Prince Pi Jiang succeeded to the throne and was later called King Xuan of Qi.
King Xuan of Qi ordered Tian Ji to lead an army of 100,000 men to recover the three border cities of Maling, Fan Cheng and Grange Qiu. Tian Ji said, “Qi's military power is weak after the internal turmoil, and I am afraid that it is difficult to win if we directly fight with Wei's army. Why don't you first agree to the King of Han's request to ally with Country of Han so that Wei can't look at both east and west, and then invite Sun Bin back. If Sun Bin returns to Qi, it will be easy to recover the three border cities.”
King Xuan of Qi readily agreed and ordered Tian Ji to invite Sun Bin back as soon as possible.
Gongsun Yue learned that King Xuan of Qi was going to invite Sun Bin back to his country and said to Zou Ji that if Sun Bin returned to Qi, he would surely want to take revenge on the Xiangguo, so he should think of a way to stop Sun Bin from returning to his country. Zou Ji said he had no way and asked Gongsun Yue to ask Pang Juan to help. Gongsun Yue didn't admit that he had dealings with Pang Juan, Zou Ji sneered and said “How did Gongsun Yue escape to the border of Qi and Wei and how did he get Pang Juan's support, doesn't it all depend on Mr. Gongsun?”
Gongsun Yue saw that he could not hide it from Zou Ji, so he agreed to go to see Pang Juan.
Gongsun Yue returned to Wei and immediately went to see Pang Juan. The old friends met each other after a long time, and they had a lot of emotions and feelings. Gongsun Yue asked Pang Juan to stop Sun Bin from returning to Qi. Pang Juan was as confident as ever and said, “If Sun Bin wants to go back to Qi, he won't go through Wei, he will go to Chu, the King of Chu has already made peace with me, the King of Chu and I can work together to stop Sun Bin.”
Gongs Yueun excitedly said, “If Marshal can stop Sun Bin from returning, I will make Qi at Marshal's disposal.”
“Qi can't rely on Gongzi Suburb Master alone.”
“I know. The King of Qi is a womanizer, please marshal help me to choose a great woman in Wei and give her to the King of Qi, marshal use Noble son JiaoShishi outside to cause chaos, and use the beauty inside to charm his heart, I don't worry that Qi will not succumb to marshal.”
Pang Juan ordered his men to find for Gongsun Yue in Wei a beautiful woman of great color and beauty, known as Jia Nü, Gongsun Yue was very satisfied, he said goodbye to Pang Juan, and quietly returned to Qi with Jia Nü.
Zhong Li Chun returned to Country of Han and urged Sun Bin to leave as soon as possible saying that Qi is in turmoil and all the officials are looking forward to his return to his homeland as soon as possible. Sun Bin was also worried that the King of Han won't let him go and Zhong Li Chun told him to find a way to hide it from the King of Han. Sun Bin sighed: “I just can't get away from the King of Han, Gongsun Yue has already told Pang Juan about the King's invitation to return to his country, and Pang Juan will join forces with the King of Chu to set up ambushes on our way back to Qi, it's very hard to hide us from both the King of Han and Pang Juan.”
Dafu Shen saw that Sun Bin was returning and reported to the King of Han, who said to Dafu Shen: “Tell Sun Bin that I won't let him go.”
Dr. Shen said, “If the king makes him a great general, he has no reason to go even if he wants to.”
“What about the Crown Prince if he becomes the Great General?”
“Sun Bin has made many faint remarks that it would be difficult for the Crown Prince to be a great general and be competent.”
The King of Han was a bit upset and said, “Even if the Crown Prince is not competent, the military power can't be given to Sun Bin, he's not from Country of Han and won't be of one mind with us. Country of Han is located between powerful countries, a little carelessness will lead to great difficulties, I have to be on guard against people from other countries.”
Shen Dafu returned to his mansion and said to Sun Bin with a shameful face, “I wanted to recommend you to be a general as a reason to keep you in Country of Han, but the king is too suspicious ...... Mr., if you want to go, just go.”
Sun Bin laughed: “Dafu Shen, I'm not leaving.”
Dr. Shen didn't believe Sun Bin and said, “It's hard to let go of your hometown, it's human nature. Qi is your hometown, besides the King of Qi and General Tian Ji have been looking forward to you going back.”
