More than two thousand three hundred years ago, China was in the period of Warring States when the vassals were in conflict and the powerful countries were dominating.


    In the Zhou State, which was located in the central plains, there was a valley with steep cliffs. Inside the valley, the trees and grass were thick, the clouds were misty, and everywhere was overflowing with immortal energy, but the people of the world called it the Valley of Ghosts. Guiguzi Valley is inhabited by a strange man, the self-proclaimed Guiguzi. Legend has it that Guiguzi knew the sun, moon, stars and phases of the stars, the law of war and strategy, good at the art of miscellaneous lobbying, proficient in the way of longevity, although more than a hundred years of age, is still a child''s face and crane hair, bright and energetic.


    Guiguzi lectured on a steep platform. Every lecture day, the disciples will climb up a long wooden ladder to the high platform. Standing on the platform, one can see the green mountains in the distance and hear the forest waves in the valley. On one side of the platform stood a grassy hall made of tree branches and mountain grasses. Inside the hall was Guiguzi''s place for cultivating himself, and in front of the hall was Guiguzi''s place for lecturing.


    Guiguzi took more than ten disciples to learn the art of war and strategy, among which Sun Bin and Pang Juan were especially outstanding. Pang Juan was a strong man, striving to be the best in everything; Sun Bin was a generous man, giving up one point in every way. Sun Bin and Pang Juan entered the Ghost Valley in the same year to study under the same master, and shared the same ambition to build a successful career, so they became brothers. Sun Bin was a few months older than Pang Juan, and Pang Juan called him his brother.


    Guiguzi lectured and often let his disciples express their views and talk about world affairs. At that time, the most talked about by the disciples was who could dominate the world. On that day, the talk went on as usual. “Sun Bin believed that among the seven vassals, Qi and Qin had the most hegemonic appearance. Qi is rich and strong, is located in the east, the back of the sea, the tiger looks at the Central Plains, there is the benefit of fishing and salt, no worries, when the Duke Huan of Qi will be used to dominate the vassals; and Qin is located in the remote border, but by Wei Yang change the law, the state is strong, strict laws, the heart of the hegemony, but also the hegemony of the power. Therefore, I think the one who can dominate the world is either Qi or Qin.” Sun Bin narrated, and a few disciples couldn''t stop nodding their heads in agreement.


    “I don''t agree with what brother Sun said, I think the one that can dominate the lords should be Wei.”


    Sun Bin looked at the voice, it turned out to be his senior brother Pang Juan who had gone out on a trip not long ago, and greeted him gladly, “Senior brother, you''re back.”


    Pang Juan nodded, and then continued to the crowd, “The state of Wei is affluent, the people of the country are tough, and it is located in the Central Plains, so it can be associated with the state of Zhao in the north, the state of Han in the south, and the Country of Han in the west, and threaten the state of Qi to the east, and threaten the state of Qin to the west; it can also be associated with the state of Qi in the east, and the state of Qin in the west, so that the state of Zhao and the country of Han can be made to claim vassalage, and the state of Chu can be forced to cede its territories; what''s even more important is that, this time Pang Juan went down to the mountains, and witnessed with his own eyes the king of Wei''s ambition to be strong. Widely recruiting the world''s wise men, a country to dominate the world, the most important thing is to be able to reuse the talent, so I think Wei has the most hegemonic spirit.”


    A disciple asked Guiguzi: “Sir, who is more reasonable, Brother Sun or Brother Pang?”


    Guiguzi laughed, “One of them is from Qi and the other is from Wei, and each favors his own country, so it''s hard for me to comment.”


    “Sir,” Pang Juan said to Guiguzi, ”my disciple would say so even if he were not a native of Wei.”


    “Are you thinking of leaving Ghost Valley?” Guiguzi smiled faintly.


    “Yes. The King of Wei is widely recruiting sages from all over the world, and I don''t want to let go of this opportunity.”


    “What about your studies?”


