After Chu, Han and Yan withdrew their troops, Pang Juan led the Wei army out of Qi. He was haunted by the fact that he had been captured on the altar of the alliance and had been humiliated. He was silent and frowned all the way. When he was about to travel to the border of Wei, Pang Juan glanced sideways at Gongsun Yue, who was in the same car with him, and asked as if casually, “One of the two Qi generals who turned on me is Zhong Li Chun, can''t you see that?”
“Zhong Li Chun?” Gongsun Yue was startled and covered up, “No, it can''t be Zhong Li Chun!”
“I''ve already sent my detail to inquire, she is Zhong Li Chun.”
Gongsun Yue froze for a moment, then said, “Why didn''t I recognize her?”
Pang Juan sneered, “If you had recognized her, everything wouldn''t be the way it is now.”
Gongs Yueun could see that Pang Juan was beginning to doubt himself, so he changed the subject and asked, “Marshal, could it be that you''ve really admitted defeat?”
Pang Juan smiled slightly and asked in return, “What do you think?”
Gongsun Yue knew that Pang Juan was a person who refused to admit defeat easily, not to mention that he would never give up after being humiliated like this. So he said, “I just don''t understand why Marshal didn''t kill back to Qi at this time and catch Sun Bin off guard?”
“The time is not ripe.”
“What timing is the marshal referring to?”
“Heh, the heart of the army.”
Wei''s army set foot on their own land, and even though many of the soldiers felt stifled about withdrawing without a fight, they were still very happy to be back in their own country. It was night, and they made a bonfire, and while shouting loudly, they danced gaily and roughly.
Pang Juan came among the soldiers and greeted them casually, then sat around the bonfire with the soldiers and chatted about family matters.
He asked a young soldier sitting beside him, “Young man, are you happy to be back in Wei?”
The young soldier replied unabashedly, “That''s for sure, I can see my mother now.”
A soldier next to him interjected, “Hey, hey, and a beautiful daughter-in-law.”
The young soldier laughed in embarrassment and scolded, “Don''t be ridiculous, I''m not married yet, how can I have a daughter-in-law?”
The soldier quickly corrected, “It''s an unmarried daughter-in-law, right?”
The young soldier nodded with a red face, “Even if it is ......”
Pang Juan patted the young soldier''s shoulder and said, “When you get married, invite me, okay?”
The young soldier said excitedly, “Yes, yes, of course, I want to treat the Marshal to the most fragrant wine from our hometown.”
Pang Juan laughed, “We have a deal.” He turned sideways and asked a middle-aged soldier with a beard sitting on the other side, “What kind of people do you have in your family?”
The middle-aged soldier replied, “A wife and two sons.”
Pang Juan asked again, “Your family must be very happy to have you home?”
The middle-aged soldier nodded and said, “They are happy, I am not.”
Pang Juan was puzzled and asked, “Why are you not happy to see each other after a long time?”
The middle-aged soldier sighed and said, “What does going home say? Victory, or defeat? Both and neither. This battle is ...... holding my breath in my heart ......”
Pang Juan s face became very ugly, and he stood up violently.
The middle-aged soldier hastily stopped his words, glanced at Pang Juan, bowed and said, “Marshal, I speak straight, don''t take offense.”
Pang Juan sat down again, patted the middle-aged soldier''s shoulder, and said movingly, “I''m not blaming you, I''m blaming myself, I''m incapable of being a marshal, and I''m sorry for subjecting you all to the humiliation of Qi.”
“No, Marshal, we don''t blame you,” the middle-aged soldier busily said, ”You have led us through many victorious battles, you have made us, the soldiers of Wei, the greatest honor. This time, although Sun Bin''s plot succeeded, Marshal''s army didn''t lose, if Marshal leads us to kill back to Qi, we can definitely defeat the Qi people!”
The surrounding soldiers yelled:
“Marshal, we shouldn''t withdraw our army, we should fight our way back to Linzi!”
“Marshal, we should teach those Qi people a hard lesson!”
“Marshal, take us to fight back, we can definitely defeat the Qi people!”
“Marshal, take us to fight back ......”
Pang Juan was very touched, he arched his hand and saluted the soldiers, saying gratefully, “My good brothers, I thank you, thank you ......”
The middle-aged soldier said to Pang Juan, “Marshal, give the order, as long as you give the word, we will die to erase the humiliation that the Qi people have inflicted on us!”
Pang Juan shook his head, “We can''t go back to Qi ......”
“Is the marshal worried about losing his trust to the world?”
“No, I''d rather lose faith in the world than in my soldiers.”
“Then why?”
“You have been away from home for many days, your families miss you ......”
The middle-aged soldier was touched by Pang Juan''s words, and he said firmly to Pang Juan, “Without honor, we have no face to go home, Marshal should lead us to kill our way back to Qi and reclaim our honor!”
Pang Juan looked at the middle-aged soldier and then looked around at the soldiers and said, “I don''t know if all of my brothers are willing to kill their way back to Qi and reclaim their honor.”
The middle-aged soldier turned around violently, drew his sword and held it aloft, and said loudly, “Brothers, those who are willing to kill their way back to Qi and reclaim their honor, raise your weapons.”
The soldiers present raised the various weapons in their hands and shouted:
“Kill back Qi and reclaim the honor!”
“Kill back Qi and reclaim the honor!”
“......”
The shouts of the soldiers echoed for a long time in the vast wilderness.
Sensing that the time had come, Pang Juan led the vengeful Wei soldiers in a great rush to kill Qi again.
Wei''s army once again invaded Qi, King Wei of Qi urgently summoned Tian Ji and Sun Bin and said, “Pang Juan has betrayed his trust and betrayed his honor by invading my country again, I want to fight Pang Juan to the death. If I win, Wei will no longer be able to dominate the Central Plains; if Pang Juan wins, my country will be at rest. Therefore, we can only win, not lose. How do you two think we should deal with Pang Juan?”