Sun Bin said, “They are looking forward to me going back to deal with Pang Juan, if I stay in Country of Han, I can also help them deal with Pang Juan, why should I risk my life to go back to Qi?”
Dafu Shen said happily, “Mr. Sun, you are right to think so! Country of Han and Qi, one west and one east, Pang Juan is threatening Qi, Country of Han won't just sit back and do nothing, Mr. Sun can still help Qi in Country of Han.”
Sun Bin added: “Dafu Shen, I have a request that the king must fulfill.”
Dafu Shen promised Sun Bin that he would convince the Great King to fulfill his request.
Sun Bin's request was for the King of Han to reward him with a rich city as a fief according to his merits. The King of Han said to Dr. Shen, “It's not that I don't want to give it to him, but there are only a few cities in Country of Han, so if I give it to him, what can I give to the other ministers if they also want to have a rich city?”
Dr. Shen said, “None of them are as important as Sun Bin.”
“They've been conscientious to me, I can't treat them poorly.”
“Just being conscientious is not enough to make the country strong, the king should reward those who have done well for the country and encourage those who have done well for the country.”
King Han is still hesitant: “That being said, they have followed me for many years, although their achievements are not as good as Sun Bin's, they have been loyal to me, I can't favor one over the other. You go ask Sun Bin if it's okay to give him a medium sized city?”
Shen Dafu relayed the King of Han's words to Sun Bin, Sun Bin said to Shen Dafu: “No, if the King of Han doesn't give me an affluent city, he's not being sincere with me, I have to leave.”
Dafu Shen said, “The king is worried about the Dafu's climbing up the ladder, the king can't afford to give them so many affluent cities and euphoniums. Mr. Sun, lower your demands a bit and I'll slowly convince the Great King later.”
Sun Bin thought for a moment and said, “For your sake, I promise.”
Shen Dafu rejoiced, “Good, Mr. Sun, I'll ask the Great King to give you the best medium sized city.”
Sun Bin shook his head, “I don't want a medium citadel. I want an affluent citadel that none of the dynasty's great physicians would dare to ask for.”
Shen Dafu smiled and said, “As long as the Great King gives it, there's no citadel that the great physicians in the court wouldn't dare to ask for.”
“Shang Dang, does anyone dare to ask for it?” Sun Bin laughed.
Dafu Shen thought Sun Bin intended to make things difficult and said in a bad humor, “Shang Dang is not the territory of Country of Han.”
“If I capture Shang Dang for the King, won't Shang Dang be Country of Han's territory?”
When the King of Han heard that Sun Bin wanted to attack Shang Dang, he immediately summoned Sun Bin and excitedly said to him, “I've long wanted to get Shang Dang, I've wanted to trade three cities for Shang Dang, if I get Shang Dang, the King of Zhao and I can travel to and from each other at will without having to pass through Wei. If Military Counselor Sun conquers Shang Dang, not only will I grant Shang Dang to Military Counselor, but I will also grant Military Counselor two more cities.”
Sun Bin made a bow and said, “Your Majesty, the reason I want a fief is to stay in Country of Han for a long time, so that Your Majesty and all the ministers will treat my ministers as Country of Han people, and having one Shang Dang is already enough.”
“How many men do you need to conquer Shangpang?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“Shang Dang is a major town in the north of Wei, the King of Wei will not easily let Shang Dang fall into my hands, 20,000 men are afraid that it will be difficult to accomplish the task, I will order the Crown Prince to lead the Country of Han's army to attack Shang Dang together with you.”
“Your Majesty, the army is not in abundance, it lies in being able to use it; the general is not in breadth, it lies in being resourceful. 20,000 troops in the hands of my humble servant can be used for 100,000, if my humble servant can't conquer Shangdang, I'm willing to take the blame in front of the Great King.”
The King of Han gladly agreed to give Sun Bin 20,000 men, and asked Dr. Shen to travel with him.
Sun Bin went back to his residence and started to study the military charts, aside Zhong Li Chun asked him if he wasn't going to go back to Qi. Sun Bin told Zhong Li Chun: “The reason why I attacked Shang Dang is to open up the road to Zhao, Zhao and Wei are arch rivals, if we go back to Qi via Zhao, Pang Juan won't be able to intercept us. The King of Han gave me 20,000 men. A frontal strong attack will not be able to conquer Shangdang. Miss Zhong Li, please help me find a little known path, we'll take Shang Dang by surprise.”
