The caravan of Shi Huang Dafu and Qin Gu was about to arrive at the capital of Chu after a few days of bumpy ride. Qin Gu was relieved and said to Shi Huang Dafu, “We are almost there at last.”


    Dr. Shi Huang looked around and asked Qin Gu, “Are Zhong Li Chun''s men still following us?”


    Qin Gu counted the days and said, “They have already left, when we were leaving, Zhong Li Chun told me that after five days they can hide in the deep mountains, as long as they enter the deep mountains, her people will no longer follow us.”


    As soon as the words fell, Shi Huang Dafu fiercely drew his short sword and pressed it against Qin Gu''s throat, and the Chu follower in the same car shouted to the convoy behind him, “Stop the car!”


    The caravan immediately stopped and the Chu entourage grabbed their weapons and jumped out of the car, surrounding the fake Sun Bin and the Qi entourage.


    Qin Gu looked at Shi Huang Dafu in surprise and asked, “What are you ...... doing?”


    Shi Huang Dafu sneered, “You think I''m a fool? You''re not intending to defect to me, but rather to keep an eye on me to prevent me from sending someone to inform the Chu army along the way to intercept Sun Bin.”


    Qin Gu defended, “You''re wrongly accusing me ...... If I was really trying to keep an eye on you, I might as well just kill you!”


    Dr. Shi Huang laughed, “I don''t care if I''m wronged or not, I''m only concerned about how I can deliver to my king.”


    He ordered his Chu entourage to tie up Qin Gu and bring him back to the Chu capital.


    Qin Gu was tied up on a stone pillar in the courtyard with two halberd-wielding soldiers standing beside him. He exclaimed in a hyperactive voice, “King of Chu, if you are so rude to the envoys of another country, the lords of the world will rise up and attack you!”


    The King of Chu walked closer and laughed coldly, saying, “A messenger who comes for friendship is treated with courtesy; a messenger who comes for deception is treated with death. All the lords of the world are like this, and no one will blame me for it.”


    “The foreign minister did not deceive the Great King.”


    “What is it if letting Sun Bin go is not deception?”


    “I didn''t let Sun Bin go, he let himself go.”


    “Nonsense! How could he let himself go by himself?”


    “Sun Bin has many daredevils traveling with us, if we don''t let Sun Bin go they will kill us, we can only watch Sun Bin escape.”


    “Soldiers can be killed but not humiliated. The King of Qi ordered you to hand Sun Bin over to me, you''re greedy for your life and let Sun Bin escape, what is your crime?”


    “Your Majesty, if Sun Bin escapes, it will jeopardize Your Majesty and my King, Qin Gu will just die and spray him with blood. However, his going away would be beneficial to the Great King without any harm, so Qin Gu just let him escape.”


    The King of Chu burst into a sneer, “Well said, how is Sun Bin''s escape beneficial to me?”


    Qin Gu replied, “If Sun Bin falls into the hands of the King again, Pang Juan will still ask the King for someone, and if the King doesn''t give it to him, Pang Juan will, like last time, lead his army to intimidate the King, and a big battle is inevitable.”


    “I am not afraid of Pang Juan.”


    “It is true that Your Majesty is not afraid of Pang Juan, but Your Majesty cannot disregard Qin. Qin is the Great King''s formidable enemy, if Pang Juan were to invade Chu, Qin would surely take advantage of the fire and seize the Great King''s territory. With Sun Bin fleeing, the Great King avoids being attacked on both sides, which is an advantage.”


    “Well ...... say on.”


    “The generals of Qi have been holding a grudge against the Great King for claiming Sun Bin, if Sun Bin leaves Chu safely, they will calm their resentment against the Great King, and if the Great King encounters a strong enemy advancing, and asks Qi to send troops to help him, the generals will do their best to help the Great King. This is the second advantage.”


    The King of Chu nodded slightly, “I have thought of that as well.”


    Qin Gu continued, “The third advantage is that the Great King has obtained the treasures that Tian Ji has treasured for many years. Tian Ji didn''t offer the treasure willingly, he did it so that the Great King wouldn''t harm Sun Bin. If Sun Bin doesn''t leave, Tian Ji will make use of the excuse to ask for the treasures; since Sun Bin has fled, Tian Ji won''t mention the treasures again. This fourth advantage ......”