    “My disciple has been studying the art of war under Mister for more than three years, although I have yet to learn all of Mister''s tactics for my own use, but if I go out to assist the King of Wei, it will be enough for Wei to dominate the world.” Pang Juan''s words were filled with the confidence of looking out of the world.


    “Words can''t be too full.” Guiguzi smiled.


    “If you don''t believe me, sir, my disciple can swear by heaven.” Pang Juan said and drew out his accompanying sword, kneeling down and pointing to the sky, “If my disciple fails to assist the King of Wei to dominate the world, I will never see the face of Sir!”


    Guiguzi looked at Pang Juan for a moment and said, “Go to the valley and pick a mountain flower, and I will tell a fortune for you.”


    “Thank you, sir.” Pang Juan kowtowed.


    The sun was blazing in the sky, Pang Juan looked around in the valley for a mountain flower but could not find one, so he could not help but be anxious. At this time, Pang Juan inadvertently glimpsed a weak grass flower mixed in the thatch, overjoyed, and rushed forward to pick it off. Turning to go, suddenly remembered what, the joy on his face disappeared, Pang Juan said to himself: “This grass flower is so weak, Mr. will certainly think that I''m difficult to become a great weapon ......”.


    After hesitating for a moment, Pang Juan decided to hide the grass flower in his sleeve.


    Returning to the Guiguzi Grass Hall, Pang Juan said to Guiguzi, “Mr.Guigu,...... there are no flowers in the mountains.”


    Guiguzi looked at Pang Juan''s sleeve and said, “There are no flowers in the mountains, what is that thing in your sleeve?”


    “This ......” Pang Juan was shocked, panicked and took out the already withered grass flower from his sleeve and handed it to Guiguzi, defending, ”I thought this grass flower was not considered a flower.”


    Guiguzi took the grass flower and said to Pang Juan, “This grass flower is called Aristolochia, and it blooms twelve times a day. It foretells that you can enjoy twelve years of glory and wealth. You picked this flower in the Ghost Valley, and the flower was withered by the sun, ''Ghost'' is next to ''Committee'', your place of fortune will be in Wei.”


    Pang Juan was pleasantly surprised and asked, “Sir, so I''m sure I''ll be reused when I get to Wei?”


    Guiguzi nodded slightly.


    Pang Juan could not help but get excited and said, “Sir, if I am really reused by the King of Wei, I will definitely live up to the three years of teaching you have given me!”


    Guiguzi looked at the grass flower in his hand and said in a slow voice, “Pang Juan, you shouldn''t have deceived Master just now. If you deceive others, you will eventually be deceived by others, you must remove this fault. In addition, I''ll send you eight words that you must memorize: when you meet a sheep, you will be honored; when you meet a horse, you will be exhausted.”


    Pang Juan nodded his head and said yes, then asked, “I heard that sir has a rare book of war in the world, called The Art of War of Sun Tzu, which can teach people to win a hundred battles, if sir can send me a copy of The Art of War of Sun Tzu, I will be more sure of going down to the mountain to help Wei dominate the country.”


    Guiguzi said without moving, “The Art of War of Sun Tzu is indeed a rare book of war, back then, Sun Wu Zi offered this exhaustively written art of war to King Helu of Wu, who won many battles and dominated the vassals. The king of Wu treasured Sun Tzu''s Art of War so much that he hid it in the Gusu Terrace. Later, when the Yue Kingdom destroyed Wu and burned the Gusu Terrace, the Art of War was also reduced to ashes, and that was the only Art of War in the world.”


    “My disciple heard that Mr. Sun was once a close friend of Sun Wu Zi, who gave Mr. Sun a set of Art of War.”


    “Except for the King of Wu, Sun Wu Zi never let anyone else see his Art of War, let alone give it away.”


    “So, Mr. Sun doesn''t want to pass on the Art of War to his disciple?”


    Guiguzi smiled faintly, “If you don''t believe in what my master said, stay on the mountain and accompany my master day and night to see if my master has the Art of War or not.”


    “It''s not that I don''t believe in it,” Pang Juan was a bit embarrassed ”, I want to get The Art of War too much.”


