Gongsun Yue intends to give King Xuan of Qi the beautiful woman he brought back from Wei and the beautiful jade of the Gongsun Suburban Master, which he renames Beauty. Mei Yu said that she had a one night affair with the King of Qi and that the King of Qi would recognize her even if she was not called Mei Yu. Gongsun Yue couldn''t help but laugh, “When the king recognizes you, he can''t get away from you anymore.”


    Gongsun Yue had saved Meiyu during the rebellion of Gongsun Yue, and now he is going to send Meiyu to the king''s palace to enjoy the glory and wealth, Meiyu is so grateful that she wants to stay with Gongsun Yue for the night to thank him with her body. Gongsun Yue looked at Meiyu''s beautiful face and said: “I would like to stay, but I am afraid that once I stay, I will never want to let you go again....... This will delay my big event. Grass and trees in one fall, life in one life, a man if you can not do one or two big things, is to live a life in vain.”


    Gongsun Yue went to see Zou Ji, who was worried about Sun Bin''s return to Qi. Gongsun Yue said to him, “I found two beautiful women, they can be said to be the best of the best, the king is so horny that he will be mesmerized when he sees the beautiful women, if Xiangguo gives them to the king, the king will be closer to Xiangguo, and will listen to what Xiangguo says, even if Sun Bin goes back to Qi, he won''t be able to do anything about Xiangguo.”


    Zou Ji didn''t want to be the sinner of Qi and didn''t want to be held back by Gongsun Yue anymore, so he said, “Mr. Gongsun is not using the beauty plan just to deal with Sun Bin, right? King Zhou of Yin and King Yu of Zhou both lost their countries because they were obsessed with beauty, Mr. Gongsun is using the beauty trick because he wants the King to become King Zhou, or King Yu, right?”


    “Sangguo misunderstood, I didn''t think that much, I was just thinking about Sangguo. If I don''t use this trick, Xiangguo will not be able to stop the Great King from reusing Sun Bin, if Sun Bin gets reused, Xiangguo''s life won''t be too good, right?”


    Zou Ji laughed coldly: “If you were really thinking of me, you should have asked Pang Juan to stop Sun Bin from returning to the country, but you didn''t. Therefore, I suspect that you are intending to make Qi contradictory and eventually destroy it.”


    Gongs Yueun sniffed and also sneered, “I didn''t realize that the hallowed Sangguo would use the heart of a villain to gauge the heart of a gentleman!”


    “This is not the heart of a villain, I am the Prime Minister of Qi, I have to think about Qi.”


    “Hehe, if Xiang Guo really thought about Qi, he wouldn''t have created something out of nothing and framed Sun Bin in the first place.”


    “I was deceived by you.”


    “You''re wrong, it''s not deception, it''s mutual utilization.”


    “But I don''t want to be used by you now.” Zou Ji smiled faintly and said as he clapped his hands twice, two hans with swords came out from the inner room.


    Gongsun Yue looked at the two hans and smiled coldly at Zou Ji, “It seems that the Minister has prepared for this.”


    “For people like you, I have to be on guard.” After Zou Ji finished waving his hand, the hans unsheathed their swords, their eyes filled with murderous aura.


    Gongsun Yue calmly said to Zou Ji, “Xiang Guo, they are not my opponents, don''t let them send them to their deaths.”


    Zou Ji grunted twice, “Don''t scare me with big words!” Immediately, he orders the two hans to take down Gongsun Yue. The two hans immediately swung their swords forward. Gongsun Yue quickly dodged aside and drew his sword in his hand, then with a flash of sword light, the two hans cried out and both fell to the ground with their swords. Zou Ji was shocked. Gongsun Yue turned around and looked at Zou Ji and said proudly, “Xiang Guo, I am not bragging, right?”


    Zou Ji is trembling, beads of sweat roll down on his forehead.


    Gongsun Yue put away his sword and said with a smile, “Xiangguo, don''t be afraid, I won''t kill you, we have to continue to utilize each other.”


