Pang Juan was from the Wei state, and Sun Bin (Sun Bin's original name has been lost, because he was tortured, so he was called Sun Bin in the world) was from the Qi state. Legend has it that the two of them once became students under Guiguzi.
Gui Guzi is a native of Wei State, a reclusive master who lives in seclusion in Guigu Valley of Qingxi River and calls himself Mr. Guigu. He is not like Confucius who worries about the chaos of the world all day long, nor is he anxious about a meal or a drink like ordinary people. It is said that some people have seen him going to Yunmeng Mountain to practice Taoism and collect medicine. They say that he has reached the state of inedia (that is, he can live forever without eating). Some people even say that he has broken the cycle of reincarnation and can turn invisible into the clouds and scatter beans. Form a soldier. Of course, these are all false rumors from a person who exaggerates good things, but at least two points can be seen from them: first, he has unpredictable abilities; second, he usually lives in seclusion. It is precisely in this way that he creates a mysterious impression on people and attracts many speculations and legends.
In addition, Su Qin and Zhang Yi are also students of Guiguzi. Generally speaking, students' thoughts are deeply influenced by their teachers, so looking back at their teachers as students, we can draw the conclusion that Guiguzi's knowledge should generally be in the two interlinked fields of vertical and horizontal art and the art of war.
Let’s get back to the point, let’s talk about Sun Bin and Pang Juan. Sun and Pang studied the art of war together. They ate and studied together every day. They often talked about their learning experiences and future dreams, and their relationship grew stronger. Soon, Pang Juan received news that the King of Wei was looking for talents everywhere, so he decided to go to Wei to see if he could be appreciated by the King of Wei and show off his talents. When leaving, Pang Juan said to Sun Bin: "If I gain power in Wei, I will definitely ask the King of Wei to invite my junior brother down the mountain to show his ambition." Sun Bin was moved by Pang Juan's friendship and shed tears to say goodbye.
A few years later, Pang Juan relied on what he had learned to establish a firm foothold in the Wei state and became a general, commanding the most powerful Wei soldiers at the time. Pang Juan has always regarded Wu Qi as his role model, hoping to establish Wu Qi's military exploits. He was indeed a talented general. Under his leadership, the soldiers of Wei defeated the small countries around Wei and were unable to fight back. Not long after, Song, Wei, Lu, and Zheng came to Wei to pay tribute.
In fact, Pang Juan is slightly inferior to Wu Qi. Wu Qi was not only a war god, but also a political reformer. As the saying goes, "Literary power can bring peace to the world with his pen, and military power can set the world with his horse." Every time Wu Qi raised his troops, he did not focus on one pond or one place, or on the immediate victory or defeat. He took the development of Wei as the overall situation and calmly formulated a strategy of attack and retreat, so he was able to achieve Wei's hegemony in the end.
But when Pang Juan was appointed general, the king of Wei was King Hui of Wei, who was often mentioned in "Mencius" as King Hui of Liang (During the Warring States Period, the capital of Wei was Daliang, so Wei was often called Liang). At that time, Wei State was at a very wonderful turning point. On the one hand, after the reforms carried out by Marquis Wen and the accumulation and growth of Marquis Wu, Wei's national power had reached its peak; but on the other hand, the enterprising spirit and ambition of Marquis Wen had long been worn away. Therefore, there is also a gap in the talent supply. This is not to say that the Wei State does not have talents, but that it uses talents improperly. For example, Shang Yang is the best example: King Hui of Wei not only failed to reuse Shang Yang, but instead gave him to the feudal state of Qin in vain. This set the stage for the future destruction of Qin State. Losing Wei and unifying the world created hidden dangers.
Pang Juan did not have Wu Qi's foresight, so his intentions when sending troops to fight were naturally different. Wu Qi's acquisition of the land of Xihe was of strategic significance for Wei to resist Qin, but Pang Juan sent troops only to achieve personal fame. This was what Cao Cao hated about "seeking false fame and dealing with real disasters."
The joy of victory can easily make people's heads spin, so Pang Juan, who has won several battles, has soared in Wei's reputation. From the monarch to the people, everyone sees him as the hope for Wei's future. Pang Juan himself was also very satisfied with himself. At this time, he remembered his junior brother Sun Bin who was still studying with his master in the mountains, so he recommended it to the King of Wei and sent someone to tell Sun Bin the news, asking him to come to Wei to join him.
