When the Crown Prince of Country of Han heard of the loss of Chenggao, he cursed Pang Juan for his lack of credibility. In spite of his generals'' discouragement, he vowed to recapture Chenggao. Chenggao was lost in his hands, if he could not recapture it immediately, where would he put the face of the Crown Prince? So, the Prince led the 10,000 men he brought to attack Chenggao, only to be heavily defeated by Pang Juan''s army under the city of Chenggao, and was forced to withdraw his troops. Pangcong requested to lead his army to pursue the Country of Han and capture the Crown Prince alive, while Pang Juan stated that it was not the Crown Prince of Han he wanted, but Sun Bin.
Pang Juan ordered Pang Onion to go to Han capital to ask the King of Han for the man.
Pangcong came to the capital of Country of Han and said to the king of Han, “As long as the king agrees to our marshal''s conditions, the marshal will return Chenggao immediately.”
The king of Han asked, “What conditions?”
Pangcong said, “It''s very simple, give Sun Bin to Wei.”
The King of Han was furious about Pangcong''s use of intrigue to seize Chenggao, he rebuffed Pangcong and said, “No, I can''t agree to this condition.”
“Your Majesty, don''t say no yet, wait for the foreign minister to finish his reasons before your Majesty makes a decision.”
“I will not agree no matter what reasons you have.” The King of Han looked impatient.
Pangcong said without haste, “The Great King''s purpose for keeping Sun Bin is nothing more than to deal with Qin.”
“And Wei.” King Han said coldly.
Pangcong was unimpressed and continued, “I don''t know if the Great King has thought about it, can one Sun Bin deal with the two powerful states of Qin and Wei?”
“This ...... can, he knows Sun Tzu''s Art of War and can win a hundred battles.” The King of Han was a bit understated.
“Great king, that is all a legend, not enough to believe.”
“You don''t believe it, I do.”
“Even if Sun Bin can, can Country of Han''s national strength and military power be spent?”
The King of Han didn''t answer.
Pangcong added, “The King only needs to hand over Sun Bin, and our marshals will not only return Chenggao, but will also help Country of Han defend against Qin.”
The King of Han said in a deep voice, “Pang Juan''s words are not trustworthy, he said he was borrowing the road but took my Chenggao, I can''t trust his words.”
“Your Majesty, Marshal Pang''s purpose of temporarily lending his presence in Chenggao is for Sun Bin, who is a key criminal of Wei, and if he can''t capture Sun Bin, the marshal can''t explain himself to my king.”
“That is your business. I won''t hand over Sun Bin even if you make up 10,000 reasons now, so please go back.”
Pangcong''s face turned threateningly, “My king, when my foreign ministers came, Marshal Pang instructed my foreign ministers to tell my king that Wei''s army is gathering towards Chenggao, and if my king doesn''t hand over Sun Bin, the marshal will lead his army to drive south until my king agrees to hand over Sun Bin.”
King Han sneered, “I''m not afraid of your threats!”
Pangcong said with a smile, “Foreign ministers know that the Great King is not afraid, but if Qin takes advantage of the fire, it will be quite unfavorable to the Great King.”
The King of Han looked somber.
Pangcong swept a glance at the Han King and said, “The Great King should also think twice before acting.”
King Han gathered his important ministers to discuss the matter of exchanging Sun Bin for Cheng Gao. Two camps were formed in the court headed by Dafu Zuo and Sima Dafu respectively.
Dafu Zuo said, “Sun Bin defeated Pang Juan several times when he was in Qi, if Sun Bin leads the army to defeat Pang Juan again, not only can we take back Chenggao, but it will also deter Qin, so Qin won''t dare to do anything rash to Country of Han. Therefore, not handing over Sun Bin is favorable to the Great King.”
Sima Dafu said, “Although Sun Bin defeated Pang Juan several times in Qi, he may not be able to do so in Country of Han today. First, Country of Han is not as strong as Qi; second, the city of Chenggao is strong and Pang Juan is defending it, so it''s hard to predict the victory or defeat. If Sun Bin loses to Pang Juan, Pang Juan can go south and enter Country of Han''s hinterland, if you ask Pang Juan for peace, you''ll have to cede more cities. Your Majesty might as well hand over Sun Bin, so that not only can Chenggao be returned to your hands, but you can also make peace with Pang Juan, and use Pang Juan''s power to deal with Qin.”