Sun Bin said to King Wei of Qi: “Your Majesty, in order to defeat Pang Juan, you must grant us one condition.”
King Wei of Qi said, “As long as we can defeat Pang Juan, I''ll agree to ten conditions, not to mention one. Say it.”
Sun Bin said, “To defeat a strong enemy, we must concentrate our military power and unify our command, Your Majesty should concentrate the power to mobilize the army in the hands of General Tian and my humble servant, and by my servant, I mean all the armies of Qi.”
King Wei of Qi nodded slightly, “Yes.”
“Also, the daofengs in the court shall also follow the dispatch of General Tian & Weichen, giving men to men and food to food, and if there are any who do not follow, no matter who they are, General Tian & Weichen shall have the right to decapitate them first and then report them to the king.”
“Is this ...... necessary?” King Qi Wei was somewhat reluctant.
“There is.” Sun Bin''s attitude was resolute, “War is a matter of national importance, it can''t be won by the army alone, especially in such a big battle, the top and bottom, inside and outside, must be coordinated.”
King Qi Wei pondered for a moment and finally agreed to Sun Bin''s request.
Sun Bin and Tian Ji gathered the court''s Dafus and started to deploy the battle.
Sun Bin said to the Dafus, “At a time of national crisis, General Tian and I have been commissioned by the King to lead the army and courtiers to defeat the strong enemy. Sun Bin hopes that all the Dafu in the court will do their best to assist General Tian and I and defeat Pang Juan.” Sun Bin swept a glance at the crowd and called out, “Zou Xiang Guo.”
Zou Ji is a phase state under one person, no one has spoken to him in such a tone except for the King of Qi, so, with a disdainful look on his face, he didn''t even look at Sun Bin, and responded slowly, “Listening.”
Sun Bin, without showing his might, continued, “Zou Xiang Guo, come forward and listen to the order.”
Zou Ji stood without moving.
“My words, did you hear me?”
“Heard.” Zou Ji responded impatiently.
Sun Bin asked with a dignified face, “Then why don''t you come forward and listen to the order?”
Zou Ji sneered, “You''re not the Great King, there''s no need for me to come forward to listen to orders.”
“I am under the orders of the Great King, my orders are the orders of the Great King, please come forward to listen to the orders.”
“As a prime minister, I am under one person and above ten thousand people, to listen to orders here is already giving you a great deal of face, so don''t hold a personal vendetta and intentionally make things difficult for me.”
“This is not intentionally making things difficult, I am acting according to military orders. Please come forward to listen to orders.”
“What can I do if I don''t follow your military order?”
“You disobeyed a military order, you should have been beheaded, remembering that you have merited Qi, you can be spared the death penalty, but you can''t escape the living penalty.” Sun Bin said in a loud voice: “Are the palace guards available?”
Two palace guards walked up and said “Yes.”
Sun Bin ordered, “Pull Zou Ji out, tie him up in the market, and publicize him for three days.”
There was an outcry from the Dawgs:
“Military Master Sun is too bold, how dare he make the Prime Minister publicized in the street!”
“The army is like this, the military order is like a mountain to fall ......”
“But we''re not his soldiers ......”
Seeing the palace guards hesitating, Sun Bin snapped, “Do you hear me? Pull Zou Ji out, tie him to the market, and show him to the public for three days! Violate the order and behead him!”
“Wait!” At this moment, King Qi Wei walked out from the side door.
King Qi Wei came to Sun Bin and said “Master Sun, Zou Xiangguo is my meritocracy, you can''t tie him up and show him to the public.”
Sun Bin said, “Your Majesty, if I don''t severely punish Xiang Guo, I won''t be able to dispose of anyone else who disobeys military orders. If I don''t dispose of those who disobey the military order, the military order can''t be enforced, and if the military order can''t be enforced, how can I defeat the enemy?”
King Qi Wei said, “Can this ...... be a lighter punishment to save face for Xiang Guo?”
Sun Bin said, “I can save face for him, but Pang Juan won''t save face for me; to defeat Pang Juan, I can''t save face for anyone.”
King Qi Wei''s face gradually solidified and said “You won''t give my face either?”
Sun Bin said, “If the Great King wants to preserve Qi, the Great King''s face can''t be given; if the Great King doesn''t want to preserve Qi, the Great King''s face I can give.”
King Qi Wei looked at Sun Bin for a moment of silence and said with a sullen face very unpleasantly, “You see to it!” After saying that, he turned around and went into the back room again.
The palace guards followed Sun Bin''s order to frame Zou Ji away. Zou Ji shouted indignantly as he was leaving the palace gate “Sun Bin ...... come on!”
Sun Bin punished Zou Ji, and the other Dafus in the court, none of them dared to be slow to Sun Bin''s order, some supervised the city''s grain and grass, some were responsible for issuing weapons to the young and strong people, some were responsible for making bows and arrows and repairing the weapons and carriages....... All of them were mobilized in the court, and Linzi soon formed a military and civilian integrated combat system.
After Sun Bin finished arranging the fortifications in Linzi, he went to the Qi army camp dozens of miles away. Before he left, he instructed Tian Ji who stayed in Linzi to mainly defend and not to attack, if he had to attack, he would discuss with Qin Gu and then make a decision. Tian Ji promised to act according to the battle deployment.
Sun Bin came to the camp 20 miles away from Linzi and told Tian Guo and other generals about the battle deployment. Sun Bin told them: “Our camp and Linzi form a hand in hand, echoing each other. If Pang Juan sieges the camp with all his strength, he will be worried that General Tian will attack from the back; if he sieges Linzi, he will be worried that we will attack from the back; if he sieges both Linzi and the camp at the same time, it will be difficult for him to keep up his strength. Therefore, you can rest assured that he will never dare to throw his weight around and attack Linzi or the camp. Wei army came from afar, plus one to go back and forth, the soldiers have been exhausted, we hold out not to come out, drag Pang Juan, when the Wei army lack of food and grass, military fluctuations, we then fight with them, Wei army, although powerful, but also will be defeated undoubtedly.”