    Guiguzi looked at the despondent Pang Juan, and taught him in a serious manner, “What you should get, you will get; what you cannot get, you cannot get even if you force yourself.”


    On the day Pang Juan left the Ghost Valley, Sun Bin saw him off. Halfway there, Pang Juan stopped and said to Sun Bin, “Brother Sun, don''t see him off.”


    Sun Bin lamented, “My dear brother, once we say goodbye today, I don''t know when we''ll see each other again, let me send you out of Ghost Valley.”


    “Even if I send you out for thousands of miles, there will be a goodbye, it''s better to part here.”


    “You and I have been in the same class for three years, like-minded, like brothers, I really can not part with you ......”


    “Alas, so do I,” sighed Pang Juan, ”but we left our homes to come here to learn the art of war, is not it for the sake of one day building a career? Since we want to build a career, it is inevitable that we will go our separate ways.”


    “That''s true.” Sun Bin hesitated for a while and said, “My dear brother, if you are reused by the King of Wei, could you recommend me to the King of Wei?”


    Pang Juan smiled, “Didn''t Brother Sun think that Qi is the most dominant country, why don''t you go back to your own homeland?”


    Sun Bin was about to say something and said, “Forget it, just pretend I didn''t say it.”


    Pang Juan laughed, “Don''t take Brother Sun seriously, I was just joking. I have eight friendships with Brother Sun, since Brother Sun wants to think of Wei, after I meet the King of Wei, I will definitely recommend Brother Sun to the King of Wei, and you and I will work hand in hand to achieve great things together.”


    “Is what My dear brother said true?”


    “If I, Pang Juan, go back on my word, let me die under a hail of arrows!” Pang Juan drew his sword and swore.


    Sun Bin complained, “My dear brother, why make such a heavy oath just for a word?”


    “A heavy oath is not as heavy as love,” Pang Juan said with a sincere look on his face, ”I sincerely look forward to Brother Sun working with me for a great cause.”


    “My dear brother ......” Sun Bin was deeply moved by Pang Juan, ”I await your news ......”


    Pang Juan nodded and arched his hand, “Brother Sun, I will see you again.”


    Sun Bin returned the salute, “See you again.”


    After Pang Juan left, Guiguzi summoned Sun Bin and instructed, “These past few nights, there are a few rats always grinding their teeth on the old man''s pillow, and the old man especially hates this sound, so tell the other disciples to take turns to be on night duty in my chambers to drive out the rats every night, and this night starts with you.” Sun Bin immediately promised and came to the Cao Tang that night to keep watch for Mr.Guigu.


    It was late at night, and Guiguzi was lying on his sleeping couch, looking asleep. Sun Bin sat on a mat a few paces away from the couch and listened intently, fearing that a mouse might come out and disturb Mr. Gu.


    Guiguzi rolled over, opened his bleary eyes, looked at Sun Bin who was seriously on night duty, and spoke, “Sun Bin, what are you doing?”


    Sun Bin replied, “Disciple is following sir''s arrangement to be on night duty to drive away rats.”


    Guiguzi sat up and smiled, “Warriors often say that soldiers are established by fraud, haven''t you ever suspected that there is a fraud in the old man''s arrangement?”


    Sun Bin honestly shook his head, “No.”


    Guiguzi sighed softly, “Sun Bin, you will suffer in the future because you trust others too much.”


    Sun Bin said, “You are a gentleman, disciple should trust you; if you are an enemy, disciple will never trust.”


    Guiguzi smiled faintly, said nothing more, reached out and opened a wooden box by his pillow, took out a brief volume from it, and said to Sun Bin, “Sun Bin, these are the thirteen chapters of the Art of War written by your great-grandfather, Sun Wu, known as The Art of War of Sun Tzu.”


    “Sir, didn''t you say that The Art of War has been lost?” Sun Bin was filled with doubt.