    Zou Ji, under Gongsun Yue''s coercion, sent the beautiful woman and the beautiful girl into the king''s palace. King Xuan of Qi was extraordinarily fond of these two shapely and charming women, and especially doted on Beauty. That night, after King Xuan of Qi and Beauty had lingered in the clouds and rain, he sighed to Beauty, “I once loved a girl, her name was Meiyu, and when I was having fun with you, I clearly felt that you were Meiyu.”


    The beautiful woman laughed and said, “Your majesty is treating my concubine as Mei Yu''s double.”


    King Xuan of Qi lamented, “No, your every move, your knitted brows, your smile, and even the sound of your gasping breath, are all like Meiyu.”


    Beauty tentatively asked King Xuan why he didn''t call Mei Yu into the palace. King Xuan of Qi sighed and said, “Mei Yu is dead, if not, I would have called her into the palace long ago.”


    King Xuan was so attached to Mei Yu, the beautiful woman could barely hold back, she threw herself into King Xuan s arms and said, “Your Majesty, can my concubine ...... replace Mei Yu?”


    King Xuan of Qi held the beautiful woman tightly in his arms and allowed her to change her name to Meiyu in the future.


    King Xuan of Qi heard Zou Ji say, these two lovely women are his doorkeeper Gongsun Yue selected for the king, King Xuan of Qi admired Gongsun Yue, want to appoint him as the upper Dafu, in charge of the royal palace. Gongsun Yue was delighted, but he refused, saying that he was not familiar with the rules of the palace. King Xuan of Qi laughed and said, “If you don''t know the rules of the palace, you can learn them. The reason why I like you is that you are very meticulous, and you don''t have to tell me what you need, so you are very suitable to be in charge of the royal palace affairs.”


    When the court officials heard that Gongsun Yue had become the senior official in charge of the royal palace, there was a lot of discussion:


    “Who is Gongsun Yue?”


    “I heard that he is a guest of the minister''s residence.”


    “How did he become a senior Dafu overnight?”


    “It must be recommended by the Minister of Xiangguo. ......”


    After the court meeting, Tian Ji walked to Zou Ji''s side and said in a low, serious voice: “Zou Xiangguo, Gongsun Yue''s entry into the palace is a danger to the state of Qi, so you can''t afford to make the same mistake again and again.” Zou Ji had no words to argue, but only silence.


    King Xuan of Qi all day and all night with the beautiful jade and good girl play drinking feast, lingering pleasure, ignore the government for many days, the dynasty Dafus are anxious. Gao Daifu said to Zou Ji: “Xiangguo, you are the former king''s old minister, the king respects you the most, you should strongly advise the king to remove the demoness and reorganize the government.”


    Zou Ji sighed, “It is not that I have not remonstrated vigorously, but the king cannot listen to me.”


    Bao Dafu, an honest and upright old minister, saw that Zou Ji refused to intervene, so he insisted on going into the palace to persuade King Xuan. He asked the king, “Do you know how the Yin dynasty came to an end?”


    King Xuan of Qi was not pleased with Bao''s question and said perfunctorily, “Yes.”


    Dr. Bao then asked, “You must also know how King Yu of Zhou lost his life, right?”


    King Xuan of Qi, his face showing a huff, asked in return, “Why do you ask these questions?”


    Dafu Bao said, “The Yin Dynasty was destroyed by Daji, and King Yu of Zhou died because of Baosi! Now, Daji and Baosi are pestering the king again, they are the king''s two newest beauties, if the king is mesmerized by their beauty, the state of Qi will be destroyed by the hands of these two demonesses ......”


    “Ridiculous!” King Xuan of Qi angrily interrupted Dr. Bao''s words, “Dr. Bao, I miss that you are the former king''s old minister, forgive you for slandering the princess, you go down!”


    “If the king does not grant my humble servant''s request, my humble servant does not dare to leave!”


    King Xuan of Qi ordered his palace guards to drag Dafu Bao out of the palace and flog him for fifty years.