In order to deal with Sun Bin''s one “city” and one “camp”, Pang Juan planned to bypass Sun Bin and besiege Linzi, mobilize Sun Bin to leave the camp and rescue Linzi, then fight Sun Bin outside the camp. Gongsun Yue thinks Sun Bin won''t fall for it, Pang Juan doesn''t think so and thinks the King of Qi will force him to fall for it.
Pang Juan''s army launched a fierce attack on Linzi city and fought above and below the city.
Tian got sullen and asked Sun Bin: “War Master, Pang Juan''s army is besieging Linzi, why don''t we send troops to help?”
“The art of war says: don''t move like a mountain.” Sun Bin replied.
“If Linzi is lost, we can''t account for it.”
“With the Great General around, Linzi won''t be lost.”
When Pang Juan saw that Sun Bin was holding his ground, he transferred another 5,000 soldiers to attack Linzi. Gongsun Yue suggests he move more troops to attack the city, Pang Juan disagrees, he wants to reserve enough troops to deal with Sun Bin.
As more and more Wei troops attacked the city, King of Qi was worried that Tian Ji couldn''t defend Linzi, and the court officials slandered Sun Bin for having other plans by keeping his troops still despite Linzi''s danger. King Qi Wei sent his palace guards out of the city and ordered Sun Bin to rescue Linzi immediately.
Sun Bin told the palace guard who went out to convey the king''s order that the Wei army is just bluffing and Linzi won''t be in danger. Before the palace guards returned to Linzi, Sun Bin specially instructed them: “Tell the king again that there are 5 ways to win, one of them is: the general is talented and the king doesn''t hold him back. I hope the Great King will trust it.”
When Pang Juan saw that Sun Bin didn''t send troops for a long time, he ordered his army to stop attacking Linzi and besiege Sun Bin''s camp, planning to lure Tian Ji to send troops and destroy him first. He said to Gongsun Yue: “You send more spies, mix into Linzi, spread rumors, say Sun Bin''s grain and grass is burned, people are restless, no more help, it''s hard to protect the camp.”
Gongsun Yue said, “I''m afraid Tian Ji won''t believe it.”
Pang Juan said meaningfully, “I''m not asking Tian Ji to believe it, I''m asking the King of Qi to believe it.”
King Wei of Qi really believed Pang Juan''s rumors, and he immediately summoned Tian Ji and ordered him to send troops to rescue the camp. Tian Ji advised King Qi Wei not to believe the rumors, Sun Bin valued grain and grass the most, grain and grass won''t go wrong easily. King of Qi Wei said to Tian Ji: “General Tian, in my opinion, regardless of whether the grain and grass matter is true or false, you should bring an army to attack Pang Juan from behind, so that it will be difficult for him to take care of his head and his tail, on the one hand, you can reduce Sun Bin''s pressure, and on the other hand, you can take advantage of the enemy''s confusion to send someone into the camp to understand the true situation.” Speaking of this, King Qi Wei said proudly, “How is it, my plan is no less than Sun Bin''s, right?”
“The Great King''s plan is indeed very good.” Tian Ji thought of Sun Bin''s instructions and explained to King Qi Wei, “But the military advisor said in his farewell that holding fast is the main thing, not attacking ......”
“General Tian,” King Qi Wei was very unhappy and interrupted him, ”No wonder you lost to Pang Juan several times, it''s because you are indecisive. The matter of sending out troops is decided by me.”
Tian Ji was pressured by the King of Qi and intended to go out to war, Qin Gu disagreed and said to Tian Ji, “The Great King once said that all matters of war are decided by generals and military advisors.”
“After all, the Great King is the Great King; how can I disobey him?”
“If this causes the military division''s battle deployment to fall through, who will be responsible?”
“I am responsible.”
“You can''t afford it! The entire Qi state can''t afford it!”
Tian Ji was silent for a moment and said, “Alright, let''s proceed as planned.”
When Tian Ji did not send out his troops, Gongsun Yue said to Pang Juan, “We underestimated Tian Ji.”
“Not underestimated, but overestimated, Tian Ji simply doesn''t have the guts to go out of the city, even if the King of Qi wanted to kill him, he wouldn''t dare.” Pang Juan said, picked up a bottle of wine and drank it all in one go, then bit into a large piece of meat.
Gongsun Yue, seeing Pang Juan so calm and relaxed, thought he had an idea and asked, “Marshal, do you have an idea?”
Pang Juan shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “It''s even less of an idea if I don''t eat or drink.” He poured a bottle of wine and handed it to Gongsun Yue, “Come, let''s drink together.”
On the other side, Sun Bin and Tian Guo were also drinking. Tian Guo drank a bottle of wine, wiped his mouth and said, “Military Counselor, I count myself convinced of you, some people say you anticipate things like a god, but I think a god is no better than that.”
“General Tian Guo, you''ve learned to flatter people too.” Sun Bin said with an amused smile.
“It''s not flattery, it''s true ......” Tian Guo took a sip of wine, ”It''s just that you''re so powerful that everyone is afraid of you and doesn''t dare to talk to you, and I mean from the heart... ...”
“Could it be that General Tian has something in his heart? There''s no harm in saying it.”