Sun Bin hesitated after receiving the news. He had lived in the mountains for a long time, facing the sun rising and setting in the mountains all day long, listening to the singing of the streams and the chirping of insects, and counting the withered flowers and plants. Of course he wanted to go down the mountain and take a look outside. What has the world become? But unlike Pang Juan, he was not so keen on worldly fame, and he felt that his master Gui Guzi's academic methods had not yet been fully learned, so he was a little reluctant to leave suddenly.
After some thinking, Sun Bin decided to go out. With enthusiasm for a new life, Sun Bin came to the State of Wei where his senior brother Pang Juan lived. The two senior brothers, who had not seen each other for several years, seemed very excited. They talked about each other's lives in the past few years, and secretly tested each other's knowledge. Both parties had questions and answers, and Pang Juan was surprised to find that Junior Brother Sun's academic achievements were far behind him - could he really be a "meat-eater" who had been corrupted by an overly comfortable life and worldly pleasures? , Imprisoned? The more he thought about it, the more he became afraid, not only because of the stagnation of his knowledge, but also because he was afraid that Sun Bin would gain the favor of the King of Wei with his talents and knowledge and replace his position in the Wei State, and then Pang Juan's years of struggle would be in vain.
Human psychology is really strange, and it is difficult to analyze rationally, because many times people do not think about making the cake bigger, but they only think about getting the biggest piece of cake, which leads to countless open and secret fights. . Pang Juan is not as broad-minded as Wu Qi and Zhai Huang. First of all, he is not loyal to the cause he devotes himself to, but to his own fame. If Sun Bin can assist King Wei with him, why worry about succeeding in hegemony? In the future, when future generations look back on the history of their generation, even if they do not regard Pang Juan as the most dazzling star, they will definitely respect him as a famous minister and shine in the annals of history. But Pang Juan doesn't look at the problem from this perspective at all. All he sees is personal advancement and disgrace. The appearance of Sun Bin was like a bucket of cold water falling from the sky, waking Pang Juan out of his long-lasting dream. He discovered that his position as "the number one general in Wei" was far from what he imagined. So stable.
The night was as cold as water, and Pang Juan tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. The moon rose into the sky, bright and flawless, but the ethereal and clean moonlight could not illuminate Pang Juan's tortured heart, nor could it relax his tangled eyebrows. But soon, Pang Juan closed his eyes calmly and happily, and gradually began to snore rhythmically. Because, he already has a calculation in his heart.
Soon, Sun Bin, who was still dreaming about becoming an official and having a decisive battle on the battlefield, was arrested and thrown into prison. At the moment he was taken away, he had no idea what was going on. My ears were ringing, and I could only vaguely and intermittently hear something about "collaborating with the enemy and treason." "I didn't. I didn't betray the country, let alone collaborate with the enemy. I just came down from the mountain. Where can I betray my country? Where can I collaborate with the enemy? Where is Senior Brother Pang? Why doesn't he show up? Why doesn't he come to see me?" There are no answers to all questions. The answer to Sun Bin was only a rope, a whip, a needle, a soldering iron and a sharp knife. Sun Bin had lived in the mountains for a long time and had no experience in the world. His fair face was tattooed with the words of humiliation, and his kneecaps were gouged out on his legs that had not yet run and galloped on the vast land. I wonder if when he was being tortured and screaming, his former senior brother Pang Juan stood aside and watched and sneered, or was he hiding in the next door and crying bitterly? This is all the dust of history.
"When Bin comes, Pang Juan is afraid that he will be more talented than himself, and if he is sick, he will cut off his feet with legal punishment and tattoo him. If he wants to hide it, don't see him." This is what "Historical Records Biography of Sun Wu" says. Tai Shigong did not explain what crime Pang Juan accused Sun Bin of, but it is generally considered to be the crime of collaborating with the enemy. Which country's enemy do you want to communicate with? Sun Bin was a native of Qi, so he should have had an affair with Qi. This was a myth, fabricated out of thin air, and full of slander, but in the end Sun Bin really went to Qi, or was this destiny?
Ordinarily, Pang Juan should have killed Sun Bin to avoid future troubles. Why did he just torture him and leave him disabled? Some people say that this is according to the law of Wei State, and Sun Bin's crime will not lead to death. This statement is unreliable, because in the Warring States period when conquests were unbridled and everyone was in danger, how serious a crime was collaboration with the enemy? Now that the enemy has been defeated, King Wei must have wanted to kill Sun Bin. The reason why he failed to do so was because someone interceded for Sun Bin.
