I've gotten good tactician and desert warrior, both worth one star, and one more star from some other place, I forget what. But that's about it. The AI seems better at getting high-star generals (well, at least some factions). I'm wondering if there are any ancillaries that count toward stars left in the game (maybe a veteran or some kind of battle advisor would have something to offer in terms of strategy). I also wonder if there were specific schools that taught battle strategy rather than philosophy and such in the ancient world.