    “Don''t you say it.” The King of Chu interrupted him, “Let me ask you, how does it benefit you to think of me in every way?”


    Qin Gu respectfully said, “The foreign minister is thinking about the king in order to facilitate the alliance and reconciliation between Qi and Chu, the biggest threat to Qi is Wei, if Qi and Chu are in an alliance, with the help of the king, Wei won''t dare to underestimate Qi, and my king will reward and reuse the foreign minister for this.”


    The King of Chu admired Qin Gu so much that he ordered his soldiers to untie him and then hosted a banquet for him.


    Sun Bin and Zhong Li Chun came to Country of Han, Dr. Shen received them warmly, let them stay in his residence, and intended to recommend Sun Bin to the King of Han, to which Sun Bin disagreed. He said, “It''s fine if the King of Han doesn''t reuse me, but if he does, it won''t take long for the news to reach the Country of Han, and Pang Juan will make things difficult for Country of Han because of it.”


    Dafu Shen laughed: “Mr. Sun had defeated Pang Juan several times in Qi; with Mr. Sun here, Pang Juan is not enough to worry about.”


    “Nonetheless.” Sun Bin analyzed, “Country of Han is not as strong as Qi in terms of national strength and military power, and there is the threat of Qin in the west, so it would be extremely unfavorable for Country of Han to be an enemy of Wei.”


    Dr. Shen asked, “Is Mr. Sun unwilling to help Country of Han?”


    Sun Bin sighed, “Sun Bin is a homeless person, I''m really grateful to Dr. Shen for taking me in, I''ll never give half of what I have. The reason why I''m not showing my face for now is precisely for the sake of Country of Han. I can help Dr. Shen behind the scenes to come up with ideas to make Country of Han gradually stronger, and by then, it won''t be too late for me to step forward.”


    Country of Han was located between Wei and Qin, and Qin was constantly attacking the border cities of Country of Han in order to expand its territory and eat away at the territory of Country of Han. Worried that he would have no place to stand if this continued, the king of Han summoned the important ministers of the court to discuss how to deal with the state of Qin. The general opinion of the ministers was that the soldiers of Country of Han were not too brave, and the generals of Country of Han were not too disloyal, but the reason why they lost to the Qin army was because of the incompetence of the general who was in charge of the army. The king of Han said that the crown prince should be the general, but the generals objected, saying that the crown prince had no courage but was headstrong and self-opinionated, so they were afraid that he would not be able to do the job.


    The more they discussed, the more pessimistic they became. The king of Han couldn''t help but feel sad and lamented, “Alas, I am incompetent, and so are my great generals....... There is no way to deal with a single state of Qin, and if Wei and Chu come to take over my territories, my country will cease to exist... ...”


    Dr. Shen couldn''t hold back any longer, he told the King of Han about Sun Bin''s arrival in Country of Han, the King of Han was overjoyed and said, “Why didn''t you say so earlier?”


    “Sun Bin was worried that if word got out and Pang Juan knew about it, Pang Juan would make things difficult for the King because of it.”


    “Sun Bin is here, what is Pang Juan to you! You quickly go, quickly pass Sun Bin into the palace ...... No, quickly invite Sun Bin into the palace.”


    Shen Dafu wanted to recommend Sun Bin to the King of Han, and Zhong Li Chun was firmly against it. She questioned Shen Dafu: “Mr. Sun had an appointment with you first, why don''t you speak of faith and justice?”


    Shen Daifu said sincerely, “It is not that I am not faithful, it is that Country of Han is currently in too difficult a situation ...... without a general who is good at using the army, and the territory is constantly being eaten up by the Qin State, so in the long run, Country of Han will cease to exist. That is why I had to recommend Mr. Sun to my king ......”


    Zhong Li Chun said coldly, “Pang Juan will thus know that Mr. Sun is in Country of Han, and if he asks the King of Han for someone, the King of Han may not dare to offend Pang Juan because of Mr. Sun.”


    Dafu Shen said, “Miss Zhong Li, my king is not the king of Qi, nor is he the king of Chu, no matter who comes to ask for someone, my king will not give in to their lewdness, because my king understands that as long as the army is handed over to Mr. Sun, no country will dare to belittle Country of Han.”


    Zhong Li Chun mocked again, “Words can be said by anyone, when danger comes, it''s another matter.”


