Dr. Shi Huang went to the guest house to check on Sun Bin''s copying of the Art of War and pushed his way in, he was stunned to see the scene in front of him and asked, “Marshal Pang, what are you doing?”
“He''s trying to kill me.” Sun Bin was the first to speak.
“Marshal Pang,” Shi Huang Dafu sniffed and sneered, ”This isn''t in your state of Wei, it''s in the state of Chu.”
Pang Juan was busy putting away his sword and explained, “I''m serving the King of Chu, who asked me to oversee his writing of the Art of War, and he''s not writing it, so I''m warning him.”
Sun Bin pinpointed, “I''m not not writing, I''m not writing for you.”
“Writing for me is the same as writing for the King of Chu.”
“It''s not the same, if I write for the King of Chu, I''m honoring my promise, if I write for you I''m aiding and abetting the enemy.”
Dr. Shi Huang laughed as he applauded, “Well said, excellent!”
Pang Juan glared at Shi Huang Dafu and said to Sun Bin: “I don''t care what you say about me, the Art of War you write must be authenticated by me.”
Shi Huang Dafu told the King of Chu about Sun Bin and Pang Juan''s quarrel, and the King of Chu said cheerfully, “Good, good quarrel! I''m just going to let them make a scene, and in the end, Pang Juan won''t get The Art of War.”
Dr. Shi Huang said, “Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Pang Juan should be sent away now.”
“With him gone, who will identify the authenticity of Sun Tzu''s Art of War?”
“Tell Sun Bin that when the Art of War is all written, then let Pang Juan identify the authenticity, with Pang Juan against him, Sun Bin wouldn''t dare to use a fake as the real thing.”
The King of Chu nodded slightly, “You think the same as me.”
Shi Huang Dafu relayed the King of Chu''s decision to Pang Juan asking him to leave Chu for the time being, Pang Juan was very angry but on the surface he looked indifferent and asked Shi Huang Dafu: “After Sun Bin finishes writing the Art of War, does the King of Chu intend to let him go?”
“No, the Art of War he wrote is not yet known to be true, how can he let him go?”
“What if the truth is known?”
“Whether it''s true or false, we can''t let him go, if we let him go, won''t we let the tiger return to the mountain?”
“This I am relieved.”
“In that case, when will the marshal leave?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“Good, I''ll report back to my king immediately, and ask my king to host a feast to send the marshal off!”
“No need, I have to come back, next time.”
Pang Juan sent off Dr. Shi Huang and immediately came to find Sun Bin, this time he was very polite and knocked on the already open door and asked, “May I come in?”
Sun Bin was playing the zither, when he heard Pang Juan''s voice, he looked up and said, “As long as I''m not writing the Art of War, you can come in.”
Pang Juan walked in, sat next to Sun Bin and said to Sun Bin, “Sun Bin, I''m here to say goodbye.”
“Oh, no longer supervising my writing of the Art of War?” Sun Bin asked.
Pang Juan looked frank and said, “Actually, there''s no need for me to supervise at all, you''re a man of honor, as long as it''s something you''ve promised, you''ll definitely do it.”
Sun Bin said, “That''s not necessarily true, it depends on when, where and to whom.”
Pang Juan smiled slightly, “Dr. Shi Huang told me that even if you write the Art of War, the King of Chu isn''t going to release you, he said he can''t let the tiger return to the mountain.”
Sun Bin also smiled slightly, “Heh, I admire you for telling lies as if they were true.”
Pang Juan said despondently, “I know, I''m despicable in your eyes, you''ll never believe me for the rest of your life. In fact, we were not like this before, in Ghost Valley when we were classmates ......”
“You don''t deserve to mention Ghost Valley fellow students again!” Sun Bin interrupted him.
“Yes, I''m not worthy. The reason I''m not worthy is because of jealousy. Those who are more talented than me, I''m jealous; those who have more status than me, I''m jealous; those who are more fortunate than me, I''m jealous; those who can''t get what I can''t get, I''m jealous ...... Jealousy has made me forget the love of my fellow classmates, and has turned us two brothers against each other; Jealousy has made me do so much to wrong you! Jealousy makes me the most despicable person in the world ......” Pang Juan said more and more excited, his eyes could not help but redden.