    When King Xuan of Qi returned to the harem, Meiyu took his arm and sobbed, “Your Majesty, you must decide for my concubine ...... My concubine has not offended Dr. Bao, why does he want to get rid of my concubine ...... ”


    King Xuan of Qi comforted, “Meiyu, don''t cry, I have already heavily punished Dr. Bao.”


    Jia Nü said from the side, “The king only whipped Dr. Bao, it wasn''t enough to stop the court officials from slandering our sisters.”


    Mei Yu nodded her head and said, “The Great King might as well kill Dr. Bao as a way to make it clear to the daiyoukai in the court that those who slander our sisters as demonesses again will be beheaded and displayed in public.”


    “This ...... is not so heavy.” King Qi Xuan hesitated.


    Mei Yu and Jia Nu refused to stop. Mei Yu said, “If we don''t kill Dr. Bao, the king shall not be quiet.”


    Jia Nü also fanned the flames, “Your Majesty, these old ministers of theirs are using our sisters as a reason to bully your Majesty for being young, if you don''t kill them, they will still look for an opportunity to bully your Majesty.”


    King Xuan of Qi hated the old ministers bullying his youth, so he made up his mind to kill Dafu Bao as a warning to all the ministers.


    The killing of Bao Daifu alarmed all the courtiers. The friends of Bao Dafu gathered in Zou Ji''s residence and asked him to think of ways to get rid of those two evil girls. Gao Daifu said to Zou Ji, “Xiangguo, now you have to step in, you are an old courtier of the former king, the king dares not kill you.”


    Zou Ji shook his head repeatedly and said, “I have already said that the Great King cannot hear my words. You go and find Tian Ji, his words the Great King will surely hear.”


    “General Tian has always been at odds with the Sage; if we go to him, can he help?”


    “It''s not me he''s helping, it''s Qi.”


    Gao Daifu and the others came to Tian''s house and explained their intention, and Tian Ji said, “If you don''t come to me, I will go to see the great king, and as long as I, Tian Ji, am around, the demonesses won''t be able to destroy the state of Qi!”


    Qin Gu said to Tian Ji, “Zou Ji, as a prime minister, does not advise the great king, but lets his close friends in the court advise the general to do so; I suspect that he has bad intentions.”


    “Regardless of Zou Ji''s intentions, it is the duty of a minister to advise the Great King.”


    “The Great King has been mesmerized by those two women, and if the general enters the palace at this time and speaks a little carelessly, he may be in danger of being killed.”


    Tian Ji told Qin Gu that he knew what to say to King Xuan.


    Tian Ji entered the palace, paid his respects to King Xuan, and before he could speak, King Xuan of Qi said, “General Tian has come to persuade me to expel the princess, hasn''t he? If so, don''t blame me for not showing mercy! I''ve already made it clear to the great physicians in the court that whoever mentions this matter again will be beheaded and put on public display.”


    Tian Ji said, “I am not here for this matter.”


    “That''s good ......” King Xuan of Qi sighed in relief, ”Some people in the court love to make a fuss, I just took in two princesses, how can they make such a fuss, which of the lords in the world do not have concubines, I am not as good as they are. I am not as good as them.”


    Tian Ji said, “It''s not wrong for the king to accept concubines, but it''s wrong for him to feast and play with them all day long and ignore the government.”


    King Xuan of Qi defended, “I have not been to court these days, not because of the king consort, but because of my ill health ...... Furthermore, with General Tian and Xiangguo presiding over the dynasty, I am 10,000 percent assured that I don''t want to intervene too much.”


    Tian Ji advanced, “The micro minister and Xiangguo cannot replace the Great King. As a king, it is difficult to control the country if you ignore the government for a long time. Many vassals after many years, the reason why the king is not a king is because of this reason ...... Not to mention that at present, Qi is threatened by Wei outside the country, and there is Noble son JiaoShi within the country relying on the border cities to oppose the great king, so how can the great king not ask about the dynasty politics personally?”