    “It is both lost and not lost. The set of Art of War that your great-grandfather offered to King Helu of Wu was lost, but there is still a set of copies in the hands of my old husband, who gave it to me, and I studied it carefully and benefited greatly, and even made notes on the Art of War. For many years, I have not shown Sun Tzu''s Art of War to anyone. Sun Bin, you are loyal and kind, and a descendant of Sun Wu, so I will now teach you The Art of War.”


    “Pang Juan searched hard for The Art of War, why don''t you pass on the Art of War to him?”


    “A person who obtains the Art of War of Sun Tzu will benefit the world if he uses it well; if he does not use it well, it will cause great harm to the world. Pang Juan''s behavior puts my teacher at ease.”


    “Sir, Pang Juan is a man of love and trust, you shouldn''t be at ease.”


    “Sun Bin, let''s not talk about Pang Juan''s affairs tonight, let''s just talk about The Art of War, shall we?” Guiguzi smiled.


    “Yes, I am willing to listen to Mr. Teachings.”


    Autumn went to spring, and Sun Bin memorized the Art of War by heart. One day, Guiguzi quizzed him, “What is the interpretation of ‘The Art of War, the Way of Artifice’ in Sun Tzu''s Art of War?”


    Sun Bin replied, “To fight with soldiers, guile is the way. Therefore, if you can fight, pretend that you cannot fight; if you want to fight, pretend that you don''t want to fight; if you want to attack near, pretend that you want to attack far; if you want to attack far, pretend that you want to attack near; if the enemy is greedy for profit, lure him with small profit; if the enemy is in confusion, take advantage of the opportunity to attack him; if the enemy is full of strength, pay attention to his defense; if the enemy is strong, avoid him for the time being; if the enemy is aggressive, seek to frustrate him; if the enemy is lowly in words and prudent in conduct, make him proud; if the enemy is resting well, tire him; and if the enemy is tired, make him weak. If the enemy is well rested, make him fatigued; if the enemy is in harmony, divide him .......”


    Guiguzi raised his hand to signal for Sun Bin to stop answering and instructed, “I hope that you not only memorize The Art of War by heart, but also learn to apply it, or else you will not only fail to defeat your enemy, but will also be restrained by him.”


    “Yes, disciple understands.”


    Guiguzi placed the wooden box on his pillow where he kept the brief book in front of Sun Bin and said, “Go to the bottom of the cliff and find a secluded place to burn this Art of War, not a single bamboo slip shall be left behind.”


    Sun Bin was stunned and said, “Sir, this is the only set of Sun Tzu''s Art of War in the world, why burn it?”


    Guiguzi laughed, “You have memorized it by heart, there is no longer any use for me to keep it.”


    “Sir can teach it again to other disciples, how can it be useless?”


    “Old me promised your great-grandfather back then that I would only pass on the Art of War to a person I trusted the most.”


    “Then ...... can I pass on the Art of War to someone else?”


    “Not now, not even to the closest person. As for when you can, when the time comes old man will naturally tell you ...... Go on, burn the Art of War.”


    At the bottom of the hill, Sun Bin looked at the ashes of the bamboo slips and shook his head, sighing with regret. He was about to go back, when he met a handsome young man dressed sharply and carrying a long sword, who made his intention clear to Sun Bin that he had come here to learn the art of war from Mr.Guigu.


    “Mr.Guigu is very strict in accepting disciples,” said Sun Bin, ”and it is good enough to accept one out of ten seekers.”


    “I am that one.”


    Sun Bin laughed amusedly, “Little brother, you are very confident.”


    “Of course, I wouldn''t have come if I wasn''t confident.”


    Sun Bin let this descendant wait for a moment, he climbed up to the high platform, and reported the matter of that descendant seeking to learn to Guiguzi. Guiguzi, before he saw him, expressed his refusal on the spot, saying that the postulant was a woman.


    The handsome student was indeed a woman; she was Zhong Li Chun, who was dressed as a man. When Zhong Li Chun heard that Guiguzi had turned her away because she was a woman, she said in exasperation, “What''s wrong with women? Women can kill people and lead armies in war too!”