“Hehehe,” Tian Guo drank another large mouthful of wine and laughed nervously in embarrassment, ”Military Master, ah, I''m a person who can''t stand it in my heart if I don''t fight in a war, and it''s so unbearable to watch the Wei soldiers hanging around in front of us these past few days, especially when they''re pointing at our faces and cursing us for being cowards. I hate that I can not rush out and kill a pain ...... But for the sake of the big picture, I can only ''not move like a mountain'' and honestly get scolded ...... Military division, can you give us a chance to go out to Relieve hatred, even if it''s just a very little bit of a chance.”
“To be honest, I also want to go out and fight a battle, but my legs ......” Sun Bin said, looking down at his legs, thinking for a moment, suddenly raised his head, and said to Tian Guo, ”General Tian Guo, we''ll go out to battle tonight .”
Tian Guo was a bit incredulous and asked, “Warlord, you''re not kidding, right?”
Sun Bin replied seriously, “There are no jokes in the military.”
Tian Guo happily slapped his thigh, “Great! Military Master, what do you say to fight?”
“You take a few hundred of your best soldiers and sneak up on the Wei army and tell them to have no peace.”
It was night, another bonfire was lit inside the Wei army camp, and the Wei soldiers sat around the bonfire, silently listening to a piece of music filled with homesickness, and that tall middle-aged soldier was among them. The soldier next to him asked him if he was homesick, and he said, “Of course I want to, originally I wanted to win a battle and go home in style, but I didn''t realize that nowadays, I can''t fight, and I can''t leave ......”
Suddenly an arrow shot over from the night, the young soldier who was preparing to go home to marry his new daughter-in-law fell headlong to the ground. Immediately after that, a rain of arrows shot over.
The arrows were shot by Tian''s soldiers, who wore the armor of Wei''s soldiers, and while shooting arrows, they shouted, “Qi''s army is coming! The Qi army is coming!”
In an instant, the Wei military camp was in chaos, and a fire was also started, burning down many tents. Many Wei soldiers died in the chaos, and the tall middle-aged soldier also died.
The next morning, the Wei camp was quiet. Pang Juan''s face was blue as he stood in front of a burnt out tent and watched the bodies of soldiers being carried past in front of him. He saw the body of the middle aged soldier, stopped the people carrying the body, went forward and held the middle aged soldier s hand, tears streaming down his face, and said, “Brother, I am sorry for you .......”
He drew his sword and pointed to the sky, swearing, “If I don''t take this revenge, I, Pang Juan, am a man in vain!”
The Wei generals stormed the Qi camp with hatred. The Qi soldiers, on the other hand, retreated inside the fence wall made of round logs, and very orderly shot arrows outward in alternating rows one after another. The first Wei soldiers were hit by arrows and fell down, and the ones behind them stepped over the dead bodies and continued to charge towards the Qi camp. The sound of shouting and killing and the clash of weapons inside and outside the Qi camp was terrifying ......
Qin Gu learned that Pang Juan had attacked the Qi camp and urged Tian Ji to send troops. Tian Ji asked, “Pang Juan won''t be fraudulent, right?”
Qin Gu said, “I reckon not. Pang Juan was dragged by the military division, and it is easy to lose one''s head in a hurry; moreover, he thought that the great general did not dare to attack. So ......” said Qin Gu, only to see Tian Ji threw back his head and laughed, ”I am not afraid, is the timing is not.” Immediately, he led his army out of the city to attack Pang Juan.
When Pang Juan heard that Tian Ji had marched out, he was shocked and quickly calmed down. He asked his detail: “How many men did Tian Ji send out?”
The agent replied, “A great number, as many as 300 horse-drawn carriages.”
Pang Juan sneered, “I''ll tell them to come back.”
Pang Juan immediately ordered the Wei troops to evacuate the Qi camp and Sun Bin knew that Tian Ji had marched out.
Tian said to Sun Bin: “Warlord, are we going to raid behind Pang Juan as well?”
Sun Bin said, “No, we''re still ‘not moving like a mountain’.”
Pang Juan attempted to block Tian Ji outside the city for a duel, urging his soldiers to advance at a brisk pace along the way. The soldiers were out of breath from running, and with all the tossing and turning over the past few days, they were on the verge of physical exhaustion. Unbeknownst to him, Tian Ji had already withdrawn to Linzi, and on his return he smiled at Qin Gu and said, “Falsehoods, true falsehoods, this hand of the military counselor, I have also learned.”
Afterwards, Pang Juan was infuriated, angrily questioned the details of the report: “You lied about the military situation, what should be the crime?”
“Yuan ...... Marshal, I saw Tian Ji go out of Linzi ...... with my own eyes Who thought that they went back again halfway ......” The fine work stammered and answered.
“You only have long eyes, not long brain, keep you what have?” Pang Juan said indifferently, giving instructions to the guards beside him, “Pull out and kill.” After disposing of the spies, Pang Juan orders the entire army to eat at cock-crow tomorrow morning and gear up for battle.
“Marshal, will we still fight tomorrow?” Gongsun Yue asked Pang Juan.
“What do you think?” Pang Juan asked in return.
Gongs Yueun thought about it, understood and sighed, “Marshal, you should have killed Sun Bin in the first place.”
Pang Juan slanted a glance at Gongsun Yue and said, “Are you saying that I''m no match for him?”
“No. In today''s world, only you two are worthy opponents. But this time, it''s hard for the Marshal to win, it''s just that we can''t help that our soldiers are too tired ......”
Sun Bin is playing chess alone in his tent, he looks at the board in front of him and says to Tian Guo who is sitting beside him, “Pang Juan will surely withdraw his army tomorrow, you''ll lead your whole army to tail and pursue, are you sure you can defeat Pang Juan?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.Tian Guo laughed: “With my army, I can''t be sure that I will win if I follow Pang Juan''s laborious and exhausting journey. It''s just that we shouldn''t tail and fight, we should intercept Pang Juan and completely destroy the Wei army.”