When Queen Han heard that Sun Bin only brought 20,000 men to attack Shang Dang, she thought he was planning something else and said to the King of Han: “Will Sun Bin use this to escape? From Shang Dang, we can go to Zhao, and from Zhao, we can go to Qi. The king should immediately order to stop attacking Shangdang.”
King Han let out a long sigh and said, “Shang Dang is too important to me. Chu has not agreed to ally with me, and although the King of Qi has agreed to ally with me, it is difficult to quench my thirst with distant water. The King of Zhao, like me, is threatened by Wei at all times; if I win Shangdang, I can join hands with the King of Zhao to deal with Wei.”
“The king can have the crown prince lead troops to attack Shangdang.”
“The crown prince cannot.” The King of Han shook his head.
“Then ...... still have Sun Bin be the Crown Prince's military advisor.”
“Sun Bin won't agree, the reason he only wants 20,000 men is because he doesn't want the Crown Prince to be the commander.”
“Then let the Crown Prince bring 30,000 troops, in name to assist Sun Bin, but in reality to watch over Sun Bin.”
King Han nodded his head and said, “That's a best of both worlds strategy.”
When Pang Juan heard that Sun Bin led 20,000 troops in front and the Crown Prince of Han led 30,000 troops in the back, heading straight for Shang Dang, he contemplated for a moment and said to Pangcong, “Immediately take 10,000 men and horses, lightly loaded, and stop Sun Bin at Chang Shan, the road that must be traveled to Shang Dang, and I'll lead my army to arrive right after.”
“Ten thousand men, I'm afraid it's difficult to stop the 50,000 strong army of Han.” Pangcong felt embarrassed.
“Changshan is easy to defend and hard to attack, if you bluff again, Sun Bin won't dare to attack easily.”
“What if Sun Bin sees through the bluff and attacks Changshan forcefully?”
“Fight and withdraw, as long as you can hold Sun Bin back for two to three days, my army will arrive.”
Sun Bin's army was about to reach Changshan when he spotted the Wei army. There was a lot of dust and dirt, as if there were a lot of men and horses. Sun Bin ordered his army to stop advancing and set up camp.
Shen Dafu sent his detail to find out that there are only 10,000 people in the Wei army at Changshan and said to Sun Bin: “We can attack early tomorrow morning.”
Sun Bin said, “What if this Wei army is a decoy?”
“Unlike, there is no second Wei army nearby.”
“Pang Juan is cunning and Changshan is easy to defend and hard to attack, it's better to be cautious.”
“Mr. always said that the speed of an army is precious, if we miss the opportunity to fight, Wei reinforcements will reinforce Shangdang.”
Sun Bin pretended to gamble and said coldly: “The Great King sent 30,000 men to follow us, we can't be god speed.”
“Sir must not gamble with the Great King, it's you who will be punished if you can't take Shang Dang.”
Sun Bin comforted Dr. Shen, “Don't worry Dr. Shen, I'm sure I can take Shang Dang.”
Three days passed, Sun Bin's army was still standing still and Pang Juan's army had arrived at Changshan. Dafu Shen said to Sun Bin with a frustrated look on his face, “Mr. Sun, if I tell you that Pang Juan's army has arrived at Changshan, you won't be surprised, will you?”
Sun Bin laughed: “No, it was expected.”
“Now, do you still plan to attack Shang Dang?”
“Of course.”
Shen Dafu was very depressed and said, “The war opportunity has been lost, Changshan is already easy to defend and hard to attack, now Pang Juan's tens of thousands of troops have rushed to Changshan, we can't even cross Changshan, how can we attack Shangdang?”
Sun Bin laughed: “I couldn't attack Shang Dang until Pang Juan's army arrived, and now that Pang Juan's army has arrived, I have the opportunity to take advantage of it.”
Shen Dafu gave a “humph” and said, “Mr. Sun, are you angry with me?”
“No, I am telling the truth. Generally speaking, the battle is to use the frontal troops to face the enemy, and to win by surprise. The reason why I trooped before Changshan and purposely delayed the battle was to draw Pang Juan's army to Changshan and then make a surprise attack on Shangdang from a side road.”