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.“Don''t be angry, girl,” Sun Bin said in a soothing manner, ”It''s been a rule of the gentleman for many years that he doesn''t accept women as disciples.”


    “Bullshit rule! Hmph, I don''t believe that women are inferior to you men.” Zhong Li Chun cursed and turned around to leave Ghost Valley without looking back.


    Let''s say that soon after Pang Juan returned to Wei, he was reused by King Hui of Wei, who made him a marshal. Pang Juan led Wei''s army to defeat Wei, Song and other small states, and then Qi, which made him famous. King Hui of Wei was so happy that he invited Pang Juan to eat delicious steamed sheep with him. He said to Pang Juan, “I got Marshal Pang as King Wen of Zhou got Jiang Taigong.”


    To the south of Wei was the state of Chu, and the king of Chu, also a king who wanted to dominate the world, sent 100,000 Chu troops out of Fangcheng to attack Wei''s Gaoling. King Hui of Wei and Pang Juan led Wei''s 300,000-strong army to repel the Chu army, and then their soldiers pointed to Fangcheng, intending to defeat Chu completely and dominate the Central Plains.


    The King of Chu''s army was stationed in Wancheng, which was south of Fangcheng. He sent the Chu army to attack Wei''s high mausoleum in order to lure Wei''s army to attack Fangcheng, and then take advantage of the favorable terrain of the Great Wall of Chu in the area of Fangcheng to defeat Wei. When the king of Chu heard that Wei''s army was attacking Fangcheng, he was so excited that he planned to lead his army to Fangcheng to fight with the king of Wei. The king of Chu was excited and planned to go to Fangcheng with his army to fight with the king of Wei. The king''s advisor, Shi Huang Dafu (史皇大夫), who was a wise strategist of Chu, told the king of Chu, “Your Majesty, we should not rush to Fangcheng for a duel at this moment. The army of Wei has defeated Qi in a row, and its morale is very high, so it is hard to predict whether it will win or lose in a duel at this time. If Wei''s army fails to attack Fangcheng for a long time, their morale will surely be low, and then your majesty will send troops to fight again, and you will win the battle securely.”


    The battle against Fangcheng was very fierce. When Wei''s generals were almost on top of the city despite the casualties, braving the rain of stones and arrows, Pang Juan sounded the retreat. King Hui of Wei was very dissatisfied with Pang Juan''s retreat, and immediately summoned Pang Juan to his tent and questioned him: “Why did you stop attacking the city? If you had not sounded the retreat, my soldiers would have been standing at the head of Fangcheng by now.”


    Pang Juan explained, “My humble servant''s spies have discovered the Chu army in Wancheng, a hundred miles away, and the King of Chu is also in the army. Even if we capture Fangcheng, we will still lose our troops, and if the King of Chu leads a large army to fight me at this time, we will win less and lose more.”


    Pang Juan ordered his army to retreat one shekel and had rumors spread that more than 30% of the army were sick due to the water and soil.


    When the king of Chu learned that Wei had retreated one shekel, he was so happy that he could not stop clapping his hands and decided to march into Fangcheng to fight with Wei at once. Dr. Shi Huang advised the king of Chu not to be fooled by Pang Juan''s illusion, saying, “Pang Juan, the marshal of Wei, used his army with guile, and Qi lost to him because of it; if the wounded and sick in Wei''s army were really more than 30%, he would have withdrawn his troops quietly and returned to his country long ago.”


    “What should we do?” The King of Chu asked.


    “He has a thousand changes, I have a certain rule; the army of Fangcheng holds fast, and the army of the great king presses on.”


    “What if the king of Wei therefore retreats back to his country?”


    “The great king will win without a fight, and the lords of the world will thus abandon the king of Wei and submit to the great king.”


    The king of Chu pressed on, and Pang Juan was worried. There was a young strategist under Pang Juan named Gongsun Yue, who was superbly wise and bold. He advised Pang Juan, “Marshal, the difference between the high and the low does not lie in a single moment, why don''t we withdraw our troops and go back to our country first, and then fight with Chu in the coming days when it is favorable to us?”