Dafu Zuo countered, “Pang Juan is treacherous and untrustworthy, even if he hands over Sun Bin, he won''t truly help the Great King, the Cheng Zhou alliance is a case in point.”
Sima Daifu was right on target: “At the Cheng Zhou alliance, Pang Juan intends to seize Cheng Gao and exchange it for Sun Bin. Once he gets Sun Bin, he will help the Great King in good faith, he needs to work with Country of Han against Qin.”
The two argued endlessly. The King of Han is a forward looking person and what Dr. Sima said made more sense to him, so he planned to hand over Sun Bin to Wei.
When Dr. Shen heard that the Han King wanted to hand over Sun Bin, he couldn''t help but feel anxious and said to the Han King, “Your Majesty, you can''t hand over Sun Bin. If Sun Bin is there, although Chenggao is lost, it can be recaptured; if Sun Bin is not there, although Chenggao is gained, it will be lost.”
King of Han slowly said, “Dafu Shen, I understand what you are saying, however, Pang Juan''s army is gathering in Chenggao and has a tendency to violate the south, if Sun Bin can''t defeat Pang Juan, Country of Han is at stake, I have to be cautious for the sake of Country of Han.”
“Your Majesty, I can guarantee with my life that Sun Bin will be able to recover Chenggao.”
“Dafu Shen, even if you guarantee it with the lives of your entire family, I wouldn''t dare take the risk.”
Zhong Li Chun was very angry at the King of Han''s move and cursed, “From the King of Qi to the King of Han, one is more ratty than the other, words are not trustworthy ...... one by one, they should all be killed!”
“Zhong Li girl, forget it,” Sun Bin said, ”Things have come to this, it''s useless to complain ......”
Dr. Shen kept his head down. At this time he suddenly stood up silently, took the sword hanging on the wall, and said with a grave expression, “Mr. Sun, let me borrow your sword ......”
“Dafu Shen, what do you want?” Sun Bin froze.
Shen Dafu calmly said to Sun Bin, “Mr. Sun, I swore that if danger comes, no matter who it is, and he wrongs Mr. Sun, I''ll kill him.” He said and was about to walk out.
“Dr. Shen calm down!” Sun Bin stopped him and said, “If you kill the King of Han, your whole family will lose their lives not to mention that Country of Han will be thrown into chaos, and Pang Juan will have even more opportunities to take advantage of it.”
“What''s more,” Zhong Li Chun, who was on the sidelines, spoke up, ”You can''t kill ...... with your skills.”
Dafu Shen sighed long and loud and said, “If I can''t kill the King of Han, I won''t fulfill my promise, and if I don''t fulfill my promise, how can I face living in the world?”
Shen Dafu said that he wanted to cut his own throat to thank, Zhong Li Chun quick eyes and hands, a palm knocked down the sword in the hands of Shen Dafu.
“If I don''t die today, I will die sooner or later, unless the king changes his mind!” Shen Dafu said sadly.
The Crown Prince of Country of Han, a man who valued his reputation more than his life, when he heard that the King of Han wanted to hand over Sun Bin in exchange for Cheng Gao, he personally drove a carriage back to the capitol from the military camp outside of the city and begged the King of Han to keep Sun Bin. He said to the King of Han in shame, “The fall of Chenggao is the fault of my son, I can''t let Sun Bin suffer on my son''s behalf.”
“Sun Bin is not suffering on your behalf, Pang Juan seized Chenggao to get Sun Bin.” King Han said.
“I don''t care what Pang Juan thinks, father if you hand over Sun Bin, the world will laugh at my son''s incompetence, that''s why I exchanged Sun Bin for Chenggao.”
“It''s my decision, the world won''t blame you.”
“My son is my father''s son, the world will say that my father handed over Sun Bin to cover up my son''s incompetence.”
“I''ll punish whoever says that. Is that okay?”
“If the world says that, how will Father punish?”
Unable to answer, King Han asked in return, “Then, what do you say?”
“Please allow my son to lead the troops to retake Chenggao.” The crown prince volunteered.
“You are no match for Pang Juan.”
“My son doesn''t want to argue with my father, the facts will do justice to my son, please give me this opportunity.”
“What has already been agreed upon by the great physicians in the court cannot be changed at will.”
“Father is the head of a country, if father is willing to change it, the court physicians can only listen to it.”
King Han''s face was stern and he said in a deep voice, “You can''t act out of anger when it comes to matters of state. You go back!”