Sun Bin said, “Sun Tzu said: don''t curb the returning division. The enemy is eager to return to their country, if they are stopped, they will fight to the death, not only will we fail to destroy the enemy, but we will be hit by the enemy, which is not worth the loss. Therefore, it is sufficient for us to tail and pursue.” He said and placed a piece on the chessboard.
The next day, Pang Juan really withdrew his troops, and Tian led the Qi army to tail and pursue, and once again defeated the Wei army.
Note: The phrase “wait for labor with ease” is from “Sun Tzu''s Art of War”, this is the fourth of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the idea is to make sure that you keep your strength and force the enemy to be exhausted and in an unfavorable position, so as to win over the enemy. Sun Bin was immovable as a mountain, waiting for the enemy to get tired, and defeated Pang Juan again. To know how Pang Juan will fight with Sun Bin next time, please read next time: “Creating something out of nothing”.
The Ninth Creating something out of nothing
After Pang Juan led the defeated army back to Wei, the more he thought about it, the more angry he got, he hated Sun Bin, he hated Zhong Li Chun, and he hated those who cheated him ...... He ordered his soldiers to arrest Zhong Li Qiu.
“Zhong Li Qiu, do you know why I invited you here?” Pang Juan sneered at Zhong Liqiu.
Zhong Liqiu had a sulky look on his face and shook his head.
“Your sister humiliated me in front of everyone in Qi, making me shameless.”
“That''s her business, it has nothing to do with me.”
“How is it not related? You guys let Sun Bin go, Sun Bin instructed her to do that.”
“I didn''t let Sun Bin go.”
“Who is it if not you? Wasn''t it Gongsun Yue?” Pang Juan pressed.
“No, it wasn''t him ......” Zhong Li Qiu firmly denied.
Pang Juan burst into a sneer and threatened, “If you don''t say it, I''ll hand you over to my soldiers and let them dispose of you ...... Do you understand what I mean?”
Zhong Liqiu was furious: “You ...... you shall not die well!”
“It is you who shall not die well.” Pang Juan sneered, “Men, take her to the barracks and let the soldiers take turns enjoying her.”
The soldiers guarding the door walked in and racked Zhong Liqiu in preparation to take her away.
“Let go of me, I''ll talk!” Zhong Liqiu shouted at Pang Juan.
Pang Juan signaled for the soldiers to let go of Zhong Liqiu.
Zhong Liqiu said to Pang Juan, “I''m the one who let Sun Bin go.”
Pang Juan asked, “Who else?”
Zhong Li Qiu replied, “My sister.”
Pang Juan sneered, “You two alone can''t do it.”
Zhong Liqiu said disdainfully, “What''s so impossible about this? I hid Mr. Sun in my house, threw his clothes by the river, and after the wind and waves calmed down, my sister drove Mr. Sun to Qi in her car.......” Before the words left his mouth, Pang Juan slapped him hard, knocking Zhong Liqiu to the ground.
Zhong Liqiu struggled to get up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said to Pang Juan, “Go ahead and fight, if you beat me to death, Mr. Sun will avenge me, you''re no match for him, and sooner or later, he''ll kill you ......”
Pang Juan was furious and ordered his soldiers to drag Zhong Li Qiu to the market and behead him.
Gongsun Yue heard that Pang Juan was going to kill Zhong Li Qiu, he quickly ran to the execution ground, grabbed the executioner''s knife, and asked them to wait for a moment, he went to beg Marshal Pang to leave the man under the knife. Gongsun Yue came to Pang''s mansion and knelt in front of Pang Juan, begging him to spare Zhong Li Qiu.
Pang Juan looked at Gongs Yueun and said coldly, “She let Sun Bin go, I can''t not kill her.”
“But she didn''t let Sun Bin go, it was Zhong Li Chun.” Gongsun Yue defended.
“She let Sun Bin go with Zhong Li Chun.”
“She didn''t, it was me who let Sun Bin go along with Zhong Li Chun.”
Pang Juan smiled coldly, “Ruining your life for a woman, is it worth it?”
Gongsun Yue categorically said, “Worth it. She is the woman I need the most.”
Pang Juan looked at him for a moment and sighed, “Get up, I can release Zhong Li Qiu.”
Gongsun Yue was grateful and said to Pang Juan, “Marshal, I will go through fire for you!”
Pang Juan added, “Gongsun Yue, I want you to help me get rid of Sun Bin.”
“Okay, but don''t let Zhong Li Qiu know.”
“No need for you to do it yourself, borrow someone else''s hand to get rid of him.”
“You command, how do I do it?”
“The reason I''m making a big deal today is to let people know that I''m going to kill Zhong Li Qiu. If you take Zhong Li Qiu and defect to Qi, they will definitely not suspect you. When you get to Qi, go to Zou Ji and try to get his trust. Zou Ji has always been at odds with Tian Ji and Sun Bin, you can use Zou Ji''s hand to get rid of Sun Bin.” Pang Juan said, a murderous aura coming out of his dark eyes.
Gongsun Yue clapped his hands and happily agreed.
Gongsun Yue left Wei with Zhong Li Qiu and headed to Qi. Along the way, Zhong Li Qiu was very happy, looking forward to seeing her sister and Mr. Sun as soon as possible. Gongsun Yue drove the carriage while saying, “When Sun Bin escaped, there was a contract between us, I helped him escape and he helped me get you and swore never to see you again.”
Zhong Li Qiu said, “Sun was forced to do that.”
Gongs Yueun looked back at Zhong Li Qiu and sighed, “A man who truly loves a woman is dying, but he won''t promise not to see that woman. The other day, Pang Juan forced me to make a choice: on one side, death, but to be with you; on the other side, life, but to lose you forever. I chose death because I truly like you. Sun Bin he wasn''t sincere about you, so he chose life and to never see you again.”
Zhong Li Qiu was silent and speechless, looking into the distance, looking a bit bewildered.