    Pang Juan considered more than Gongsun Yue: “The battle of Fangcheng will not only decide the supremacy of Wei, but will also determine whether I can hold the marshal position in Wei. If I return without victory, the king will no longer trust me; if I win this battle, even if I lose in the future, the king will not abandon me.”


    Gongsun Yue said, “Not to mention that no one in Wei can lead the army except Marshal Pang. Even if the Great King recruits the world''s wise men, no one in the world is above the marshal except Mr.Guigu.”


    “Those who are below me may not be unable to be marshals.” Pang Juan laughed, “Under Mr.Guigu, there are many disciples who have studied the art of war and battle formations, although they are inferior to me, but to lead an army, everyone should be able to do it.”


    “This place is not too far from Mr.Guigu,” Gongsun Yue asked, ”Why don''t you ride a fast horse to ask Mr.Guigu to give you a good advice?”


    Pang Juan hesitated for a moment and said, “When I left the mountain, I had a promise that I would never see Mr. Gwigu until I dominate the world.”


    Gongsun Yue said that he could go to Ghost Valley on behalf of Pang Juan.


    Gongsun Yue came inside the Guiguzi Cao Tang and asked Guiguzi to tell him how to defeat Chu, but Guiguzi refused. Gongsun Yue said, “Marshal Pang said that as a disciple of Mr.Guigu, if he loses his army to Fangcheng, not only will he lose his reputation, but he will also tarnish Mr.Guigu''s reputation.”


    Guiguzi laughed, “I am a recluse, I never value reputation.”


    Gongsun Yue drew his sword in his hand, pointed the tip of the sword at his abdomen, and threatened, “If you don''t agree, I will die in front of you.”


    Guiguzi smiled faintly and said, “The latter need not be lighthearted, if the old man does not help, someone else will.”


    “Who is it?”


    “The old man''s disciple, Sun Bin.”


    “Marshal Pang said that in Guigu, no one else can help him except Mr.Guigu.”


    “Pang Juan is also too proud of himself,” Guiguzi laughed, ”Sun Bin is only above Pang Juan, not below him; the old man has summoned him here so that you can try him face to face.”


    Sun Bin heard the summoning climbed up the wooden ladder and came to the high platform in front of the grass hall, Guiguzi has quietly left. Gongsun Yue gave Sun Bin a detailed account of the battle in Fangcheng. When the sun was about to set, Sun Bin still had not come up with a good strategy to win. Gongsun Yue was a bit anxious and said to Sun Bin, “Mr. Sun, the hegemony of Wei, Marshal Pang''s reputation, and my life all depend on Mr. Sun, so don''t let anyone down, Mr. Sun.”


    Sun Bin told Gongsun Yue to go eat first, and then discuss the war in Fangcheng after eating. Gongsun Yue said, “The wooden ladder under the high platform has been drawn away, you can''t get down.”


    Sun Bin was a bit unhappy and said, “Plans are thought out, not forced.”


    “It wasn''t me who forced you, it was Mr.Guigu who told me to do it. He put the fate of Marshal Pang and Wei in your hands, and I wasn''t comfortable with it, he said that as long as he breaks your back, you''ll have a good plan.”


    At this point, Sun Bin''s eyes lit up and he said joyfully, “Mr. Gongsun, there''s a plan!”


    “What plan?”


    “Ascend to the ladder.”


    Gongsun Yue rushed back to the military camp day and night, and told Pang Juan about Sun Bin''s plan under the name of Guiguzi. He said, “Mr.Guigu was right when he said that the marshal should stop attacking Fangcheng and lure the king of Chu into a duel, but he should not show weakness to Chu. The fact that Wei''s army has defeated Qi several times has made the shrewdness of Wei''s commander and the toughness of its army known to the world, so if you show weakness to Chu before you lose to it, you are bound to make Chu feel that there is a deception in it and refuse to have a duel.”