“So, father is determined not to change?” The crown prince''s face changed slightly.
“No change.” King Han replied firmly.
The Crown Prince drew his sword and said to King Han, “If Father doesn''t agree, my son will cut off the index finger of his left hand.”
King Han huffed and said, “How dare you threaten me?!”
“It''s not a threat, it''s a sign of my son''s confidence in defeating Pang Juan.”
“As confident as you are, I won''t agree ......”
Before the King of Han''s words fell, the Crown Prince''s hand rose up and his sword fell, his left index finger flew out, and the broken finger was suddenly drenched in blood.
Queen Han, who was hiding in the inner room, could no longer hold back, she rushed in and pounced, hugging the Crown Prince''s hand as she cried, “My son, how could you do this?!”
The Crown Prince pushed the Queen away and faced King Han, “Father, if you still don''t agree, my son will cut off his middle finger; if you don''t agree again, he will cut off his left arm.”
The queen defiantly hugged the crown prince''s sword-wielding hand, crying and begging King Han, “My king, just say yes ......”
The King of Han snapped, “What does a woman know? If Country of Han is defeated, the country will not survive!”
The Crown Prince blandly said, “If father does not agree, my son will not survive.”
“Your Majesty, just give the Crown Prince a chance.” The Queen wiped her tears and said, “If we can''t recapture Chenggao, it''s not too late to hand over Sun Bin.”
King Han shook his head and said, “It will be too late by then.”
The Crown Prince responded, “It''s not too late, Father can put the blame on my son, who took Sun Bin along to meet Pang Juan.”
King Han was silent.
The Queen continued to beg, “Your Majesty, give your son a chance, if our son establishes his career, no one can take away the future Country of Han.”
The crown prince nodded and said, “Father, give me this chance, I will never fail you.”
The King of Han, facing his beloved wife with two eyes and his son with his hands full of blood, sighed hopelessly and said, “Alright, I''ll gamble for a second time, gamble with my country ......”
The King of Han urgently summoned Sun Bin and Dafu Shen, and said to Sun Bin, who was sitting on the side, in a fervent manner, “Mr. Sun, I actually don''t intend to hand you over to Pang Juan, the reason why I agreed to Pang Juan''s request in the court today was to see how the Dafus reacted to this matter, I didn''t expect that they''re all people who see the wind in their sails, and that only the Crown Prince, and Dafu Shen, are genuinely looking out for my best interest. ”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.On the side, the Crown Prince of Han wore a smug look on his face.
“In addition,” King Han continued, ”this is also a ploy on my part, as a way to confuse Pang Juan and leave him defenseless against me.” King Han said and looked at Sun Bin and Dafu Shen, “I wonder if Mr. Sun and Dafu Shen can appreciate this bitterness of mine?”
Sun Bin was silent. Dafu Shen pondered for a moment and said with a little self-deprecation, “Your Majesty is really far-sighted. I was short-sighted and couldn''t appreciate your majesty''s painstaking efforts before. Now that I have heard the king''s explanation, I can see clearly, if I can no longer appreciate the king''s painstaking efforts, is it not worse than a dog or a pig?”
Han King looked at Sun Bin who was indifferent and added: “Mr. Sun, Dr. Shen, I am determined to recapture Chenggao, Mr. Sun will remain as the military advisor, Dr. Shen will be the vice general, and will march into Chenggao with the Crown Prince.” Seeing that Sun Bin was still showing nothing, King Han said, “Mr. Sun, are you still angry with me?”
Sun Bin said, “No.”
King Han asked again, “Then why are you silent about marching into Chenggao?”
“I am sure that I can retake Chenggao, but I just lack the necessary conditions ......”
“No matter what conditions, as long as I can do it, I will definitely promise you.”
Sun Bin replied, “When I was in Qi, the King of Qi promised that all matters of combat must be approved by the military division before they can be carried out, and if the military division doesn''t agree, the Great General doesn''t have the right to act. It is this condition that I want.”
The King of Han expressed his agreement, but the Crown Prince was reluctant, the King of Han boarded up his face and said to the Crown Prince, “I''ve already made my decision, it can''t be changed.” He turned his gaze to Sun Bin and waited for Sun Bin to state his position.
Sun Bin nodded and said he had one more request, “Please ask the King to send an emissary to Qin and promise to cede two cities to Qin in exchange for a temporary truce in the territory.”
