Dr. Shi Huang advised the King of Chu to kill Tian Ji and Sun Bin at once, or else he would leave behind future troubles. The King of Chu hesitated and felt it was too bad to kill them. He said to Shihuang Daifu: “Heart for heart, yellow earth becomes gold. As long as I am truly kind to them, they will come around. Let them continue to live in my guest house, treat them well, and give them whatever they want, including women.”
Dr. Shi Huang specially found two beautiful girls to take care of Tian Ji and Sun Bin. The girls brought Tian Ji and Sun Bin wine and food, “Who let you in?” Tian Ji had a stern face and loudly reprimanded, “We don''t eat, get out! Get out!”
The girl was on the verge of tears and said, “Please, if you don''t eat, Dr. Shi Huang will punish us.”
“Forget it, don''t make it hard for them.” Sun Bin spoke up, “Girls, he''s joking with you guys, don''t pay attention. Put down the wine and food.” With tears in their eyes, the two girls placed the wine and food on a few tables and turned to walk out. “Why are you being so bitter? These two girls didn''t mess with you.” Sun Bin said, poured a bottle of wine for Tian Ji and himself and laughed, “Beautiful women and beautiful wine, the days of a god. Come on, cheers.”
“It''s come to this, you still have the heart to make fun.” Tian Ji didn''t move the wine bottle.
Sun Bin took a big gulp of wine and said, “This is much better than when I was in Wei. ...... Back then, sleeping in a pigsty and eating pig food, you can''t even imagine what it''s like, but I''m still laughing all the time.”
“Don''t say so easy, if the smile is always open, will not pretend to be crazy.”
“Pretending to be crazy is to laugh and open your mouth often,” Sun Bin took another big sip, ”And laugh as much as you want ...... That said this wine is really good, General Tian come and drink with me too.”
“You can drink if you want, I''m not in the mood.”
Sun Bin said to Tian Ji, “General Tian, since we left Qi, we haven''t had a painful drink yet, let''s get drunk today, and when we''re drunk, we''ll go home.”
Tian Ji didn''t understand what Sun Bin meant by “go home”.
Sun Bin smiled and explained, “If you get drunk, you can dream of going home.”
Tian Ji laughed bitterly and had to pick up his bottle of wine and said, “Okay, for the sake of going home, drink.”
The two of them didn''t drink more than a few bottles before they passed out. It turned out that Shihuang Daifu had tampered with the wine; he had two Chu girls guard them and memorize every word they said, including in their dreams.
Outside the window the moonlight is like water. Inside, Sun Bin is lying peacefully on his sleeper couch, the flickering light of the fire candles waving on his face. The Chu girl sat beside Sun Bin and watched his face. Sun Bin moved a bit and mumbled, “Zhong Li Chun ......”
The girl probed and leaned down in front of his face and softly asked, “Mr. Sun, what did you say?”
Sun Bin mumbled, “Zhong Li Chun ......”
The girl heard him clearly this time and asked, “Who is Zhong Li Chun? Is it your wife?”
Sleeping Sun Bin didn''t say anything else. The girl looked at the sleeping Sun Bin, slowly sat up straight and silently recited, “Zhong Li Chun ......”
At this moment Zhong Li Chun was standing outside the window, she looked at Sun Bin on the sleeping couch with affection through the small holes in the silk between the window panes.
The next day, Dr. Shi Huang asked the Chu girl who took care of Sun Bin: “What did Sun Bin say?”
The girl read word for word: “Zhong Li Chun.”
Dr. Shi Huang asked again, “What else did he say?”
The girl shook her head and said, “He kept saying these three words over and over again.”
Dr. Shi Huang asked the girl who took care of Tian Ji, “What about Tian Ji, what did he say?”
The girl replied, “Go back to his country, back to Qi.”
Inside the King of Chu''s palace, Shi Huang Dafu said to the King of Chu: “Tian Ji and Sun Bin don''t want anything, neither do they want a pretty girl, they just want to go back to Qi, and in their dreams, they think that they are irredeemable, so let''s kill them.”