After Gongsun Yue came to Linzi, he defected to Zou Ji. After the two sat down, Zou Ji asked Gongsun Yue, “Why did you leave Pang Juan and defect to Qi?”
“Pang Juan wanted to kill my wife.” Gongsun Yue replied.
“Why did Pang Juan want to kill your wife?”
“My wife once helped Sun Bin escape from Wei.”
“Then you should have defected to Sun Bin, you shouldn''t have come to me.”
“My wife was in love with Sun Bin, if I defected to Sun Bin, wouldn''t my wife and family be separated?”
Zou Ji thought for a moment and said, “I can take you in, but, for the time being, you should not show your face.”
Gongsun Yue said, “I understand that the Minister needs to verify what I said just now.”
“It''s not that I don''t trust you,” Zou Ji explained, ”I not only need you to be my strategist, but I also need you to be Qi''s strategist. Therefore, one has to act with caution.”
Zou Ji sent someone to Wei to inquire about Gongsun Yue and made sure that what Gongsun Yue said was all true. He then set up a banquet to entertain Gongsun Yue and apologized to him.
The two of them had a good conversation. During the banquet, Gongsun Yue said to Zou Ji, “Minister, do you know why I joined you?”
Zou Ji laughed and said, “I am the prime minister of Qi, I can let you get glory and wealth.”
Gongsun Yue shook his head, “Gongsun Yue doesn''t value glory and wealth, if it was only for glory and wealth, I wouldn''t have to leave Pang Juan.”
“Then what do you value?”
“Women, the woman I love.”
“You don''t already have one.”
“But she could go back to Sun Bin at any time.”
“What can I do to help you?”
“Get rid of Sun Bin.”
“How do you know I''ll help you?”
Gongsun Yueun said, “Sun Bin once tied up Xiang Guo in the market and humiliated him, Xiang Guo hates him to the bone.”
Zou Ji shivered with anger whenever he remembered this, he gritted his teeth and said, “I swear to be at loggerheads with Sun Bin!”
Gongsun Yue continued, “To get rid of Sun Bin, you must get rid of Tian Ji.”
Zou Ji slammed the table, “Not a single one of the two of them can be kept!” After saying that, he sighed and added, “Since Sun Bin and Tian Ji defeated Pang Juan, the Great King''s trust in them is growing day by day ...... It''s too hard to get rid of them.”
Gongsun Yue said sorrowfully, “It''s not difficult. The Great King is most worried about others taking over his throne, and he is especially worried about his clansmen turning on him. Tian Ji is the Great King''s clansman and has military power, so as long as we convince the Great King that Tian Ji has ambitions to take the throne, that''s enough.”
“Tian Ji doesn''t have such ambition, the Great King won''t believe it.”
“We can induce the Great King to believe it.”
Zou Ji used to play a pot-throwing game with King Wei of Qi, and the loser drank wine. On this day when they were having a good time, he said to King Wei of Qi: “Your Majesty, people''s hearts are wicked, Tian Ji and Sun Bin have military power, your Majesty must not be unguarded.”
King Wei of Qi said, “Tian Ji and Sun Bin are loyal to me and won''t do anything to wrong me.”
Zou Ji added: “Has the Great King forgotten that when Wei''s army pressed the border, they ignored the Great King, had no one in their sight, repeatedly disobeyed the Great King''s orders, and didn''t put the Great King in their eyes at all, and one must not be unguarded against this kind of people.”
King Qi Wei laughed, “That was for the sake of the war, they did the right thing and ultimately defeated Pang Juan for me.”
Zou Ji returned to his palace and told Gongsun Yue that the King did not believe that Tian Ji and Sun Bin were ambitious.
Gongsun Yue said, “The number of times that Xiang Guo has said this is too few, if you say it once doesn''t work, then twice, if twice doesn''t work, then three times, if you say it more than once, the Great King will have doubts even if he doesn''t believe it completely.”
Zou Ji said helplessly, “Empty words have no proof, there must be evidence.”
Gongsun Yue laughed, “That''s the next step, need to wait for the opportunity.”
Since Zhong Li Qiu came to Qi, she has been living in Zou Ji''s mansion, she misses her sister Zhong Li Chun, but Gongsun Yue won''t let her see, saying to wait for some days. Many days passed and Gongsun Yue still had no intention of letting her see her sister. Zhong Li Qiu said to Gongsun Yue, “I have waited for days, how much longer do you want me to wait?”
Gongsun Yue smiled bitterly and said, “We are in Qi, we are not familiar with the land, we are relying on Xiang Guo, Xiang Guo and General Tian do not get along with each other, and your sister is General Tian''s guest, at this time if you go to see her, if Xiang Guo knows about it, what will he think?”
“Then ...... when will I be able to see my sister?”
“After I have gained the trust of the Xiangguo.”
Zhong Li Chun instructed Gongs Yueun, “Well, you can work well for Xiang Guo so that he trusts you earlier.”
Zhong Li Chun since she knew Sun Bin, she had admiration for him, admired Sun Bin for not giving up on himself because of his disability, instead he became more and more energetic; as the days went by, it gradually changed from admiration to love, especially after Sun Bin defeated Pang Juan several times with his brilliant plans and strategizing, this love was even stronger. She wanted to marry Sun Bin and accompany him for life, but she was a girl after all, it was hard for her to ask.
On this day, Qin Gu asked Zhong Li Chun to throw a pot, and when she was playing happily, Qin Gu asked her: “Miss Zhong Li is talented and beautiful, what kind of husband do you want to marry?”
Zhong Li Chun did not answer.
Qin Gu asked again: “Do you ...... want to marry Mr. Sun?”
Zhong Li Chun still did not answer.
Qin Gu laughed: “Not answering is admitting.”
Zhong Li Chun busy: “I did not admit.”
Qin Gu asked again, “Then who do you want to marry?”