“No,” refused the King of Han, ”Qin is a country of tigers and wolves, and is insatiable; if they get two cities today, they will ask for three, four, or even the whole of Korea tomorrow.”
“Your Majesty, now that Country of Han is facing enemies on two sides, if we don''t stabilize Qin, we can''t deal with Wei with all our strength, Wei is a strong country, if we don''t do our best, how can we win?”
“But ...... my territory, how can I let Qin possess it so easily ......”
“Losing it today is to recapture it tomorrow. After defeating Han, Country of Han will shake the Central Plains with might, and all the lords in the Central Plains will fear the Great King, and at that time, they will ask Qin for the border cities back, and Qin will not dare to refuse to give them. Your Majesty, not only will I be able to take back Chenggao, but I will also make the whole world fear Your Majesty.”
Hearing Sun Bin''s words, the King of Han seemed to see the prospect of the world''s vassals fearing him. Although King Han was in charge of a modest country, he also had the ambition to dominate the world. So, King Han promised Sun Bin that he would exchange his territory for a temporary truce from Qin.
Sun Bin mobilized his troops and prepared to fight with Wei. The Crown Prince of Country of Han said to Sun Bin: “Do you know why the King finally changed his mind and left you behind?”
Sun Bin shook his head.
The Crown Prince stretched out his injured left hand and said, “It''s because I admonished him with my death, and for that, I lost the index finger of my left hand.”
“Great General''s favor, Sun Bin will never forget it.” Sun Bin arched his hand and thanked him.
“Spare me,” the Crown Prince waved his hand, ”Then please ask the Military Counselor to give me this opportunity to command the attack on Chenggao.”
“The attack on Chenggao would have been commanded by the Great General, I was merely responsible for the decision.”
“What I mean is that the decision-making should also be determined by me.”
“What the Great King decides cannot be changed.”
The crown prince''s face sank as he said, “You''re not trusting me!”
“It''s not that I don''t trust Great General, I''ve fought with Pang Juan many times, I know him like the back of my hand, and Sun Tzu''s Art of War says: if you know yourself and know your enemy, you''ll never be in danger in a hundred battles.”
Shen Dafu rounded off the conversation, “Great General, no matter who determines the decision, the first credit for defeating Pang Juan still goes to the Great General, because the Great General is the commander of the army.”
Sun Bin nodded his head and said, “Dafu Shen is right, the commander of the Country of Han army is the Great General, and the victory of the Country of Han army is the victory of the Great General.”
The Crown Prince was much happier in his heart and said to Sun Bin, “Military Counselor, the decisions can be made by you, but once the combat decisions are finalized, I''ll be the one to release them to the generals.”
Sun Bin agreed.
The Crown Prince asked him how to attack Chenggao, Sun Bin took the military map and pointed to the markings on it and said, “Dr. Shen led 30,000 troops towards Chenggao, bluffing along the way, if Pang Juan advances to the south, do not engage Pang Juan, retreat immediately and retreat to the national capital. The general and I will lead 50,000 troops to cross the border and head straight for Zhongmou of Wei, which is the barrier of the Wei capital, Daliang, and if we take Zhongmou, Daliang will be down in a few days. We''ll exchange Zhongmou for Chenggao, and if Pang Juan doesn''t, the King of Wei will.”
“Good, this sound east strikes west tactic is good!” The Crown Prince clapped his hands.
Shen Dafu led 30,000 Country of Han troops towards Chenggao, Pang Juan guessed that Sun Bin was bluffing, so he pressed on at Chenggao. Sun Bin and Crown Prince''s 50,000 troops crossed the border of Han and Wei, Pang Juan immediately deduced that Sun Bin''s intention was to attack Zhongmou and then threaten the capital city of Daliang, and then “besiege Wei to save Zhao” or exchange Zhongmou for Chenggao. Pang Juan smiled with disdain and ordered the Wei army to leave immediately and march to Han. He said to Pangcong, “Pangcong, let''s surround Han to save Wei.”
Zhong Li Chun, who was sent to Chenggao to spy on the news, rode a fast horse to the Han army camp outside of Zhongmou and said to Sun Bin, “As expected by Mr., Pang Juan''s army left Chenggao and headed straight for the capital of Han.”
The Crown Prince was upset and said, “Warlord, why didn''t you tell me since you already expected Pang Juan to attack our capital?”
Sun Bin replied, “What is predicted may or may not happen, if it doesn''t happen, it''s not good to tell.”