Realizing his outburst, Pang Juan let his mood calm down and continued to Sun Bin: “You probably think I''m faking this, and I don''t blame you, I once set you up for death and made you lose your trust in me forever ...... But today, I''m never faking it, and the reason why I hate myself isn''t because of remorse, it''s Or because of jealousy. I am jealous of the King of Chu, who is about to get the Art of War that I cannot get.”
“That statement, I believe to be true.” Sun Bin said lightly.
“That''s why I want to help you escape Chu, what I can''t get, the King of Chu won''t be able to get either!”
“What''s in it for you if I escape Chu and return to Qi?”
Pang Juan laughed: “Brother Sun, when I said I''d help you escape Chu, I didn''t say I''d let you return to Qi.”
Sun Bin was stunned, “If I don''t return to Qi, where do I go?”
“Wei, Country of Han, Zhao, Yan, Qin, you can go to all these countries, just not back to Qi. As long as you promise, I will help you escape from Chu.”
“Just this one condition?”
“No, there is one more, give me a set of Sun Tzu''s Art of War.”
“That''s your real purpose.” Sun Bin sneered.
“A set of the Art of War, in exchange for a life, you should agree.”
“What if you''re like the King of Chu, who got the Art of War and still won''t let me go?”
“I can swear to heaven.”
“I don''t believe in your oath.”
“Then what do you say?”
Sun Bin thought for a moment, then said, “After you help me get out of harm''s way, and by that I mean not only Chu, but also you, Wei, I''ll give you the Art of War again.”
Pang Juan agreed.
Sun Bin said he had one more request and wanted to know how Pang Juan would help him escape.
Pang Juan laughed, “Not too much to ask, I can tell you first.” He lowered his voice, “The King of Chu told me to go back and come back when you finish writing the Art of War. After I leave, you tell the King of Chu that the Art of War is the work of the Sage of War, so it must not be written in a noisy city, and that you need to find a valley similar to the Ghost Valley, or else you will be defiling the Holy Spirit. Defiling the Holy Spirit will be punished by heaven. Chu people have always respected the ghosts and gods, you so say, the king of Chu certainly believe. Then you said that there is such a valley on the border of Chu and Wei, the king of Chu will never suspect that there is a fraud, because I am your mortal enemy, you will not flee to Wei. When you arrive at the valley, I will immediately lead an army to raid the valley and rescue you. What do you think?”
Sun Bin was deep in thought and didn''t say anything.
Pang Juan knew that Sun Bin still didn''t believe him, so he said, “Danger and opportunity go hand in hand, I won''t go back on my word.”
Sun Bin finally made up his mind and said to Pang Juan, “Then I''ll take another risk.”
Saying this the two of them high-fived as a letter.
Dr. Shi Huang urged Sun Bin to write the Art of War as soon as possible, Sun Bin said he couldn''t do it in a noisy city. Sun Bin said he can''t do it in a noisy city. The Shihuang Daifu accused Sun Bin of playing tricks. Sun Bin said: “Dr. Shi Huang, don''t get me wrong, when Mr.Guigu passed on the Art of War to me, he repeatedly warned me that the Art of War was made by the Sage of War, Sun Wu, and that teaching the Art of War should not be done in the noisy city but in a quiet valley, otherwise it would be a defilement of the Holy Spirit, and defilement of the Holy Spirit would result in the punishment of heaven for the one who writes the Art of War as well as the one who holds the Art of War. Therefore, when I write the Art of War for the Great King, I must find a secluded valley.”
“Why didn''t you say so earlier?”
“I can''t say it if Pang Juan doesn''t go away, if he finds out, more trouble.”
Dr. Shi Huang no longer doubted Sun Bin''s words and promised to find a valley as soon as possible.
Sun Bin added: “Shihuang Dafu, not any valley is suitable for writing the Art of War, the valley must have spiritual and immortal energy, otherwise, the Art of War will lose the blessing of the gods. Back then, Mr.Guigu took several years to find the Ghost Valley, and I''m afraid it will take several years for you to find a place similar to the Ghost Valley.”
Taking such a long time to find the valley, Shihuang Dafu could not agree, he stated that the King of Chu was anxious to see the Art of War. Sun Bin said, “If the King is desperate to see the Art of War, it''s not impossible, when I went to Wei, I passed by a valley on the border of Chu and Wei that was extremely similar to Ghost Valley, and it would be extremely appropriate to write the Art of War there. However, it is too close to the state of Wei, and I am afraid that Pang Juan will harm me when he learns of it.”