“You're using the art of war to put me off. As far as I know, there is no way to Shangdang except Changshan.”
“Zhong Li Chun has already found the road. A little-known path leads to the western gate of Shangdang, and with five thousand soldiers on foot, they can make it in a day and a night. Dafu Shen, I will lead these five thousand men to sneak into Shangdang, you take the rest of the army and guard the camp.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Shen Dafu said without worry: ”5,000 men to attack Shangdang is too little.”
Sun Bin laughed: “Before Pang Juan came, 5,000 men were too few, now that Pang Juan is here, 5,000 men are enough.”
Shen Dafu was puzzled and asked, “The more you say, the less I understand, before Pang Juan came, the enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered, so why didn't it work? Now that Pang Juan's army is here, there's not much difference between the enemy and us, why did you say 5,000 men is enough?” Sun Bin said, ”Pang Juan's army is here, there's not much difference between the enemy and us.
Sun Bin said “Before Pang Juan's army came, the Shang Dang defenders were worried that the Wei army in Changshan would be hard to resist our 50,000 troops - they included the Prince's army in that, and were waiting for the day, they were on guard, if I attacked then, not to mention 5,000 men, even 10,000 men would be hard to win. After the arrival of Pang Juan's army, the Wei army defending Shangdang city thought that it would be difficult for us to attack with Pang Juan's army guarding Changshan Mountain. At this time, we sneak attack Shangdang from the small road, they are absolutely no defense, we send out a strange army to attack the defenseless enemy, how can we not win?”
Shen Dafu was so impressed that he praised, “Mr. Shen is really a divine calculation!”
The army of the Crown Prince of Country of Han was stationed not far from Sun Bin's camp. The Crown Prince sends people over from time to time to check on the movements in Sun Bin's camp. On this day Sun Bin's camp gate was closed and there was no action, he thought Sun Bin was worried because of the dilemma, he came to Sun Bin's tent with the intention to persuade Sun Bin to withdraw and attack Shang Dang when he has the chance later.
The Prince waited for a long time in Sun Bin's tent and didn't see Sun Bin's shadow. The Prince asked the guards outside the tent and the guards didn't know where Sun Bin was. The Prince got impatient and was about to leave when Dr. Shen came. The Crown Prince said to Shen Daifu with a gloomy face, “I didn't want to talk about you guys, you are certainly an army commanded by the military division, but I am the commander of all the armies in Country of Han, so it's not like I can't talk about you. I went to your camp for the first time today, and not only is the military division nowhere to be seen, but you, the vice-commander, are also slow to show up, so if Pang Juan attacks at this time, how will you cope?”
Shen Dafu said respectfully, “With Great General's 30,000 troops as backing, Pang Juan wouldn't dare attack.”
The Crown Prince put on a smug look and said, “Dafu Shen still understands, the military division he ...... hmmm, he still doesn't want me to follow you guys, if I didn't follow you guys, with your measly 20,000 man army, not to mention attacking the Shangdang Party, I'm afraid that you won't even be able to return to Country of Han.”
Shen Dafu's face suddenly showed unhappiness, wanting to speak, but stopped.
The crown prince, with a look of impregnability, sashayed and asked, “Where is the military division, where on earth has he gone to hide? Even if a chip on the shoulder, should not hide and not see people.”
Shen Dafu couldn't hold back any longer and said, “Great general, originally the military division didn't let me tell you his whereabouts, but you are the commander of the Country of Han's army and have the right to know, so I'm telling you ...... that the military division went to attack the Shangdang party.”
The Crown Prince was stunned and asked, “How many men did he bring with him?”
Dr. Shen replied, “Five thousand.”
The Prince was full of doubts and said, “Changshan is guarded by Pang Juan's army, not to mention five thousand men, even twenty thousand, can not pass, how can he attack Shangdang?”
Dr. Shen said, “He did not take Changshan Mountain, he took a small road, a little-known one.”
“Path?” The Crown Prince thought for a moment and suddenly shouted, “Dafu Shen, you fell for Sun Bin's trap! Sun Bin isn't even going to attack Shang Dang, he's using the opportunity to flee to Zhao.”