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Noble son JiaoShi is the heart of King Xuan of Qi, Tian Ji''s words he can not refute, King Xuan of Qi very reluctantly agreed to go to court tomorrow.


    Mei Yu and Jia Niang complained that King Xuan had not kept his word, promising to take them out of the city to hunt tomorrow, but then going to the court, clearly not taking their sisters seriously. King Xuan of Qi explains, “I have promised General Tian that if I don''t go to the court, he will come back to trouble me.”


    Jia Nü''s eyes twinkled as she laughed and said, “Your Majesty can send him to attack the border cities, so that he won''t come to trouble Your Majesty.”


    King Xuan of Qi thought Jia Nü''s idea was good and immediately summoned Tian Ji to the palace. King Xuan of Qi said to Tian Ji, “General Tian''s words in the morning reminded me that I must not forget about the external and internal troubles; I order you to lead the Qi army at once to recover the three border cities of Maling, Fan Cheng, and Grange Qiu.”


    Tian Ji asked, “Your majesty had promised last time to wait for Mr. Sun''s return before recovering the border cities, why did you change your mind today?”


    “You lead your troops to the border cities first, and when Mr. Sun returns, I will immediately order him to rush to the border cities.”


    “Your Majesty, it''s hard to win with hasty troops, not to mention that we''re facing a powerful Wei army, it''s better to wait for Mr. Sun''s return before recapturing the border city.”


    At this time, Gongsun Yue was also at the palace, he sneered at Tian Ji from the side, “General Tian, is the army of Wei that scary?”


    Tian Ji smiled coldly and said, “It''s not Wei''s army that''s scary, it''s Wei''s spies that''s scary, they''re pervasive and can''t be defended against!”


    Gongsun Yue smiled, “It is the incompetent ones who attribute their failures to others.”


    Tian Ji said, “Although what Gongsun said makes sense, it''s not comprehensive. Incompetent people not only attribute their failures to others, but also use unseemly and lowly schemes to undo their own failures.”


    Gongsun Yue sneered back and said, “There is no difference between high and low strategies, if you can win, then it is the best strategy.”


    What Tian Ji and Gongsun Yue said made King Xuan of Qi feel like he was in the clouds, and he asked them, “What are you talking about, why can''t I understand?”


    Gongsun Yue said, “General Tian suspects that I am a spy of Wei.”


    King Xuan of Qi said to Tian Ji, “You don''t know Dafu Gongsun, but Xiangguo Zou knows him; his wife was nearly killed by Pang Juan, and he has an undying grudge against Pang Juan, so how can he be a spy of Wei? General Tian, I know you and Zou Xiangguo long time discord, some things Zou Xiangguo do also indeed ...... sorry you, but things have passed.


    The Xiangguo has also admitted his fault, so you should no longer hold a grudge against the Zou Xiangguo, and even less should you hold a grudge against the Xiangguo against the Gongsun Dafu.”


    Tian Ji defended, “Your Majesty, Xiangguo Zou is also very dissatisfied with what Gongsun Yue has done, and I was asked by Xiangguo Zou and the others to come in to see Your Majesty this morning.”


    King Xuan of Qi wondered, “This can''t be, Gongsun Daifu was recommended to me by Zou Xiangguo, how can he be dissatisfied with Gongsun Daifu?”


    “If the king does not believe me, he may summon the minister to ask him.”


    Zou Ji was summoned to the palace and met Gongsun Yue, who had been waiting there for a long time, outside the gate of the king''s palace, and he asked Gongsun Yue: “Dr. Gongsun Yue, what has the king summoned me for?”


    Gongsun Yue said leisurely, “General Tian Ji said that Xiangguo was very dissatisfied with what I had done, and therefore asked him to come into the palace to denounce me.”


    Zou Ji swore with conviction that this was by no means the case, and then, pretending to remember something, said, “Oh, perhaps it was a close friend of Dr. Bao who assumed my name; or perhaps it was Tian Ji who intended to separate you and me.”