The King of Chu thought for a moment and said, “No, don''t kill them, put them in jail, when they promise me, when will they be released.”
“What if they don''t promise for the rest of their lives?”
“Then let them not see the light of day for the rest of their lives!”
When Pang Juan heard that Sun Bin and Tian Ji were being held in Chu, he was so excited that he praised Gongsun Yue for doing a good job, and he planned to go to Chu himself to meet the king of Chu. His nephew Pangcong was worried about him and said, “Uncle had defeated the Chu army in Fangcheng and disgraced the King of Chu, if you go to Chu in person, the King of Chu will jeopardize Uncle.”
Pang Juan laughed and said, “The king of Chu likes two things the most, one is beautiful jade and the other is compliments, if I bring his favorite things to meet him, not only will he not give me a hard time, but he will also treat me as a guest.”
Pang Juan came to the state of Chu and went into the palace to see the king of Chu. The palace of the king of Chu was filled with a murderous atmosphere, and the palace guards, weapons in hand, stared intently at Pang Juan as he walked into the palace. With a straight face, Pang Juan came to the King of Chu, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, “Foreign Minister kowtow to the King.”
The King of Chu looked at Pang Juan with murderous intent in his eyes and said slowly to Pang Juan, “Marshal Pang, you''ve got some guts.”
Pang Juan pretended to look at the King of Chu in disbelief and said, “The words of the Great King are not understood by the foreign minister.”
The King of Chu smiled coldly and said, “In the battle of Fangcheng, you made me ashamed to face the world, and now that you''ve come to Chu alone, aren''t you afraid that I''ll kill you?”
Pang Juan smiled frankly and said, “Foreign ministers are not afraid. Your majesty is known as a wise king who is faithful and reasonable, and never kills envoys from other countries, so how could you kill a foreign minister? Moreover, in the battle of Fangcheng, the foreign minister, as a marshal of Wei, should fight to the death for the king of Wei, and a wise king will never kill a minister who is loyal to his king.”
The King of Chu was dumbfounded, gazed at Pang Juan for a moment and said, “Marshal Pang is very good at talking.”
Pang Juan took advantage of the situation and complimented, “It is not the foreign ministers who are good at talking, it is the king who is good at being a king. With such a wise king, Chu will eventually dominate the world despite a momentary loss.”
The King of Chu''s face eased up a lot, and he asked Pang Juan to sit in the seat of the honored guest.
Pang Juan thanked the king of Chu, took the box with the precious jade from his attendant, held it high, and said to the king of Chu, “Your majesty, the foreign minister has a little gift for your majesty, please accept it with a smile.”
The king of Chu took the box, opened it, and could not help but be enraptured - inside the box was a large and beautiful piece of precious jade. The king of Chu was full of praise: “This piece of precious jade is so beautiful that it can be completely comparable to the He Shi Bi!” He asked Pang Juan, “Marshal Pang must have something important to ask for when he gives me such a precious jade?”
Pang Juan smiled and said, “A small matter.”
The King of Chu held the precious jade lovingly and said to Pang Juan, “Marshal Pang, feel free to say anything, I will definitely satisfy you.”
“Foreign Minister heard that Sun Bin fell into the hands of the Great King, I wonder what the Great King has planned?”
“I want him to stay in Chu and assist me.”
“Foreign Minister had been a fellow student of Sun Bin for three years and understood his character, being a native of Qi, he highly valued his native land. The foreign minister had recommended him to my king, and my king valued him so much that he worshiped him as a guest minister, promising to let him replace the foreign minister as the marshal of Wei in the future, but he betrayed my king. My king remembered that he was a talented person and spared him from death, but he used trickery and fled to Qi ...... The great king would not be of one mind with the great king even if he kept Sun Bin.”
“What Marshal Pang means is ......”
“Kill him.”