Dr. Shi Huang said, “You don''t have to worry, the King can send an army to protect you.”
Sun Bin waved his hand and said, “Hey, if I send an army, it''s the same as telling Pang Juan about my trail, if he pours in the army of Wei to invade, what''s the best thing to do? Besides, Sun Tzu''s Art of War says, using 100,000 men and horses, crossing the border to send food for a thousand miles, all sorts of expenses, costing thousands of gold per day. The king''s army is heavily deployed in the barren valleys along the border, which is not as expensive as crossing the border for a thousand miles, but it costs no less than five hundred gold per day. The art of war cannot be written in a few days, how many 500 golds does the king need to consume? This is not the second thing, if other countries take advantage of the situation, how can we do?”
Shi Huang Dafu thought for a long time and had a hard time deciding.
Sun Bin told Shihuang Dafu to go back to the King of Chu and weigh the pros and cons over and over again and let the King of Chu decide.
Shi Huang Dafu told the King of Chu what Sun Bin said, the King of Chu said “Pang Juan is not enough to worry about, I''ll send an elite army to ambush in the valley, and then send more secret agents to enter Wei, as soon as Pang Juan has a wind blowing, he''ll immediately protect Sun Bin to withdraw from the valley. What I''m worried about is Sun Bin, he said there''s such a valley on the border of Chu and Wei, is there any deception?”
Dr. Shi Huang pondered, “Your Majesty, even my humble servant has considered it over and over again, Sun Bin would not be deceitful. Pang Juan is his sworn enemy, it would be bad for him to go to the Chu-Wei border, if he were to go to the Chu-Qi or Chu-Han borders, then it would really be a fraud.”
The King of Chu nodded slightly and then said, “Take my military talisman and transfer 5,000 troops to protect Sun Bin.”
Dr. Shi Huang told Sun Bin of the King of Chu''s decision and urged him to move the next day. Sun Bin said there was one thing he needed Dr. Shi Huang''s help with. Shi Huang Dafu asked him what it was, Sun Bin was a bit coy and said, “This matter is a bit difficult to talk about ...... I''d like to ask you to help me find someone ......”
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.“Is it a woman?” Shi Huang Dafu said with a bad smile.
Sun Bin nodded shyly and said, “I don''t want to find just any woman, I want to find the one who was here last time ......”
“What, a one night stand for life?” Shihuang Dafu had another bad laugh and asked what the woman''s last name was and where she lived, but Sun Bin didn''t know anything about it. He drew a picture of Zhong Li Chun and asked Dr. Shi Huang to send someone to hang it on the street where there are many people.
Soon after the portrait was hung up, Zhong Li Chun saw the portrait, and many onlookers were talking about her in the portrait. Zhong Li Chun tore the portrait off the wall and took it to Sun Bin. With an angry face, she questioned Sun Bin: “Is there a way for you to find someone like this? Thousands of people looking, ten thousand people touching, making me lose face!”
“Miss Zhong Li, I''m really sorry.” Sun Bin looked apologetic and explained, “I''m leaving tomorrow, I''m in a hurry to find you, and I couldn''t think of any other way for a while, so I had to come up with this.”
Sun Bin told Zhong Li Chun about going to the Chu-Wei border to write the Art of War and then asked for her help. Zhong Li Chun was still angry with Sun Bin and said coldly, “How did you know I would help you?”
“You and I are friends, you wouldn''t see death to help.”
“You''re not enough of a friend!”
“Zhong Li girl, I know I am sorry for you, but I ...... really can''t marry you ......”
“I am not talking about this matter, this matter, I will never mention again.”
“Then, what do you mean?”
“You know it in your heart.”
“Could it be that last time ...... I didn''t go with you?” Sun Bin pondered.
“What''s that, that was me asking for trouble.” Zhong Li Chun teased.
Sun Bin thought seriously and said sincerely, “I really can''t remember.”
“Whenever you think of it, go find me.”
Zhong Li Chun turned around to leave after saying that, Sun Bin pulled her back, “It''s too late, I''m leaving early tomorrow morning.”