    Pang Juan nodded: “Makes sense ......”


    Gongsun Yue continued, “Mr.Guigu said that we should show strength at this time, so that Chu feels that Wei is belittling it and not putting it in its eyes, and in the middle of the show of strength, we will take the action of blindly moving towards the enemy lightly, in this way, we can entice the king of Chu to come to the battle.”


    Pang Juan asked Gongsun Yue to be more specific. Gongsun Yue pointed to the military map and said, “Sir told the marshal to leave 100,000 men to guard the camp, and the remaining 200,000 men and horses to head south along the Great Wall of Chu, and then bypassed the southern end of the Great Wall, as if they were going to push straight to Wancheng to find the King of Chu for a duel, but in fact, it is not like that. The marshal left 50,000 men to watch over the King of Chu, and the remaining 150,000 troops rerouted to the south, advancing towards the capital of Chu. The army will be able to take over the capital city of Chu in one go, and completely destroy Chu. At this time, the King of Chu will definitely think that Wei''s army is rash and presumptuous, and he will definitely lead his army to find us for a duel on his own initiative.”


    Pang Juan not without doubt asked, “But ...... this will put the Wei army to death, if you can not win, you will be wiped out.”


    “I also asked Mr., but Mr. said, ''Sun Tzu''s Art of War'' said: cast to death and then survive, trapped in death and then live ......”


    Pang Juan froze and asked, “Mister mentioned The Art of War of Sun Tzu?”


    Gongsun Yue nodded.


    Pang Juan was silent for a moment, then said, “Go on, go on.”


    “The Art of War says: when a general is in the land of the dead and has no way out, he does not need to fix a decree to pay attention to alertness; he does not need to force himself to accomplish his task; he does not need to be restrained to work together; he does not need to be ordered to observe military discipline; cutting off his way back is like climbing a height and withdrawing the ladder, and every one of the generals will go forward.”


    Pang Juan exclaimed, “That''s so right!”


    Gongsun Yue continued, “Sir said that once the King of Chu''s army leaves Wancheng, the Marshal will immediately transfer 50,000 troops from the camp ......”


    Pang Juan interrupted Gongsun Yue and said cheerfully, “Combine with the 50,000 troops left at the southern end of the Great Wall, cut off the way back of the Chu army, and encircle the Chu army in the dangers-free mountains and fields.”


    Gongsun Yue nodded and continued, “The Chu army is bound to panic, and with a courageous division against a panicked journey, there is no reason not to win?”


    Pang Juan couldn''t help but high-five, “Too good, too good! If I had studied Sun Tzu''s Art of War, I could have come up with such a marvelous plan.”


    Gongsun Yue asked Pang Juan why Guiguzi didn''t pass on the Art of War to him, and Pang Juan smiled, “As a teacher, I always have to keep a hand in it, or else the disciple will surpass the teacher!”


    Gongsun Yue wanted to tell Pang Juan the truth, but he was worried that Pang Juan would not act according to the plan, so he had to stop.


    King Hui of Wei and 100,000 troops stayed in the camp outside Fangcheng, while Pang Juan led 200,000 troops, bypassed the Great Wall of Chu, and went straight to Wancheng. When the king of Chu learned of this news, he was unusually pleased and said, “The people of Wei have finally lost their composure. They have traveled a long way to fight deep into my hinterland, and I will already have the upper hand.”


    After Pang Juan''s army bypassed the Great Wall of Chu, a part of it stopped short, and the large group suddenly changed direction and headed toward Tang City. This perplexed the king of Chu. Shihuang Dafu thought that the Wei people might be trying to use part of their army to hold back the Chu army, and then attack the capital city of Chu via Tang Cheng. The king of Chu laughed at Pang Juan''s audacity and ordered the whole army to attack and catch up with the Wei army for a duel. Dr. Shi Huang was still a bit worried and discouraged, “Your Majesty, should we check again so that the Wei people will not be fraudulent.”