    Dafu Shen swore, “Miss Zhong Li, if a crisis comes, no matter who it is, if he dares to wrong Mr. Sun, I will kill him! If you guys don''t believe me, I can swear to heaven.”


    Dr. Shen said, drew out his sword, knelt on the ground and pointed to the sky with his sword. Sun Bin, who had been silent all this time, rushed forward, helped up Dr. Shen, and promised to go into the palace to pay his respects to the King of Han.


    When Queen Han heard that the King of Han was planning to hand over the army to Sun Bin, she said to the King of Han: “Sun Bin is from Qi, if he is disloyal to the King of Han, won''t he be raising a tiger?”


    The King of Han explained, “At the moment no one can lead an army against Qin except Sun Bin.”


    “I''ve heard that Sun Bin was not a general in charge of the army when he was in Qi, but a military advisor, Your Majesty can let the Crown Prince lead the army and let Sun Bin be his military advisor.”


    “The Crown Prince is young and headstrong, I''m afraid he won''t adopt Sun Bin''s strategy and misuse my big event.”


    Queen Han suggested, “If the Crown Prince doesn''t adopt Sun Bin''s strategy, Sun Bin has the right to report to the King for his decision, in this way, we can use Sun Bin''s strengths while not letting him hold the military power, wouldn''t it be the best of both worlds?”


    The King of Han thought the Queen had a point and readily adopted her opinion.


    The practice field of Country of Han was located in a dry, wide river valley. Hundreds of Country of Han soldiers fought together on the practice field in pairs of two, one with a halberd and the other with a shield, one attacking and the other defending. The Crown Prince of Han and Sun Bin stood on the riverbank and watched the soldiers practicing.


    The Crown Prince of Han said to Sun Bin, “Mr. Sun, how are my soldiers, how do they compare to Qi''s soldiers?”


    “Each to their own.” Sun Bin responded, “The soldiers of Han are not as tough as the soldiers of Country of Han, but they can treat military orders like heavenly orders, and follow orders strictly. Not daring to make the slightest mistake.”


    Crown Prince Han''s face sank as he signaled to the training officer beside him, “Stop the training.”


    The training officer shouted “stop” several times to the soldiers on the field, and some of the soldiers heard it and stopped; some did not hear it and were still practicing.


    The Crown Prince was annoyed and said to the training officer, “Go, anyone who violates the order, each of them will be beaten with fifty army sticks!”


    “Great General, wait.” Sun Bin stopped. “The reason why those soldiers disobeyed the order just now was not intentional, but they couldn''t hear the call. Sun Tzu''s Art of War says that in combat, soldiers cannot be heard when commanded by words, so golden drums are used; soldiers cannot be seen when commanded by movement, so flags are set up. In night battles, golden drums are often used, and in day battles, flags are often used. Just now, the soldiers practiced, if they use the flags to command and signal, the soldiers will not be unclear about the orders.”


    The Prince said unconvincingly, “This is a drill, not a battle, no need to be so troublesome.”


    “The usual drill is for formal combat.” Sun Bin said seriously, “If the drill is unclear about the orders, it won''t enable the army to develop the habit of forbidding orders. If the army''s orders don''t work and prohibitions don''t stop, even if the general has the best plan, it will be difficult to realize it.”


    The Crown Prince slightly pondered and lightly smiled, “I can adopt the military counselor''s opinion, and in the future, all drills will be set up with flags and golden drums. But this time, as a great general, I can''t take back my order since it was given, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public.” He continued to the training officer, “Go, punish those soldiers who don''t listen to the orders as I said.”


    The news that Sun Bin had become a military advisor in the Country of Han soon reached the State of Wei. Pangcong said to Pang Juan, “Uncle, we should travel to Country of Han and ask the King of Han for someone. Otherwise, when Sun Bin is firmly established in Country of Han, it will be difficult to get someone.”


    Pang Juan had his own idea on how to get Sun Bin for a long time, and he said to Pangcong, “You should immediately travel to Country of Han, not to ask for someone, but to invite the King of Han to meet with my king in Cheng Zhou to deal with Qin. Qin has always been a threat to Country of Han, and the King of Han must agree to an alliance; Cheng Zhou was once a place where the Son of Heaven of Zhou ordered his vassals, and nowadays, even though it is a name in vain, the King of Han has no reason to object if we meet in Cheng Zhou.”