The King of Chu looked at the precious jade in front of him, then looked at Pang Juan and asked, “You sent me such an expensive gift just to let me execute Sun Bin?”
Pang Juan said, “Sun Bin is both a key criminal of Wei and a sworn enemy of Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister requests that Your Majesty hand Sun Bin over to Wei, who will execute him.”
The King of Chu smiled faintly and said, “I see, Sun Bin has defeated Marshal Pang several times, causing Marshal Pang to lose his prestige, Marshal Pang is trying to use this to take personal revenge.”
Pang Juan cursed the King of Chu in his heart but forced a smile on his face and said, “Your Majesty, it doesn''t matter what the foreign ministers think or do, what''s important is that the foreign ministers get rid of Sun Bin, then it will be the foreign ministers that Qi resents, not Your Majesty.”
The King of Chu weighed the advantages and disadvantages and decided that what Pang Juan said would be beneficial to Chu, so he agreed to Pang Juan''s request.
Dr. Shi Huang strongly opposed to handing Sun Bin over to Pang Juan, and said to the King of Chu, “Your Majesty, if someone captures your enemy, can your Majesty trade rare treasures for the pleasure of disposing of your enemy with your own hands?”
The king of Chu said, “That depends on whether the value of this enemy is more valuable than rare treasures.”
“A man as smart as Pang Juan never makes a losing deal. Your Majesty, if I''m not mistaken, he must be after Sun Tzu''s Art of War.”
“The Art of War is in Sun Bin''s heart, how will he get it?”
“The microscopic minister hasn''t figured it out yet ...... However, this reminds us, why don''t we think of a way to get the Art of War of Sun Tzu? With the Art of War, wouldn''t the Great King still be able to dominate the world?”
The King of Chu thought that Shi Huang Dafu had a point, and he asked Shi Huang Dafu to try to get Sun Tzu''s Art of War from Sun Bin.
Shihuang Dafu came to the prison where Tian Ji and Sun Bin were being held and said to Sun Bin with a smile, “Mr. Sun, I have bad news for you, Pang Juan is here and he wants to take you back to Wei.”
“What about me, does he want me?” Tian Ji asked in a nonchalant voice.
“You''re not worth him wanting!” Shi Huang Dafu slanted him a glance.
Tian Ji said, “I am a brother in need with Mr. Sun, if he doesn''t want me, Mr. Sun can''t go.”
Shi Huang Dafu said, “Mr. Sun can not leave, as long as Mr. Sun writes down The Art of War, the king not only won''t hand you over to Pang Juan, but also let you guys go back to your country, how about it?”
While Tian Ji disagreed, Sun Bin agreed wholeheartedly and said to Shi Huang Dafu, “The King of Chu must agree to one condition. Let General Tian return to his country first.”
“No way, Mr. Sun. To go back, we''ll go back together.” Tian Ji firmly said.
“Hmph.” Shi Huang Dafu sneered, “None of you will be able to leave.”
Sun Bin said, “If I don''t let General Tian go, I won''t write. Handing it over to Pang Juan is just handing it over to Pang Juan, it''s just a death, I''ve already died once, it''s no big deal to die again.”
Dr. Shi Huang looked at Sun Bin and sighed, “Alright, I''ll report your thoughts to my king.” Said he got up and left.
Tian Ji didn''t agree to let Sun Bin stay in Chu alone and Sun Bin said to him, “If only one of you and I go back, Zou Ji won''t dare to do whatever he wants.”
“If Zou Ji uses this to say that you betrayed Qi and victimized your two cousins, what''s the best thing to do?”
“I have to aggrieve them ...... to let them leave Qi once again.”
Tian Ji was overjoyed and still refused to go.
“General Tian,” Sun Bin said to Tian Ji from the bottom of his heart, ”It''s not just for your sake, it''s also for the sake of Qi, you must go back!”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.Tian Ji was so moved that he promised to let the King of Qi try to rescue Sun Bin once he returned to Qi. Sun Bin said, “I don''t need the King of Qi''s rescue, the King of Qi can''t save me either, as long as the King of Qi doesn''t give the military power to Zou Ji as well, it''s worth it for me to stay in Chu.”