    The King of Chu smiled coldly and said, “Check what? If they go deep into the Chu hinterland, they are entering the land of death, and even if there is fraud, they will inevitably perish.”


    Pang Juan led the Wei army to the pre-determined battlefield, and very seriously admonished the generals, “We are dueling with the Chu army in the land of death, and if we don''t win, we will perish, and we can only survive in the land of death if we are brave enough to fight to the death!”


    At Pang Juan''s order, hundreds of thousands of Wei troops like hundreds of thousands of survival tiger and wolf pounced on the Chu army, and the 80,000 troops of General Sima of Chu were routed in no time.


    When the king of Chu was informed of the situation at the front line, he did not know what to do. Dr. Shi Huang advised the king to withdraw into Fangcheng immediately and join forces with the army of Fangcheng to deal with the Wei. When the king of Chu was about to order to retreat to Fangcheng, the rear troops sent an urgent report: the Wei army in Fangcheng suddenly appeared behind the king of Chu''s army and cut off the connection between the king of Chu''s army and Fangcheng. The king of Chu did not know what to do. The king of Chu was at a loss as to what to do. The king of Chu was advised by Shihuang Daifu to cede the city and submit to the state of Wei. The king of Chu firmly opposed, saying, “No, my country is a great country, how can I submit to Wei?”


    “Your Majesty, General Sima''s army is the most valiant and warlike among the Chu army, but in less than two hours, it was routed, and what is left of the army of the king is not a match for the Wei people? Now that your majesty''s retreat has been cut off, what can you do if you don''t give in?”


    The king of Chu was silent.


    Dr. Shi Huang said again, “Your Majesty, if you can bend and bend, you will be able to achieve the ultimate hegemony.”


    The king of Chu was still silent.


    Shi Huang Dafu finally said, “If the king refuses to give in for a while, it will be hard for him to survive. How can we talk about the hegemony when our lives will be gone?”


    The king of Chu heard this, had to promise to give in.


    Less than a day, a great country will submit to Wei, Pang Juan very pleased. On his way back, he asked Gongsun Yue, who was in the same car, with a smile: “Mr. Gongsun Yue, do you think there is anyone else in the world who is my rival?”


    Gongsun Yue did not answer him, but with an apologetic look on his face, he said, “Marshal, there is one thing I have not made clear to you.”


    “What is it?”


    “The plan to break Chu did not come from Guiguzi, but from your senior brother Sun Bin.”


    Pang Juan froze and asked, “Is this matter true?”


    Gongsun Yueun said, “Sun Bin was afraid that the Marshal would not believe in his plan, so he asked me to assume Guiguzi''s name.”


    Pang Juan''s face grimaced, “So those words from The Art of War were also his?”


    Gongsun Yue nodded and replied, “Yes. He spoke about The Art of War like a family favorite.”


    Pang Juan was very angry that Guiguzi had not told him the truth, that he had hidden a set of Sun Tzu''s Art of War and that he had passed it on to Sun Bin.


    Gongsun Yue said to Pang Juan without any concern, “If Sun Bin comes out of the mountain, I am afraid that he will become a formidable enemy that will be difficult for the Marshal to defeat.”


    Pang Juan was silent for a moment and laughed coldly, “I''m going to make him work for me.”


    Note: “To draw a ladder from the roof” means “to climb the ladder”, which is the twenty-eighth of the Thirty-six Stratagems, and the name of the stratagem is summarized by later generations. The meaning of this plan is: intentionally show a profitable point, lure the enemy “on the house”, into the battlefield in my favor, and then “draw the ladder” to break the way back, forcing the enemy to give in. This plan has another meaning, which is what Sun Tzu''s “Art of War” said, “like climbing up and removing the ladder”, placing one''s army in a place where there is no way to retreat, forcing the generals to break the boat and fight with the enemy to the death. Pang Juan was jealous of Sun Bin, who forced Chu to submit to his plan of “pulling the ladder out of the house”. To find out what happens next, please read the next installment: “A dagger hidden behind a smile”.