    Pangcong asked in confusion, “Uncle, what does the alliance have to do with Sun Bin?”


    Pang Juan''s lips lifted up and said, “If we meet in Cheng Zhou, we need to pass through Country of Han''s territory to take the shortcut, so I can take advantage of the opportunity to take over Cheng Gao, a key place in Country of Han. Chenggao is the northern barrier of Country of Han, Country of Han will never give it up, when the time comes, I''ll exchange Chenggao for Sun Bin.”


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.When Wei borrowed a road from Country of Han, most of the Country of Han''s Dafus discussed and disagreed to lend the road to Wei. The King of Han said to the Dafus, “If I don''t agree to lend the road, the King of Wei will say I''m not sincere about the alliance.”


    Sun Bin said to the King of Han: “Your Majesty, more than 200 years ago, there were two states, one called Yu and the other called Guo. Jin wanted to annex these two states, so it gave the king of Yu beautiful jade and good horses, and asked to borrow a road to crush Guo. The king of Yu was mesmerized by Jin''s rhetoric and agreed to lend Jin the road. Jin''s army passed through Yu''s territory and annihilated the State of Guo, and when it returned, it took advantage of Yu''s unpreparedness to occupy the State of Yu....... This time, when Wei borrowed the road, it is highly likely that it will follow the example of Jin in those years.”


    “Military Counselor Sun is overthinking it.” Crown Prince Han said, “Wei''s army that participated in the alliance is only 5,000 people, if it wants to plot against Country of Han, it''s too self-conscious, right?”


    Sun Bin said to the Crown Prince solemnly, “Crown Prince, it''s not too much to worry about, although Pang Juan''s army won''t plot against Country of Han, they can plot against Country of Han''s Chenggao, which is the barrier of Country of Han''s north, and if Chenggao falls, the enemy army can drive straight to Country of Han''s hinterland. If that happens, Country of Han will be in danger.”


    When Pangcong heard that Sun Bin was doing his best to oppose Wei taking the route to Country of Han, he took the precious jade to see the Crown Prince of Country of Han. The Crown Prince of Country of Han picked up the precious jade and looked at the bright spot, and said to Pangcong sitting on the side: “Indeed it is a rare precious jade ...... Isn''t this gift too heavy?”


    Pangcong laughed, “That depends on how it is said. If a piece of precious jade can prompt Han and Wei to ally against Qin, this gift is too light; if it''s just for the sake of getting to know Great General, this gift is too heavy.”


    “Do you think the gift is light or heavy?”


    “Of course it is light.”


    “In that case, I should accept this piece of precious jade?”


    “Of course .......”


    Before Pangcong''s words fell, the Prince raised his hand and threw the precious jade heavily. The precious jade hit a piece of bronze artifacts, emitting a crunching sound and shattering into broken jade.


    Pangcong wanted to have a fit, but held back, and said coldly to the Crown Prince: “If Great General does not accept the precious jade, he can return it to me, why do you want to waste it?”


    The Crown Prince smiled, “I''ve already received it, so I''ll deal with it however I want.”


    The strategist who came with Pangcong said on the side, “What the great general loves is not the treasure, it is the name, the name of incorruptibility ...... which is really rare and precious!”


    Pangcong pretended to react when he heard this and said with a humble face, “What the Great General has done is truly honorable. However, as the commander of Han''s army, if Great General only has a reputation for honesty and integrity, but not merit, the entire Han army will only know of Sun Bin, but not Great General.”


    The Crown Prince smiled and said, “Don''t worry about it, I will have a reputation for merit and it will never be below Sun Bin.”


    “Not really, Sun Bin is most afraid of others'' merits surpassing his own, for example, the matter of the alliance, the reason why Sun Bin is strongly against it is because the Great General is in favor of the alliance, if the alliance succeeds, Country of Han will be free from the threat of the Qin state, and this merit will be the Great General''s.”


    “Sun Bin''s objection was not to the alliance, it was to the borrowing of the road, he was afraid that you Wei would use it to occupy our Chenggao.”