Zhong Li Chun said unhappily, “I don''t know!”
“Miss Zhong Li,” Qin Gu tried, ”If, Mr. Sun does not intend to marry you, I would be willing to ......”
Zhong Li Chun''s face immediately sank, angry: “This kind of words I do not want to hear.”
Qin Gu''s words made Zhong Li Chun couldn''t hold back any longer, she wanted to tell Sun Bin what was in her heart. That night, she found Sun Bin who was studying the art of war and asked, “Mr. Sun, do you want to start a family?”
Sun Bin put down the brief book and said, “I once promised Mr.Guigu that I would build my merits first and then have a family.”
“What kind of woman are you going to marry after you establish your merit?”
“I haven''t thought about it yet.”
“You''re still thinking about Zhong Li Qiu?”
Sun Bin was busy saying, “No, she''s already someone else''s wife.”
“Then you ...... think of me?” Zhong Li Chun gathered enough courage and asked in a small voice.
Sun Bin froze, not knowing how to answer.
Zhong Li Chun looked at the blushing Sun Bin, knowing that he was thin-skinned, so she said, “You don''t have to answer right away, I''ll wait for you, for as many days as it takes, but you have to give me a clear answer.” Zhong Li Chun got up and said, “Mr. Sun, have an early night, I''m going back.” Saying that, he turned around and left.
After Zhong Li Chun left, Sun Bin''s heart was in turmoil, he genuinely liked Zhong Li Chun, not just because Zhong Li Chun had saved his life ...... but he was suffering from a disability, how could he let Zhong Li Chun take care of him for the rest of his life? That night, Sun Bin didn''t sleep for almost a night.
The next day, Qin Gu came to Sun Bin and asked him if he wanted to marry Zhong Li Chun, Sun Bin pondered for a moment and said, “Zhong Li girl is as kind to me as a mountain, but I have a disability and life is inconvenient, if I marry her she will have to take care of me for the rest of my life, and I don''t deserve her to give so much.”
Qin Gu said, “If she is willing to take care of you for the rest of your life, how can you refuse?”
Sun Bin thought about it and said, “Then I''ll say that her character is too much like a man, it''s fine to be a friend, but not suitable to be a wife.”
Qin Gu shook his head and said, “You can''t say that, it hurts her self esteem too much to say that, she is ...... still a girl after all.”
“Then what should I say?”
Qin Gu thought about it and said, “I''ll take you to take a divination, if the soothsayer says your marriage is hard to make, you can tell her what the soothsayer said, and it will count for both sides.”
Qin Gu and Sun Bin came to the soothsayer''s home in Tian Ji''s carriage, after explaining the reason for their visit, the soothsayer took a fortune, he said to Sun Bin: “You go back and tell that girl that it''s not that I won''t fulfill you guys, it''s that you''re destined for each other, just like water and fire, even though life can''t be separated from them, if you force them to merge together as a single entity, they will end up not being compatible, so it''s better to not merge them together! ...... Do you understand?”
“Understood ......” Sun Bin gave the old man a piece of silver.
While Sun Bin was at the soothsayer''s house to divine, Zou Ji brought Gongsun Yue with him who was also planning to come to this house to divine. On the way, Gongsun Yue said to Zou Ji: “I believe in strategizing, not divination, if divination can predict victory and defeat, why do I need a strategist?”
Zou Ji explained to him, “You haven''t come to Qi for a long time, and you don''t know much about some things. All the Dafus of Qi have come to this house for divination, and I''ve done it a few times, and every time it''s true.”
They rode the carriage to the place where the diviner lived and suddenly found Tian Ji''s carriage parked outside the house, Zou Ji frowned and told Gongsun Yue that Sun Bin and Tian Ji might have come to the divination as well. Gongsun Yue heard this, pondered for a moment, and said to Zou Ji, “Xiang Guo, the opportunity has arrived.”
“What chance?”
Gongsun Yue said in a low voice, “Xiangguo said just now that all the Dafus in the court come to this house for divination whenever they have something important to do, and I''ll dress up as Tian Ji''s attendant. ......”
Zou Ji understood what he wanted to say, afraid of the people on the street to hear, let him go back to the house to tell the details.
After returning to the house, Gongsun Yue told Zou Ji his plan in detail, Zou Ji high-five: “Good idea, so do it!” After that, he thought again and said, “In case the king wants to confront both sides, how is it?”
Gongsun Yue said, “You can tell the king the advantages and disadvantages, say Tian Ji and his men have military power in their hands, if they confront them, it will alarm them and force them to start a war, so the king won''t dare to confront them.”
That night, Sun Bin came to Zhong Li Chun''s place and told Zhong Li Chun what the soothsayer said, before Zhong Li Chun finished listening, he said furiously, “He''s talking nonsense, damn it!”
Sun Bin said, “You can''t say that, he''s very accurate in divination, all the Dafus in the court believe in him.”
Zhong Li Chun laughed coldly: “Sun Bin, I remember you said that Sun Wu Zi never believed in divination when predicting the victory or defeat of a war, instead he looked at whether the planning was well thought out and whether the conditions were sufficient.”
Sun Bin was at a loss as to how to justify himself for a moment.
“Marriage is the same as combat, you should trust yourself, not divination.” Zhong Li Chun lightly bit her lip and said, “Mr. Sun, tell me the truth, are you willing to take me as your wife?”
Sun Bin pondered for a moment and said, “Miss Zhong Li, we can be good friends, but we can''t be husband and wife.”
“Why?” Zhong Li Chun asked.
“Our personalities ...... are too different, I''m afraid ...... if we become husband and wife,” Sun Bin stammered.
“You don''t have to say it,” Zhong Li Chun interrupted, ”I understand, you can''t see me. You go away.”