    Gongsun Yue asks him to explain clearly to Tian Ji in the presence of the king, and at the same time must force Tian Ji to send out troops to recover the border city. Zou Ji was worried that Gongsun Yue would be even more unscrupulous after Tian Ji left Linzi, so he said, “Sun Bin hasn''t returned yet, the Great King won''t agree to it ......”


    Gongsun Yue smiled coldly and said to Zou Ji without any threat: “If Tian Ji doesn''t leave, he will sue me in the name of Xiangguo, and once the falsehood becomes true, won''t he force me to the end? In that case, it will do no good to anyone!”


    Zou Ji heard Gongsun Yue''s words and had to agree.


    Zou Ji explained to Tian Ji in front of King Xuan, “General Tian, you are mistaken, how can I ask you to advise the king? If there is advice must enter, I as a prime minister, can personally meet the king, and why entrust you?”


    Tian Ji hated Zou Ji''s words and said, “This is what Gao Dafu said to me.”


    Zou Ji said, “Gao Daifu and his friends were close friends of Bao Daifu, Bao Daifu was killed, they have a grudge, they had begged me to advise the king, but I didn''t agree to it, that''s why they are looking for you. Maybe because of their admonition heart eager, so under my name, this is also reasonable.”


    “This Dafu Gao, stirring up right and wrong, I must punish him heavily.” King Xuan of Qi said indignantly.


    Zou Ji was busy mediating and said, “Your Majesty, forget it, Dafu Gao and the others are also well-intentioned, at present Qi has a strong enemy outside the country and rebels inside, they are also anxious, afraid that the king will spoil the princess and delay the affairs of the country. If you order your army to recover the border cities at once, they will not talk about it.”


    King Xuan of Qi thought that what Zou Ji said was reasonable, and again urged Tian Ji to recover the border city immediately. Tian Ji said, “If you want to be quick, you can''t do it. It''s better to wait for Sun Bin''s return before making a decision about recovering the border city.”


    Tian Ji''s repeated excuses upset King Xuan of Qi, who asked Tian Ji, “General Tian, are you really afraid of the Wei army?”


    Zou Ji said from the side, “Your Majesty, General Tian Ji is not afraid of the Wei army, the reason why he wants to wait for Sun Bin to come back is because Sun Bin has defeated Pang Juan repeatedly, and waiting for Sun Bin to come back before attacking the border city is much more certain ...... But then again, Sun Bin is delayed in coming back, and we can''t just sit back and watch Noble son JiaoShi rebel in the border city and not care about it We can''t just sit back and watch Noble son JiaoShi rebel in the border city and not care, right? Moreover, the king''s order has been issued and can''t be taken back, if the ministers disobey the order, how can the king still talk about his majesty?”


    King Xuan of Qi said to Tian Ji, “General Tian, what Xiangguo said is reasonable, my king''s order has been issued and can''t be taken back, you quickly lead the army to recover the border city.”


    “I ...... obey the order.” Tian Ji kowtowed hopelessly.


    Gongsun Yue heard that Tian Ji had to go out, and happily said to Zou Ji: “Still, Xiang Guo has a way! If Tian Ji loses the border city, the military power will no longer belong to him!”


    Zou Ji was afraid that Gongsun Yue would force him to do something harmful to Qi again, so he said to Gongsun Yue, “Mr. Gongsun Yue, in the name of the Minister of Qi, I beg you to be merciful, and don''t let Qi perish, okay?”


    Gongsun Yue just smiled and said, “No, it won''t happen, Marshal Pang and I just want to get rid of Sun Bin and Tian Ji, and then make Qi a brotherly state of Wei.”


    Qin Gu was worried about the fact that at this time King Xuan of Qi ordered Tian Ji to lead the army to recover the border city, he said to Tian Ji, “Recovering the border city at this time is a conspiracy of Gongsun Yue and Zou Ji, once the general is gone, they can do whatever they want even more inside the city of Linzi.”