The king of Chu agreed to let Tian Ji return to his country in order to get Sun Tzu''s Art of War. Dr. Shi Huang asked how to deal with Pang Juan. The King of Chu said, “Just say that Sun Bin has agreed to stay in Chu and sincerely assist me, and let Pang Juan go back.”
Shi Huang Dafu told Pang Juan what the King of Chu meant, and Pang Juan accused the King of Chu of going back on his word and breaking faith with the world. Shi Huang Dafu condescendingly laughed at Pang Juan and said, “The King has Sun Bin to assist him, even if he breaks faith with the world, what can the world do to the King?”
Pang Juan sneered, “Sun Bin is deceiving the King of Chu, he''s afraid I''ll kill him, he''s using a delaying tactic, he''ll still change his mind when I''m gone.”
Tian Ji and Sun Bin were about to part ways, it was already late, Tian Ji sat inside Sun Bin''s room or he didn''t want to leave. Sun Bin advised him to rest early so he can be on his way tomorrow, Tian Ji said, “I want to stay by your side for a while longer and guard you.”
Sun Bin laughed: “The assassin died a long time ago, there''s no need for you to watch the night.”
Tian Ji sighed, “I wish the assassin was still ...... around.”
At this time, someone outside the window gently knocked on the window. The two froze, Tian Ji drew his sword in his hand and asked sternly, “Who?”
The person outside the window whispered, “It''s me, Zhong Li Chun.”
The two were so surprised that they hurriedly walked out of the inner room and opened the door.
Zhong Li Chun dodged into the house, closed the door, and said to the two, “I have bribed dozens of daredevils with strong swordsmanship, and they have promised to help you escape.”
Tian Ji asked, “Is it reliable?”
Zhong Li Chun said, “Absolutely reliable.”
Tian Ji said to Sun Bin: “Sir, let''s go.”
Sun Bin disagreed.
Zhong Li Chun anxiously said to Sun Bin: “Pang Juan is here, he wants to kill you!”
Sun Bin confidently said, “Pang Juan can''t kill me for a while, the King of Chu needs me to write the Art of War.”
“The King of Chu is a capricious man, even if you write out the Art of War for him, he''ll still hand you over to Pang Juan. Sir, go!”
Tian Ji also thinks the King of Chu won''t let Sun Bin go and urges him to run away together.
Sun Bin said to Tian Ji: “General, the King of Chu has already promised to let you go back to your country, if we fail to escape, none of us will be able to return to Qi.”
Zhong Li Chun said from the sidelines, “Yes, we can definitely escape.”
“The state of Chu is so big, if the Chu army intercepts us along the road, we can''t escape.”
“Not being able to escape is still better than waiting here to die!”
“I''m not waiting to die, I''m waiting for the right time.”
“So I''m being redundant?” Zhong Li Chun was a bit upset and said gamely.
Sun Bin was about to explain when an uninvited guest came outside the house, it was Dr. Shi Huang. He knocked on the door outside the house and said “Mr. Sun, open the door.”
Sun Bin signaled Zhong Li Chun to hide in the inner room, Zhong Li Chun hesitated for a moment, but followed Sun Bin into the inner room.
Tian Ji opened the door of the house, and Shihuang Daifu came into the dwelling, gazed around, and asked, “With whom was Mr. Sun talking just now?”
Tian Ji said, “It was me.”
Shi Huang Dafu laughed and said, “That was not your voice.”
With that, Shi Huang Dafu walked toward the inner room.
Tian Ji quickly stopped him, “Shi Huang Dafu, you can''t enter.”
Shi Huang Dafu flicked his sleeve: “Why, is there something unseemly inside?”
Tian Ji stammered, “This ...... no ...... Mr. Sun is asleep.”