“No, you''ve been so kind to me ......” Sun Bin wanted to explain. Zhong Li Chun didn''t want to listen to him and pushed him out the door, closing it heavily.
Sun Bin looked through the door and said to Zhong Li Chun, “Zhong Li girl, it''s really not that I can''t see you, I''m ...... alas, forget it, don''t say it, you''ll understand later.”
Sun Bin''s departing footsteps faded away. Two lines of tears flowed down from Zhong Li Chun''s eyes.
Sun Bin told Qin Gu about going to see Zhong Li Chun. Qin Gu understood Zhong Li Chun''s temperament, he came to Zhong Li Chun''s place, intending to persuade her, but realized that Zhong Li Chun had already left. Qin Gu immediately recruited a few retainers and went to look for Zhong Li Chun with torches.
That night, Gongs Yueun dressed up as Tian Ji''s attendant and knocked on the door of the old man''s house, placing several pieces of gold in front of the old man. The old man was stunned and asked, “What are you doing?”
Gongsun Yue said, “I was ordered by General Tian to ask you to divine for him.”
The old man said, “I never charge so much money for divination.”
Gongsun Yue said, “This divination is not a small matter. My general is from the same clan as the king, he is in charge of Qi''s military power, and with Sun Bin''s assistance, he is powerful in the world. Now, the general wants to plan a big event, please take a divination to know whether it can be accomplished or not. I''ll give you a hundred taels of gold.”
At this moment, there was a knocking sound from outside the house, followed by a shouting sound: “Elder, I''m from the Xiangguo Mansion, the Xiangguo State has something important to ask for.”
Gongsun Yue forced the old man with his sword and whispered, “What I said just now must not be divulged, otherwise, I will kill you.”
The old man of divination nodded his head repeatedly.
The old man of divination followed Zou Ji''s entourage to the Zou Mansion, and on the way, he met Qin Gu who was searching for Zhong Li Chun, and the old man of divination took the initiative to go up and greet Qin Gu. Because of Zhong Li Chun''s departure, Qin Gu was angry with the old man and gave him a cold reply before brushing past him.
The soothsayer came to Zou Ji''s residence and asked him what he was looking for. Zou Ji asked: “I heard that the Tian Ji House of people looking for your divination, I do not know what is asked?”
The old man replied, “It''s about marriage.”
Zou Ji sneered, “If they were asking about marriage, they would never have given you so much gold.”
The old man heard this and could not help but feel a little weak.
Zou Ji asked again, “I heard that Tian Ji is spying on the throne and plotting against it, he is not asking about this kind of thing, is he?”
The old man was shocked and quickly kowtowed, “Xiangguo Mingcheng, I did not divine for them.”
Zou Ji took the old man to the palace at night and told King Wei of Qi about the divination that Tian Ji had sent. Zou Ji said to King Wei of Qi, “My lord, Tian Ji has military power, if the king does not make a decision early, the throne will be rested!”
Although there is a soothsayer to testify, King Qi still has doubts, he asked Zou Ji to take the soothsayer to the Tian residence to find the person who went to the soothsayer. Zou Ji said, “Your Majesty, Tian Ji military power in the hands of the public to find, is bound to alarm Tian Ji, he if the dog jumped over the wall, how is good?”
“Well ...... what Xiangguo considered is very true.”
Zou Ji added: “The Great King should make an immediate decision and arrest Tian Ji and Sun Bin.”
King Qi Wei shook his head and said, “Tian Ji and Sun Bin are the merit of the Qi state, I can''t dispose of them just based on the diviner''s side of the story.”
Zou Ji said, “Your Majesty, if you don''t dispose of them, they will dispose of Your Majesty; back then, wasn''t the Duke of Qi Kang deposed by Duke Tian Taigong a lesson?”
King Qi Wei was silent in contemplation.
The next day after the court meeting, Tian Ji and Sun Bin traveled back to his house in the same car. Not far behind the car there was a carriage following them, and on that carriage sat two palace guards. Sun Bin glanced back and whispered to Tian Ji, “General, the more I think about it, the more wrong it is, the Great King suddenly announced that there must be an order from him to mobilize the army, and he also sent someone to spy on us, there must be someone who is slandering the Great King.”
“It must be Zou Ji ...... He has offered many good ideas for the Great King to rule the country before, and the Great King trusts him very much. To be able to talk the Great King into being suspicious of us to this extent, it is only him.”
“And why is the present Zou Ji such a villain?”
“Jealousy has compromised his character.” Tian Ji sighed softly and helplessly.
“I see,” Sun Bin also sighed, ”he and Pang Juan both suffer from the same disease ......”
The two were on their way back to their house when they passed by the house of the old man of divination, where many people were gathered around as if something had happened. Sun Bin got off the bus and asked the old man''s neighbors, only to learn that the old man of divination was killed last night, as far as the neighbors know the old man never offended anyone and they don''t know who did it. Sun Bin had a serious look on his face, he went up and lifted the burlap covering the old man''s body, he saw a piercing sword wound on the old man''s neck, he froze and at the same time Zhong Li Chun''s angry voice rang in his ears last night: “He''s bullshitting, damn him!” Could it be Zhong Li Chun?
The news of the soothsayer''s death soon reaches the palace, and Zou Ji believes that Tian Ji has killed to silence him. King Qi Wei''s suspicion of Tian Ji increases, and orders the palace guards to summon Tian Ji to the palace quickly.
Note: “Creating something out of nothing” is the seventh of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which originally means to fabricate something out of thin air and plant evidence to frame someone. This plan is used in combat, refers to the first use of false images to confuse the enemy, and then false to create the real. Gongsun Yue and Zou Ji used this plan to make King Wei of Qi suspicious of Tian and Sun, paving the way for getting rid of Tian Ji and Sun Bin. To know what will happen next, please read the next installment: “Kill with a Borrowed Knife”.