However, Sun Bin was unfamiliar with the place in Wei, so who would intercede for him? Yes, this person must be Pang Juan! It is said that "sending Buddha to the West will harm others to the end." Pang Juan spared Sun Bin's life, wasn't he afraid of future revenge? Some people say that Pang Juan interceded for Sun Bin because he wanted to extract from him the "Art of War" passed down by the Sun family. However, "The Art of War" is not a martial arts secret book in martial arts novels, which must be "hidden deep in the mountains to wait for a chance". Reading it should not be the exclusive preserve of a few people, because it is obvious that Wu Qi's "Wu Zi" was influenced by "The Art of War" Influence - If Wu Qi can see it, why can't Pang Juan see it? Therefore, this statement is not satisfactory. The only reasonable explanation is that Pang Juan has been tortured by jealousy to the point of becoming mentally ill. Pang Juan didn't want Sun Bin to live a glorious life, nor could he endure his happy death. He wanted Sun Bin to live like a dog covered in mud. Let's see how the handsome young man who talked so eloquently still indulged himself. On the general trend of the world! Pang Juan wanted to humiliate Sun Bin and get rid of the contempt in Sun Bin's eyes when he looked at him - in fact, this was probably just his own imagination. He wanted to get rid of his hope and make him live in pain forever.
"Everyone is destined to die, which may be lighter than a feather or heavier than Mount Tai." If Sun Bin committed suicide, then the person who died would be just a "guilty" person and would not leave any traces. Of course, Sun Bin also thought about dying, but after thinking about this, he decided to live, not only to take revenge, but also to burn his life to let the world know that he, Sun Bin, had existed in the world. Sun Bin pretended to be crazy in prison, rolled and fell in the pig pen, and even deliberately ate pig manure in front of Pang Juan, making him feel that he really couldn't bear the blow and went completely crazy.
Thinking that Sun Bin was really crazy, Pang Juan gradually regarded Sun Bin as a dead person, relaxed his vigilance, and stopped caring about him. Finally, Sun Bin seized the opportunity and fled to Qi with the Qi envoys who came to Wei as envoys.
Legend has it that before Sun Bin came out of the mountain, his doting master Gui Guzi asked Sun Bin to pick a flower from the mountain and use it to divine a fortune for him. At that time, the autumn wind was bleak and the flowers were withered. In the end, Sun Bin just found a chrysanthemum in a vase. Guiguzi held the flower in his hand, and after pondering for a long time, he said: "This flower is no longer fresh, and the petals and calyx are broken, but it can persist to this moment, which shows that it can withstand the wind and frost. When you come down the mountain, it is just like this flower. Although There will be hardships, but dangers can be turned into safety in the end. If you put this flower in the vase, you will eventually return to your home country of Qi and achieve a great career there."
This is of course an echo of later generations and cannot be trusted.
After arriving in Qi State, Sun Bin met the general Tian Ji. After several conversations, Tian Ji admired Sun Bin so much that he worshiped him as a distinguished guest and invited Sun Bin to stay at his home.
Putting on clean and tidy clothes, Sun Bin felt like a reincarnated person. In the past, although these things were good, Sun Bin seemed to be unable to truly experience them. But after this disaster, he knew how to cherish them even more. Sun Bin secretly swore that he would never make the same mistakes again in his lifetime, and would never let others have the opportunity to control his life and death. He would decide his own destiny! First, he wanted to meet the head of Qi State - King Qi Wei, who was determined and ambitious.
Sun Bin, who was good at observing, discovered that the nobles of Qi had a common hobby, which was horse racing. General Tian Ji was an avid horse racing fan, and the person who "horse-raced" him was often King Qi Wei. King Qi Wei is the monarch of Qi State, so the BMWs he keeps in his stables are selected from thousands throughout the entire Qi State. The horses raised by the remaining aristocratic sons, princes and ministers were also selected from a thousand, but they always picked up the "leak children" of King Qi Wei, so the quality of their horses could not be compared with King Qi Wei's precious colts.
It is conceivable that, excluding accidental factors such as on-the-spot performance, Tian Ji and King Qi Wei will definitely lose in the horse race. Even if these factors are added, they will only lose more than win. Every time there is a horse race, Tian Ji bets a large amount of gold. If the opponent is King Qi Wei, then the gold may never be returned. However, even though Tian Ji knew he was going to lose, he never tired of it.