Shi Huang Dafu sneered, “You can t even tell lies. He was talking to someone just now, and in a few moments, how could he have fallen asleep?”
“You''re right, I''m still awake.” At this time, Sun Bin walked out.
Dr. Shi Huang smiled smugly and asked, “Who is that person in the inner room?”
“You don''t need to know.”
“My king has asked me to protect you, and anyone who is with you, I should know.”
“And if I don''t agree?”
“I''ll just have to get the soldiers to help.” Shihuang Daifu threatened.
Tian Ji angrily pointed at Shihuang Dafu, “Shihuang Dafu, don''t bully me too much!”
Shi Huang Dafu sneered back, “It''s not bullying people too much, it''s doing your duty.”
The three of them held each other for a moment, Sun Bin said, “Dr. Shi Huang, you can go in, but I have a favor to ask.”
“Speak.”
“You can''t tell anyone what you saw.”
Dr. Shi Huang agreed and Sun Bin let him into the inner room.
Shihuang Dafu entered the inner room and saw a woman sitting on a sleeping couch. It was Zhong Li Chun, she had changed back into her female clothes to match Sun Bin. When Zhong Li Chun saw someone walk in, she turned around shyly. Dr. Shi Huang sized up Zhong Li Chun for a moment, walked out of the inner room and smiled at Sun Bin, “Mr. Sun, you''re not a gentleman.”
“I didn''t say I was a gentleman either.”
“Last time, why did Mr. Sun refuse such a beautiful girl?”
“I was afraid of being subjected to someone.”
“I won''t disturb your good deed, farewell.” Dr. Shi Huang smiled wistfully and turned to leave.
Zhong Li Chun is also leaving, Sun Bin is unwilling to let her leave with a misunderstanding, and wants to explain what happened just now, Zhong Li Chun said, “Don''t explain, I understand in my heart, so be on your best behavior.”
Zhong Li Chun said goodbye to Tian Ji and told him to be careful on the way, then quietly left.
The next morning, Sun Bin gave Tian Ji a farewell, far away from Chu capital, Tian Ji was still reluctant to leave. He shook Sun Bin''s hand and said ashamedly, “I''m so sorry to let you stay in Chu by yourself.”
“Don''t worry, they wouldn''t dare do anything to me.”
“When two people are together, they can still discuss when they are in trouble, but now it''s just you and you have a bad leg ......”
Sun Bin comforted Tian Ji, “Don''t worry General, I have a solution, get on the carriage, your family is looking forward to you.”
Tian Ji got on the carriage and stood on it, slowly raised his hands, arched his hands and saluted, telling Sun Bin to take care of himself.
Sun Bin also arched his hands and saluted back, wishing Tian Ji a safe journey.
Tian Ji turned around violently, tears turning in his eyes. The coachman shook the reins and the carriage drove off. The tears in Tian Ji''s eyes finally overflowed and flowed down his cheeks.
Sun Bin stood by the side of the road and looked longingly at the far away carriage ......
Pang Juan didn''t leave Chu, he had his entourage buy out the palace guards and after inquiring about the King of Chu''s true intentions of leaving Sun Bin behind, he came into the palace to see the King of Chu. He asked the King of Chu: “Does the King want to get Sun Tzu''s Art of War?”
The King of Chu didn''t expect Pang Juan to get the news so quickly and asked, “Who did you hear this from?”
Pang Juan said, “This is the speculation of a foreign minister. The Great King''s thoughts at this time are the same as Foreign Minister''s at first. When Sun Bin committed a capital offense in Wei, he also said that he would write a set of art of war for my foreign minister so that he could intercede for him in front of my king. The foreign minister believed him and agreed to do so. In the name of writing the art of war, he spied the time and fled from Wei. This time, he is up to his old tricks again, and the foreign minister hopes that the great king will not fall for his tricks.”
The King of Chu laughed, “I won''t fall for it; I''ll send heavy guards, and until he finishes writing the Art of War, he won''t be able to leave Binsha.”