    “If my king really wants to get Chenggao, there is no need to borrow a road, as long as he allies with Qin, not to mention one Chenggao, or even the whole Country of Han, my king can get it. My king''s reason for allying with Country of Han is by no means for the sake of the cities of Korea, but to stop Qin from coloring the Central Plains. Wei and Han are the barriers of the Central Plains, and our alliance is not only for us, but also for the lords of the Central Plains. If the alliance between Han and Wei is successful, all the lords of the Central Plains will be grateful to the Great General.”


    The Crown Prince was so good at persuasion that he promised Pangcong that he would persuade the King of Han to lend a passage to Wei.


    The Crown Prince met the King of Han and talked about the benefits of lending the road to Wei, but the King of Han still did not agree. He said to the crown prince, “My son, you are still young, and you don''t understand much about the affairs between states. Nowadays, the vassals are competing with each other, disregarding the morality and righteousness, and they are all deceiving each other, eating the weak and eating the strong, and many small states have been destroyed one after another. Among the seven kingdoms, we, Country of Han, are considered weak, and now both Qin and Wei are spying on our territory, so if we relax our vigilance, they will take advantage of the situation. Therefore, my father has to be on guard against Wei.”


    The crown prince asked, “In that case, why does Wei still want to ally with father?”


    King Han said, “Earlier Qi and Chu allied against Wei, if Wei wants to deal with Qi and Chu with all its might, it must stabilize Qin, and the best way to stabilize Qin is to ally with me, so that Qin will not dare to act rashly, and the purpose of my alliance with Wei is also to defend against Qin, which is called mutual exploitation. Therefore, if Wei is sincere in his alliance, he will not change his mind even if we do not lend him the road.”


    Although the king of Han did not agree to lend the road to Wei, the king of Wei still agreed to hold an alliance with the king of Han in the temple of Cheng Zhou. The king of Han was so happy that he thought Wei was sincere in making an alliance with Country of Han that he took his crown prince and came to Cheng Zhou as scheduled.


    On the day of the alliance, the temple was solemnly decorated. The helpers placed the three sacrificial animals - ox, sheep and pig - on the altar in front of the main hall, the musicians played harmonious music, and the king of Han and the king of Wei, dressed in ceremonial clothes, as well as the accompanying Dafus of the two countries, knelt down on the altar in a dignified manner.


    King Hui of Wei lifted the jade kuai with red writing high in the air and said in a loud voice: “Wei Country of Han, a brotherly state, the same ancestors, living in the Central Plains, lips and teeth, flesh and blood ......” At this time, the King of Wei''s body suddenly shook a little, and his face penetrated with pain, and he was panting heavily. He was gasping for breath.


    King Han looked at the Wei King beside him and asked in a low voice, “Wei King, what''s wrong?”


    The king of Wei tried his best to endure, and after a moment, he said, “It''s nothing ......” He continued to say in a loud voice, “The tigers and wolves of the Qin state have invaded my brothers and spied on the Central Plains, and a state of brothers should be allied to defend the enemy and share the same pain. I would like to form an alliance with Country of Han.”


    The King of Han lifted up the Jade Kyu and said in a loud voice: “Country of Han and Wei, countries of hand and foot, hand and foot can hardly be separated, and the benefits and harms are common. We share the same interests and losses. Qin tyranny, want to occupy the central plains, in order to resist the tyranny of Qin, to protect the central plains, hand and foot countries, should be allied. I would like to form an alliance with Wei.”


    The assistant priests in black ceremonial clothes came over, took the jade kuai in their hands, and placed it on the altar.


    The King of Han and the King of Wei made a great salute to the altar. The king of Wei looked strained as he performed the salute.


    After the salute, King Hui of Wei wanted to stand up, but his body could not help but sway again, and King Han rushed forward to support him.


    The king of Wei whispered, “It''s okay, I can do it .......”


    The two walked down the altar of alliance side by side. King Hui of Wei suddenly swooned and nearly fell, Pang Juan rushed forward to support him, calling out with an anxious face, “Great King, Great King ......”


    King Hui of Wei opened his eyes and said breathlessly, “The temple of the son of heaven, no clamor, help me back ......”


    Pang Juan assisted King Hui of Wei out of the clan temple compound.


    Han went to visit the sick King Hui of Wei at his residence in Cheng Zhou, and Pang Juan hurried in and presented an urgent letter from the country. The letter said that Qi and Chu were deploying troops on the border and intended to invade Wei, and the Crown Prince asked King Hui of Wei and Pang Juan to return to the capital city of Da Liang as soon as possible.