After careful observation, Sun Bin discovered that Qi's horse racing had specific rules, that is, the two parties participating in the game had to compete in three consecutive games, and the one with the most wins in the end was the final winner. After some planning in his mind, Sun Bin already had a plan, so he encouraged Tian Ji to compete with King Qi Wei again, claiming that he had a way to ensure Tian Ji's victory. Tian Ji naturally had full confidence in Sun Bin, so he showed off his horses and horses and invited King Wei of Qi to fight again.
Tian Ji and Wei Wang each competed with three horses of three grades: upper, middle and lower. In previous battles, Tian Ji's high-grade horse faced off against King Wei's high-grade horse, medium-grade horse against the opponent's medium-grade horse, and low-grade horse against the opponent's low-grade horse. It can be imagined that King Wei's low-grade horses are compared to King Wei's high-grade and medium-grade horses. In terms of their quality, they are definitely the best horses among the low-grade horses in the world. In the same way, King Wei's top-grade and medium-grade horses are far better than their "peers". Therefore, the method of fighting for strength by the superior versus the superior, the middle versus the middle, or the inferior versus the inferior always made Tian Ji obediently put the gold into King Wei's pocket.
The art of war can be used not only on the battlefield, but also on the racecourse. Sun Bin's method was to first use Tian Ji's inferior horse against King Wei's superior horse. Needless to say, Tian Ji will lose this time. But what happened next was that Tian Ji's high-grade horse faced King Wei's medium-grade horse, and his medium-grade horse faced King Wei's low-grade horse. Although the average quality of King Wei's horses is much higher than that of other horses, a middle-class horse is always a middle-class horse and cannot compete with a high-class horse. A low-class horse is always a low-class horse and cannot show off its power in front of a middle-class horse. As you can imagine, in the end Tian Ji won two games in a row and won with a total score of 2 to 1.
To put it bluntly, Sun Bin's method is nothing more than these eight words: "Use your own strengths to counter the enemy's weaknesses." However, in order to apply this method freely, the first test is not the coach's resourcefulness, but his mind. If you are careless, what you care about is not the overall situation, but the success or failure of one place at a time. Then you will not be able to muster the courage to cut off your wrists - because the "first game" is destined to be lost, even in many places. Make necessary concessions and sacrifices. On the racecourse, the rules are set, the situation is clear, and it is easier to make decisions; on the battlefield, everything is possible, and the situation is changing all the time. How can one think clearly whether the concession at this moment can lead to the final victory? If we lose then, what we lose will not be gold and face, but human lives, the safety of the ancestral temple, and the well-being of the people! Therefore, in addition to having an extraordinary mind, a general must also have smart "eyes and ears" to clearly judge the deployment of military forces between ourselves and the enemy. We should go back to Sun Tzu's wise saying - know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles.
The horse had finished running and everything had settled. King Qi Wei, who originally thought he would win in the stands, did not expect to lose, so he called Tian Ji over to ask clearly. This question brought Sun Bin out. Like Tian Ji, King Wei was quickly impressed by Sun Bin's talent and learning and regarded him as his teacher.
Although he lost the horse, he gained a military genius. King Qi Wei made a lot of money this time. Looking back at it from the beginning, among the generals and ministers of King Wei of Qi, Zou Ji was reused by playing the drum, harp and piano, Chunyu Kun was appreciated by King Wei by telling jokes, and Sun Bin entered King Wei by horse racing. Sight……
From this we can see how rich King Qi Wei’s private life was! This is no wonder, because Qi State is indeed deeply rooted, rich and powerful. As early as Qi Huan Gong established Jixia Academy, it has been governed by both civil and military affairs, and its industry and commerce have developed. However, "Since ancient times, heroes have suffered many hardships, but dandies have never been great men." If a person's growth is like this, how can a country be the same? King Qi Wei was a fun-loving king. Although he could promptly adopt the correct opinions of his remonstrators, he lacked a ruthless spirit and a serious obsession, so he was ultimately unable to rectify the situation and make fundamental changes. Therefore, he could only "use what they could but not exhaust" Sun Bin and others under his command, so that even though they had unparalleled talents, they ultimately failed to achieve unparalleled achievements. Of course, this is all a story for later. For Sun Bin at this time, the most important and urgent thing was not to help Qi to dominate, but to avenge Pang Juan and avenge his previous shame.
He soon got an opportunity.
