Qin Zongquan
In 886, Qin Zongquan put Sun Ru in command of an army to attack Tang's Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan); Sun prevailed over the acting military governor of Heyang, Zhuge Zhongfang (), and took over the circuit. Despite the victory, Zhang Ji (), who also served under Sun, secretly stated to Liu Jianfeng, "Lord Qin is harsh and paranoid, and will soon be destroyed. We have to find a way to avoid this fate ourselves." Liu, who saw the wisdom in Zhang's words, befriended him.