The Crown Prince grimly asked, “What do we do now?”
“Split the army into two ways, one way immediately return to the country to relieve the siege of the capital; one way travel by day and night and head straight to Chenggao.”
The Prince asked again, “So we''re not attacking Zhongmou?”
Sun Bin said, “Great General, to be honest, I never intended to attack Zhongmou in the first place.”
The Prince was even more upset and said coldly: “If you didn''t plan to attack Zhongmou, why didn''t you tell me earlier?”
Sun Bin said, “Great General is young and not good at disguise, I''m afraid that when Great General knows the real intention, he can''t sternly urge his subordinates to act swiftly as usual and let Pang Juan''s spies see the cracks.”
The Crown Prince thought Sun Bin was underestimating him and gambled, “I''m the commander of the army, I have the final say in mobilizing the army! I''m going to continue attacking Zhongmou, I''ll return to my country when I''ve conquered Zhongmou.”
Sun Bin couldn''t help but get anxious and said, “Great General, the safety of the country and the army depends on you and me, you can''t gamble on this!”
“I am gambling, what can you do to me?”
“Although I can''t do anything to you, Pang Juan will destroy Country of Han because of your gambling!”
“It''s not that serious.”
“Great General, Sun Wu Zi once said that the upper strategy is to attack the enemy, and his lower strategy is to attack the city. The reason why he listed attacking the city as the next strategy is because attacking a city takes a long time and is extremely labor-intensive; we are deep in the hinterland of Wei, and if we fail to attack Zhongmou for a long time, we will be broken by the enemy. If the Crown Prince''s army is broken by the enemy, how can Country of Han not die?”
“What about Chenggao, if we can''t take Zhongmou, how can we get Chenggao back?”
“The purpose of marching into Zhongmou is to move Pang Juan out of Chenggao and then seize it.”
“To seize Chenggao, isn''t it equally necessary to attack the city?”
“Although both are sieges, they are very different. General''s army is deep into Wei territory, it''s impossible for the Wei army in Zhongmou to be unguarded; but Chenggao is different, we send a competent army, lightly loaded, and attack it unguarded, plus the number of Wei troops defending the city is not large, we will be able to seize it quickly.”
The Crown Prince was finally convinced by Sun Bin, he agreed to take the army back to his country, and said to Sun Bin: “Military Counselor, I will definitely give Pang Juan a little color.”
Sun Bin said, “Prince, you can''t rush into battle with Pang Juan on this return trip.”
The Crown Prince was puzzled and asked, “What am I doing back in my country without engaging in battle?”
“To hold Pang Juan back so that he can''t attack the state capital with all his might. Once the Great General''s army returns to Country of Han, immediately choose a place that is easy to defend and set up camp, forming a handhold with Dafu Shen and waiting for Pang Juan''s arrival.”
“What if Pang Juan''s army does not come?”
“If he doesn''t come, you will send a small army to attack him.”
“What if he returns to Chenggao?”
“You''ll tail him and continue the assault.”
Prince had the intention to be angry with Sun Bin and said leisurely: “What if I don''t do what you say?”
Sun Bin changed color and said, “Combat is like playing a game, one wrong move and the whole game is lost! The Crown Prince must not play games.”
Prince followed Sun Bin''s plan and led the Country of Han''s army to evacuate Zhongmou and return to rescue the capital. Pang Juan thought Sun Bin was tricked and ordered to stop attacking the capital of Han, leaving part of his army to watch Han''s army in the Country of Han capital, and leading the majority of his army to prepare to encircle and annihilate Han''s army on their way back.
Sun Bin led 5,000 Country of Han soldiers traveling by day and night and secretly came to the outside of Chenggao city. Zhong Li Chun with dozens of elite soldiers sneaked under the cover of night to the east gate of the city. Zhong Li Chun was the first one to climb up the rope to the top of the city, and before the Wei soldiers guarding the east gate realized who the enemy was, they became the ghosts of their swords.
At dawn, Sun Bin''s army successfully occupied Chenggao.
Note: “Sound movement strikes the west” is the sixth of the 36 stratagems, the idea is to confuse the enemy with false images, so that the enemy can''t figure out our real intentions, and thus have no precautions, so that our attack can be a sure victory. Sun Bin''s “Sound East Strikes West” to recapture Chenggao, Pang Juan will not take it lightly, to know how Sun Bin will fight with Pang Juan again, please read next time: “The Empty Fort Strategy”.