Zhong Li Chun looked at Sun Bin pulling her hand, her face slumped and she snapped, “Let go of me.”
Sun Bin was busy letting go of his hand.
“You go your way, I''ll go mine, there''s nothing between us.”
After saying that, Zhong Li Chun turned around and walked out.
Sun Bin was a bit confused at first, then carefully pondered Zhong Li Chun''s words “You go your way, I''ll go mine”. He realized that Zhong Li Chun has something in her words, she will walk with her in the dark. A stone fell from Sun Bin''s heart and he couldn''t help but smile with relief.
Shi Huang Dafu with 5,000 troops escorted Sun Bin quietly to the valley on the border of Chu and Wei. Pang Juan who was waiting for Sun Bin near the valley was informed of this and said happily, “Sun Bin has been tricked!”
Pangcong sent his men to secretly enter the valley to look for Sun Bin''s place and then ordered Pangcong to immediately transfer the follow up army to the border and at the same time secretly blockade the border between Wei and Chu to prevent the spies sent by Chu to Wei from returning to Chu.
The grass in the valley is high and the forest is dense, and from time to time mist drifts through. In the deep woods of the valley, there stood a straw hut, this is where Sun Bin wrote the Art of War.
Sun Bin and Shi Huang Dafu walked along the valley and carefully checked the defense of the 5,000 troops. Sun Bin said to Shi Huang Dafu: “These 5,000 soldiers are so well fortified that Pang Juan can''t enter the valley without five times the army.”
When they returned to the hayloft, Sun Bin''s legs couldn''t stand the dampness in the valley and it was even harder for him to walk.
Zhong Li Chun who was hiding in the forest saw it and felt the pain.
Just after Dr. Shi Huang left, Zhong Li Chun came out of the woods and entered Sun Bin''s hut. Sun Bin complained that she shouldn''t have come and Zhong Li Chun said she was uneasy.
Sun Bin said “What''s there to be uneasy about, didn''t we all say it''s done, as soon as Pang Juan''s army comes, Shi Huang Dafu will immediately take me away, you guys just wait for me at the bottom of the mountain.”
When Sun Bin had just entered the valley, Zhong Li Chun had quietly looked for Sun Bin, she told Sun Bin that she had brought dozens of daredevil soldiers with her, and that she could save Sun Bin from escaping from Chu at any time. Sun Bin said a lot of words of gratitude and then told Zhong Li Chun about his plan to escape and drew a diagram for Zhong Li Chun and told her to bring those men who dared to die and follow the location on the diagram and wait outside the valley.
Zhong Li Chun said, “Pang Juan is tricky, what if he enters the valley from a place you wouldn''t expect?”
Sun Bin said, “I''ve seen all the terrain, he can''t get in. Go back, those people you left at the bottom of the mountain, the group is leaderless, if anything goes wrong, we''ll lose everything.”
Zhong Li Chun said, “Don''t worry, those people under the mountain are bowing down to me, without my words, they would never dare to act without authorization, and won''t make the slightest mistake. Mister''s legs are bad and you have to go over mountains and valleys, I''ll be by your side and can take care of you.”
Sun Bin still insisted on persuading her to go, saying, “If Dr. Shi Huang sees it, he''ll get suspicious.”
“Well ...... then I''ll quietly guard the mountains and forests outside the shed so that no one else will notice.”
Sun Bin heard this and was sincerely moved.
At night, in the dead of night, Zhong Li Chun sneaked into Sun Bin''s hayloft again, she made Sun Bin sit on a bamboo-tied sleeping couch with his bare legs, then dipped silk and silk in wine and repeatedly scrubbed Sun Bin''s bare knees, saying that this would drive away the dampness. After scrubbing her legs, she held Sun Bin''s legs in her arms.
Sun Bin couldn''t help but blush and wanted to pull his leg out of Zhong Li Chun''s arms, embarrassedly saying “Don''t be like this, no need ......”
Zhong Li Chun pressed down on his leg and said frankly: “Don''t be embarrassed, I don''t have any other ideas, I''m just healing your leg.”
At this moment Sun Bin felt warmth not only in his legs but all over his body, warmth that he''s never felt before.