    King Hui of Wei planned to leave for his country the next day, but Pang Juan disagreed. Pang Juan refused, saying, “It''s a long and bumpy journey, and the king is not feeling well, so if anything happens to him on the way, how can I explain to the people of my country?”


    King Hui of Wei insisted on going, but his body was indeed difficult to hold on and sighed, “I am no longer useful ...... If because of me, the state affairs are delayed, I am ashamed of my ancestors.”


    The king of Han, who had never spoken, thought to himself that since Wei and Country of Han were now allies, he could not turn a blind eye to Wei''s distress. He said to King Hui of Wei, “There is no need for the King of Wei to be in a hurry; rest at ease for two days, and I will lend you a road, so that you may pass through the territory of Country of Han and return to Daliang by a short cut.”


    King Hui of Wei wore a difficult look on his face and said, “How can this be? I heard Marshal Pang say that when he came here, because of the matter of lending the road, the Country of Han''s Dafus were quite opinionated ...... I think it is better not to lend it.”


    The king of Han said, “Hey, since Wei and Han are allied, you and I are like brothers, and we should not see each other as brothers.”


    Pang Juan said to the king of Han, “My king is not seeing outsiders, my king is afraid that when the king returns to his country, he won''t be able to explain to the Dafus.”


    The King of Han was a little displeased and said, “I am the head of a country, and there is no need for me to explain to anyone the decision I have made.” He faced the king of Wei and made a statement, “King of Wei, when the allied countries are in danger, Country of Han will never stand by and do nothing, not to mention borrowing a road, even if it means borrowing troops, I will not say a word against it.”


    The king of Han, who came with him to the alliance, was firmly against lending a road to Wei, and said to the king of Han, “Wei wants to lend a road on the way here, and then wants to lend a road on the way back, so there must be some conspiracy in it.”


    The Crown Prince of Country of Han, who came with him, said, “We are not afraid of Wei even if there is a conspiracy; they have only 5,000 men, and I will follow them with 10,000 men; if they dare to act rashly, I will make it difficult for them to return to their country!”


    Si Ma Dafu said, “Pang Juan is good at using troops, 5,000 men in his hands is like a crowd of 30,000, if there is any mischief, the prince''s 10,000 men are by no means a match for him.”


    The prince was displeased, and accused Sima Daifu of growing others'' ambition and destroying his own, and the two argued endlessly.


    The king of Han said, “You should not argue any more; as I have spoken my words, I can no longer take them back; let us do as the prince wishes.”


    Before the army of the crown prince went on the road, the king of Han instructed the crown prince, “What Dr. Sima said is not without reason, you can be sure to be more careful.”


    The Crown Prince of Han led the Korean army to follow Pang Juan, and was on the alert all the way, not daring to slacken off in the slightest. After the army passed Chenggao, there was still no sign of Pang Juan''s mischievous attempts, and the Crown Prince of Han was relieved.


    That night, Wei soldiers in the open space between the tents burning bonfire, Pang Juan and soldiers in the bonfire drinking and singing, hand dancing, joyful abnormal. When the Crown Prince of Han heard this, he completely relaxed his guard and also let his soldiers drink and sing and be merry.


    Early the next morning, the Country of Han realized that Pang Juan''s army had abandoned the provisions that came with them and was nowhere to be found. The Crown Prince of Country of Han was puzzled when the defending general of Chenggao burst into the Crown Prince''s tent with a bloodstained body, and he cried out to the Crown Prince that the Wei people had won the sneak attack on Chenggao.


    The crown prince was shocked and dumbfounded, and only then did he realize that King Hui of Wei''s fainting at the altar was most likely a disguise, in order to take the road to Country of Han to seize Chenggao.


    Press: “False Road to Cut off Guo” is the twenty-fourth of the Thirty-six Stratagems, which is to borrow a road from the other side for the purpose of destroying the other side or seizing the other side''s important land. Pang Juan used this plan to take over Chenggao in Country of Han and intended to use it to blackmail Country of Han to hand over Sun Bin. To find out if Pang Juan''s plot can be realized, please read next time: “Make a Sound in the East, Then Strike in the West”.