Sun Li

Not to be confused with Lady Sun Li.

Sun Li is a Wei officer who partook in their campaign to conquer Shu. He served under Cao Zhen and Sima Yi.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Sun Li is described as a bold man who earned his rank by saving his master from a leaping tiger. He is Cao Zhen's friend and vassal, appearing in chapter 95 to quell Zhuge Liang's northern campaign. He and Cao Zhen are ordered to stop his advance and they stall the Shu forces.

In chapter 98, he suggests attacking Shu by leading a "defenseless" convoy. Knowing that the Shu forces are running low on supplies, he secretly set sulfur into the carts and planned to set fire on them at the most opportune moment. Using the fire as a signal, the waiting ally forces would then ambush the Shu army. Zhuge Liang saw through the ruse and decided to counter with one of his own by setting fire on the enemy's storehouse. Thinking that their plan worked, the Wei army ran out of their camp but fell victim to Ma Dai's attack. Sun Li was caught by Ma Zheng and Zhang Ni but was able to escape in the chaos of the fire attack. Following their chain of losses, Sun Li was assigned to defend Yongcheng.

He and Guo Huai were defeated once more in the following chapter and began to fear Zhuge Liang's smarts. Sun Li acknowledges the strategist to be greater than Sima Yi and apologizes for losing two more forts to Shu. He was ordered to protect Yongcheng once more. His last mention in the novel is joining the front to attack Hanzhong.