construct a formidable wall around Xiling. Despite repeated requests from Wu generals to attack Xiling, Lu Kang consistently refused. Once the fortifications were complete, the Jin army had already arrived at Xiling to reinforce Bu Chan. Lu Kang then led his forces to repel the advancing Jin reinforcements, launched a fierce assault on Xiling, quickly breached the city, and executed the rebellious general Bu Chan.

Concurrently, Jin's General of Chariots and Cavalry, Yang Hu, was stationed in Xiangyang. Observing Lu Kang's prowess in both offense and defense, Yang Hu realized that defeating Eastern Wu would be no easy feat. Consequently, he adopted a strategy of reconciliation towards Eastern Wu: he ordered the release of Wu children captured by his subordinates; when his army marched to the Eastern Wu border and harvested their crops, he sent silk and cloth as compensation; and if any wild animals caught by his hunters had already been wounded by Wu people, he returned them to Eastern Wu.

Lu Kang understood Yang Hu's intentions and reciprocated with a similar attitude towards Jin merchants. The two frequently exchanged envoys, fostering a sense of friendship. As a result, certain border areas between Wu and Jin experienced a temporary period of peace. Sun Hao was displeased upon hearing about the amicable border situation and dispatched an envoy to question Lu Kang. Lu Kang responded, "Not even a single village or county can exist without integrity, let alone a great nation! If I did not act this way, it would only elevate Yang Hu's virtue, without causing him any harm." Sun Hao had no counter-argument but still harbored intentions of invading Jin.

Witnessing the continuous deployment of troops and the exhaustion of the populace, Lu Kang submitted another memorial to Sun Hao, stating: "Presently, the court does not focus on enriching the country and strengthening its military, accelerating agricultural production, storing grain, allowing talented individuals to perform their roles, ensuring all government offices are not idle, implementing strict promotion systems to incentivize officials, prudently applying punishments to warn the populace, instructing officials with morality, and appeasing the people with benevolence and righteousness. Instead, you allow generals to pursue fame, exhaust all military power, incessantly wage war, consume vast sums of wealth, and leave soldiers utterly fatigued. In this way, the enemy is not weakened, but we ourselves fall seriously ill." Lu Kang also solemnly pointed out that the strengths of Wu and Jin were disparate, and even if an attack today were to succeed, the gains would not compensate for the losses. Therefore, he argued, military operations should cease, forces should be accumulated, and the opportune moment awaited.

However, Sun Hao ignored all of Lu Kang's loyal advice. After Lu Kang's death, the Jin army invaded Eastern Wu, sailing downstream along the Yangtze River with irresistible force, like a broken bamboo, and the Wu kingdom was ultimately conquered by Jin.