“Does the king know the contents of Sun Tzu''s Art of War?”
“No.”
“Who in Chu knows it?”
“As far as I know, no one knows.”
“Sun Bin is a trickster, if what he wrote for the King is not the real Sun Tzu''s Art of War, how does the King know about it?”
The King of Chu didn''t know how to answer.
Pang Juan said, “When I was studying at Guigu, I heard Mr.Guigu speak about the relevant chapters of Sun Tzu''s Art of War, and I can help the Great King identify the authenticity of the Art of War.”
The King of Chu happily clapped his hands and said, “Excellent! General Pang, if you help me get the real Art of War of Sun Tzu, I will reward you heavily!”
Pang Juan smiled and said, “Your Majesty, I don''t want a heavy reward, all I ask is that you let me copy a set of Sun Tzu''s Art of War, and I will be satisfied.”
The king of Chu agreed at once.
A very delicate and ornately decorated box was placed on the table in front of Sun Bin. Sun Bin sat in front of the few, silently looked at the box in front of him, and silently said in his heart, “Mr.Guigu, I''m sorry, I''m forced to do it, please forgive me, sir ......” After calming his mind, Sun Bin took out a few slender and delicate bamboo slips from the box, and held a pen and dipped it in ink and started to write it up.
At this time, someone pushed the door in. “Please go out.” Sun Bin didn''t look up and was fully focused on writing. Unbeknownst to him the person not only didn''t go out, but instead walked over and sat in front of Sun Bin.
“It''s you?” Sun Bin froze, the visitor was none other than Pang Juan.
“What, not welcome?” Pang Juan smiled.
Sun Bin put down his pen, looked coldly at Pang Juan and said solemnly, “The King of Chu has ordered that no one is allowed to enter while I''m writing the Art of War.”
“The King of Chu told me to come.” Pang Juan caressed the exquisite chest on the table and tsked, “The King of Chu is really willing to put down money, giving you his chest that holds treasures as well.” He raised his head to Sun Bin and said, “Do you want to know why the King of Chu called me here?”
“Don''t want to know.”
“You''d better know.” Pang Juan picked up a bamboo slip and looked at it, saying leisurely, “The King of Chu is afraid that you''ll cheat him with fake Art of War, so he specially asked me to supervise you, and I can recognize the authenticity of Sun Tzu''s Art of War.” He put down the bamboo slip and looked at Sun Bin with a smile on his face and added: “The King of Chu also agreed to let me copy a set of Sun Tzu''s Art of War to take back with me.”
When Sun Bin heard this, he packed up the bamboo slips and said, “I''m not writing it!”
Pang Juan sneered, “Gambling won''t do any good, if you don''t write it, the King of Chu will kill you.”
Sun Bin said lightly, “People always die, it''s the same if they die early or late.”
“You''re different, you''re one of the few generals and marshals in the world, you haven''t established a career yet, isn''t it a shame to die?”
“There are big and small feats, I''m in Qi, I defeated you three times, I''ve already made a name for myself.” Sun Bin sneered at Pang Juan, “I''m already content ......”
“Sun Bin!” Pang Juan couldn''t help but feel a surge of annoyance, he drew out his sword and pointed it at Sun Bin, saying, “You''re content, I''m going to tell you to return to the Nine Springs with your life!”
Sun Bin was very calm and said, “You don''t dare to kill me, if you kill me, the King of Chu will want you dead!”
Pang Juan sneered, “I''ll kill you and throw your body to the countryside to feed the wild dogs and say, you escaped!”
Note: “Strike while the fire is burning” is the fifth of the Thirty-six Stratagems, the original meaning is that when the enemy has a serious crisis, you should take advantage of the opportunity to strike. Pang Juan took advantage of Sun Bin being trapped in Chu and came to Chu to push his way to get Sun Bin and “The Art of War”. To know how Sun Bin got out of the crisis, please read the next installment: “Concealing the truth to cross the sea”.