Outside the hayloft someone was hitting the door curtain with a small stone, Sun Bin told Zhong Li Chun it was a spy sent by Pang Juan to find him. He went out of the hayloft and gave Pang Juan''s spy the map of the Chu army''s defense.
Wei''s detail returned outside the valley and gave Pang Juan the defense map. Pang Juan asked him if he had looked at the map as it was drawn. He said he did and it was the same as Sun Bin''s drawing. Pang Juan was relieved that Sun Bin hadn''t figured out his plan, or even if he had, there was nothing he could do about it now.
Early in the morning, when the fog filled the valley, Wei''s army split into several groups and crept into the valley along the forest path.
The Chu army, ambushed in the bushes, blew the bullhorn.
The Chu army in the valley immediately moved into the battle position after changing its defense.
Dr. Shi Huang learned that Pang Juan''s army sneaked into the valley and came panting to the grass hut and said to Sun Bin: “Mr. Sun, it''s bad, Pang Juan''s army is coming!”
Sun Bin pretended to be surprised and asked accusingly, “What are the spies you sent out for? How come not a single bit of news has been sent back?”
Dr. Shi Huang gasped and said, “Who knows, none of the spies sent out came back.”
Sun Bin grumbled “I told you not to come but you didn''t listen, now it''s good, what do you say?”
Shi Huang Dafu swore with conviction and said, “Mr. Sun, don''t worry, I''m just going to put up these 5,000 men and horses to save you back to the capital.”
Wei''s army failed to win the sneak attack, Wei''s generals reported to Pang Juan that there was a change in the Chu army''s deployment, Pang Juan knew that it was Sun Bin who was up to no good, he had already thought of this and told his generals, “We''ve encircled the valley, Sun Bin can''t escape from me even if he''s up to no good.”
He ordered his army to force their way into the valley.
The war drums of the Wei army sounded all over the valley. The Wei generals led their soldiers with shields and long gorges to kill along the valley. The Chu army on both sides of the valley fought bravely to stop the Wei army, with clashes of weapons, shouts and killings.
Shihuang Dafu followed Sun Bin''s pre-set path to escape from the valley and led a dozen soldiers to protect Sun Bin to the top of the mountain, then prepared to escape out of the valley along a rugged, steep and overgrown mountain path.
The shouts of murder in the valley gradually faded away.
Shi Huang Dafu let out a long breath and thankfully said to Sun Bin, “Mr. Sun, there won''t be any more danger, Pang Juan would never think that we would escape from a place where there is no road ......”
Before the words fell, a dozen or so men with weapons flashed out from the woods and stopped in front of them.
Dr. Shi Huang froze and asked, “Who are you ...... people?”
The leading han replied, “Marshal Pang''s people.” With that he waved his hand.
The hans waved their weapons to kill them.
There was a flurry of swords and shadows, and a dozen Chu soldiers fell to the ground. The leading hanyou walked over to Emperor Shi Dafu. Shi Huang Dafu was shaking straight, kneeling on the ground with his legs and kowtowing, “Good Han spare my life, I am willing to hand over Sun Bin ......”
The leading man grabbed Shi Huang Dafu''s collar, lifted him up, and asked Zhong Li Chun who was beside him, “Miss Chun, what to do with him?”
Zhong Li Chun said, “Leave him alive, let him go back and report to the King of Chu, say Marshal Pang thanked him.”
Dr. Shi Huang stared blankly at Zhong Li Chun, he seemed to have seen her somewhere, before he could figure it out, the leader of the han punched him over, Dr. Shi Huang fell heavily to the ground and fainted.
Zhong Li Chun''s men pulled out the fast horses from the forest that had been prepared long ago and helped Sun Bin on the horse, Zhong Li Chun also mounted the horse and protected Sun Bin as he flew towards the east to Qi.
Note: “Concealing the truth to cross the sea” is the first of the 36 stratagems, the name of the stratagem comes from Tang Dynasty, but the contents of this stratagem were mostly used in Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. In this plan, “heaven” refers to the emperor, and “crossing the sea” refers to insurmountable obstacles. The key of “hiding the sky from the sea” is to hide the hidden ploys in the open and exposed behaviors. Sun Bin used this strategy to hide from the King of Chu and Pang Juan to escape from danger. To find out what happened next, please read the next installment: “Stealing the Beam and Replacing the Pillar”.