“Sun would never do that.”
“Why wouldn't he? There's only one way to attack Shang Dang, if he doesn't take Chang Shan, he's not going to Shang Dang, he must use it to escape to Zhao, Father King is afraid of him escaping to Zhao, so he asked me to bring 30,000 troops to spy on him.” He swept a glance at Shen Dafu, “Father said that he also instructed you ......”
Shen Dafu couldn't help but be afraid, “If that's true, how can that be ...... good?”
“No harm,” the crown prince sneered, ”I told Pang Juan to intercept him.”
Shen Dafu had an anxious look on his face and busied himself, “Great General, you mustn't do this, if Sun Bin really attacked Shang Dang, won't that spoil the big event?”
The Crown Prince thought for a moment and asked, “When will he arrive at Shang Dang?”
“This evening.”
“Good, I'll wait for the night for now, if there's no news of Shang Dang in the morning, we'll tell Pang Juan about his whereabouts.”
In the mountains and forests, Sun Bin, supported by two soldiers, and his soldiers were traveling hard along the rugged mountain road. Zhong Li Chun, who was walking in front, came to a high slope, surveyed it for a moment, took the halberd from the soldier beside him and rolled up the slope, stretched down the halberd for Sun Bin to hold on to, and then pulled Sun Bin up the slope. Sun Bin caught his breath and asked Zhong Li Chun, “How far is it to the upper party?”
“There are still two sheds.” Zhong Li Chun replied.
Sun Bin looked at the color of the sky and said to General Feng, who had followed him up by tumbling up the hill, “General Feng, send orders to the entire army to speed up.”
“Military Master,” General Feng wondered, ”There are already many soldiers who have fallen out, and if we speed up the line even more, I'm afraid that even more will fall out ......”
“Soldiers are precious.” Sun Bin said, “Even if half of the soldiers fall out, we still need to speed up. We're taking the sword this time, but the night is long, once Pang Juan realizes our whereabouts, the situation will be passive.”
That night, Pang Juan and Pangcong were leisurely playing a game in their tent, Pang Juan asked Pangcong: “What do you think, what will Sun Bin's next move be?”
Pangcong thought about it and said, “Retreat.”
“Retreating back is impossible to explain to the King of Han.”
Pangcong picked up a chess piece and looked at the board and lamented, “Attack, can't win; retreat, can't account for it ...... Sun Bin only has to flee in fear of the crime.”
Pang Juan froze and said to himself, “Right, why didn't I think he would flee? Sun Bin's attack on Shang Dang may have been a trick, and he fled quietly to Zhao via Shang Dang to return to Qi from Zhao in order to cover his tracks ......”
After thinking of this, he said to Pangcong, “Pangcong, you immediately send your troops to block all the paths leading to Shangdang, and do not let anyone pass! In addition, you send someone on a fast horse to notify the Shang Dang defenders and tell them to block off all roads, big and small, that lead to Zhao.”
When the morning light shone into Sun Bin's tent, Dr. Shen had just dozed off, he hadn't slept all night waiting for news from Sun Bin. The Crown Prince came again, he also didn't sleep all night, he asked Dr. Shen if there was any news from the Shang Dang side. Dr. Shen said no for now. The Crown Prince laughed coldly and said, “Sun Bin definitely didn't go to Shang Dang. According to my old temperament, I would have told Pang Juan so that he couldn't go.”
Dafu Shen advised, “Great General, you can't do that, after all, Mr. Sun has done a great service for our Country of Han, even if he escaped, we can't cross the river and kill him by Pang Juan's hand.”
The Crown Prince nodded and said, “I think so too. Forget it, let him go. Dafu Shen, this is not a place to stay for long, let's pull out our camp and return to our country immediately.”
Shen Dafu pondered for a moment and said, “Great general, why don ...... t we wait a little longer, if the military division is really attacking the Shang Party, once we leave, won t we harm the military division?”
“Dafu Shen, you just die this heart, if he attacked Shangdang, he should have had news long ago.”
“Even if he doesn't attack Shang Dang, he'll still give us a message, he still has 5,000 generals under him, what will happen to those 5,000 generals if we leave?”