    “I know it is a conspiracy,” said Tian Ji helplessly, ”but the king has ordered it, and I cannot well disobey. Mr.Qin, do you have a good plan to deal with them?”


    The two were worried about not having a good plan, when a servant ran in with great haste, saying, “General, it''s back ...... Mr. Sun and Miss Zhong Li are back!” The two were overjoyed at the words and immediately went out to greet them.


    Tian Ji and Sun Bin met each other after a long time, there are a thousand words in their hearts, but they don''t know where to start, and they looked at each other for a long time before Tian Ji choked up and opened his mouth, “How come you''re just coming back? I''ve missed you to death ......” Sun Bin also had mixed feelings


    Sun Bin also had mixed feelings and said, “Me too ......”


    The tears in both of their eyes rolled down almost simultaneously ......


    After everyone sat down, Tian Ji told Sun Bin and Zhong Li Chun about the beautiful women haunting the king''s palace and Zhong Li Chun said angrily “I''ll sneak into the king''s palace tonight and kill these two demon girls!”


    Sun Bin disagreed and said to Zhong Li Chun, “Gongsun Yue is in the palace, it''s hard for you to get your hands on him, and even if you do, he will offer the beauties again. The key now is not to kill the beauty, but to find a way to make the Great King lose his way.”


    At this time the servant came to report that Zou Ji was asking for an audience, Tian Ji refused on the spot, saying he didn''t want to listen to his nonsense. Sun Bin advised Tian Ji, “It''s better to meet him, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles, you can use this to feel Zou Ji''s bottom.”


    Zou Ji was invited into the living room and Sun Bin and Zhong Li Chun temporarily recused themselves in order to block the news of his return. Zou Ji came to see Tian Ji this time to get rid of Gongsun Yue''s control, he said to Tian Ji: “Today the king summoned me into the palace, I have no intention to make things difficult for general, I am not in the same boat with Gongsun Yue, and some of his doings, I am not in favor of them either.”


    Tian Ji sneered, “That''s not what you said in front of the Great King.”


    Zou Ji sighed and said, “The Great King listens to Gongsun Yue because of the beautiful women, I have no choice but to say this ...... General Tian, Gongsun Yue''s heart is not right, we should try to transfer Gongsun Yue out of Linzi, even for a while, he stays by the Great King''s side, it''s too dangerous for the state of Qi! ”


    “I have no way to transfer him out of Linzi.”


    “I have a way, report to the Great King and ask Gongsun Yue to be the Supervisor and accompany the General to attack the border cities.”


    “The Supervisor is sent by the Great King, he can restrain me at every turn.”


    “When the general is outside, the king''s orders can be disobeyed, back when Sima Rang Tho was a general, he once beheaded the supervisor because he was overdue, so the great general can be completely free from Gongsun Yue''s constraints.”


    Qin Gu said from the side, “What the Sanggu means is that he wants to borrow the general''s hand to get rid of Gongsun Yue?”


    “You can say ...... that,” Zou Ji nodded.


    “And then through the beautiful women in the palace, get rid of us?”


    Zou Ji swore with conviction and said, “Great General, what I said tonight, in no way fraudulent, completely for the sake of Qi, Great General if you do not believe, I can set up a word for evidence!”


    Tian Ji did not want to agree, but thought that this could make Gongsun Yue leave the palace, and help to persuade the king of Qi, so he said to Zou Ji: “Since Xiangguo is so sincere, I will believe you once.”


    Note: The “The Stratagem of the Beautiful Woman” is the thirty-first of the Thirty-six Stratagems, which was first published in the ancient art of war called “Six Towers” (legend has it that it was made by Jiang Taigong). The meaning of “beauty trick” is to utilize beautiful women to achieve one''s purpose. Gongsun Yue utilized the “Beauty Trick” to become a close minister of the King of Qi and the King of Qi did everything he said and obeyed him, putting Tian Ji and Sun Bin in a very passive position. To know how Sun Bin dealt with Gongsun Yue''s “beauty trick”, please read next time: “Turn the Guest into the Host”.