“Sun Bin has already brought those 5,000 generals to their deaths for his own sake, even if we stay here, it won't help. Dafu Shen, it's better to withdraw late than early, if Pang Juan learns that Sun Bin has escaped and launches an attack on us, we won't be able to leave even if we want to.”
Dafu Shen sighed hopelessly and said, “Great General, if you say what to do, do it ...... However, I always feel that Mr. Sun won't be like this.”
The Crown Prince said disdainfully, “Father always says, if a man doesn't do it for himself, the heavens and the earth will destroy him. Sun Bin is not a saint, he won't be an exception ......”
Before the Crown Prince's words left his mouth, a rude and hoarse voice came from the doorway, “Master Sun Bin is a saint, a saint for our soldiers!”
The Crown Prince and Dafu Shen turned around to look. At the entrance of the tent stood a bloodied, scary looking Country of Han soldier - he was sent back by Sun Bin, who had encountered an interception by the Wei army on the way and fought for his life before returning to the camp. The crown prince looked at him blankly and asked, “What do you ...... do?”
“Reporting letters.”
“Report what letter?”
“The military division has already conquered Shangdang.”
At this moment, a Country of Han flag was fluttering on the walls of Shang Dang, and Sun Bin stood at the head of Shang Dang, gently caressing the mottled walls and looking out over the distant mountain peaks. “General Feng,” he spoke to the accompanying General Feng, ”I should go.”
“Where is the military master going?” General Feng was stunned.
“The State of Zhao.”
“What is the Military Master doing in the State of Zhao?” General Feng was stunned again.
“Returning to Qi via the State of Zhao.”
“So the rumors of the Military Master returning to the country are true?”
Sun Bin nodded and said, “I'm not going to lie to you, one of my key objectives in conquering Shang Dang was to return to Qi via Zhao. Of course, it's also to give the King of Han a generous gift before I leave Country of Han.”
“Does Mr. Sun have to leave?”
“General Feng, if you were in another country and a crisis occurred in Country of Han and you were needed to return, would you return?”
General Feng was silent for a moment and said, “Can you leave a few days later, sir, until we are firmly established in Shang Dang?”
“When Pang Juan learns of our capture of Shang Dang, he will immediately lead a large army to besiege Shang Dang; at that time, how will I be able to leave?”
“What will happen to Shangdang when the military strategist leaves it?”
“When I get to Zhao, I will first go to see the King of Zhao and say that Shang Dang is a gift from me to the King of Zhao, and the King of Zhao will surely send an army to relieve the siege of Shang Dang.”
General Feng asked, “After the siege of Shangdang is lifted, the King of Zhao will demand the Shangdang, what shall we do?”
“Of course we will give the Shang Party to the King of Zhao.” Sun Bin laughed.
General Feng was very confused and asked, “Didn't the Military Counselor say that the Shang Dang is a gift to the King, if we hand it over to the King of Zhao, how can I go back and explain to the King?”
Sun Bin said, “The reason for seizing Shang Dang is to connect with Zhao, and the two countries will work together against Wei. Shang Dang is far away from Country of Han's hinterland, and close to Zhao's hinterland, if Han's army guards Shang Dang, it will take up a lot of military power and also cost a lot of financial resources; if we give Shang Dang to Zhao, it will save military power and financial resources, and it will equally connect the two countries' boundaries, and the King of Han will be thankful to the King of Zhao for it. General Feng, you say, which of these two approaches is more beneficial to Country of Han?”
General Feng relieved himself and couldn't stop nodding his head, then sighed: “If I were the king, I would be willing to use the throne in exchange for the military advisor to stay in Country of Han, but unfortunately I'm not ......”
Note: “Secretly Cross the Chen Cang” is the eighth of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. The name of this stratagem comes from the story of Han Xin, a general of the later Han Dynasty, who said that he would “repair the inn road in the open, and secretly tide over the Chen Cang”. The meaning of this stratagem is: feinting at the front to restrain the enemy, detouring behind the enemy's back to win by surprise. This strategy is both similar to and different from the “Sound East, Strike West” strategy. The difference is that “Sound East, Strike West” hides the point of attack and “Secret Chen Cang” hides the route of attack. Sun Bin used this plan to hide both Han and Pang Juan to conquer Shang Dang and leave Country of Han. To know what happened next, please read next time: “The Stratagem of the Beautiful Woman”.
