The Great Wei Empire in the Warring States Period

Qi Army Camp

Tian Ji said worriedly: "Mr. Sun Bin, according to your strategy, our army has already penetrated deep into the heartland of Wei State. Now the army is in a panic because of the defeat of the two doctors in Qicheng and Gaotang!"

Sun Bin said with a smile: "Brother Tian Ji, do you know the "Put a man in a desperate situation and then live, put him in a desperate situation and then survive" in Sun Tzu's Art of War?"

"I don't know." Tian Ji replied.

Sun Bin smiled and explained: "Reaching a dead end may seem like a stupid move, but it also has a benefit. When our army reaches a dead end, the soldiers can obey orders without restraint, can march forward bravely without reward, and can be united without punishment. This is to survive after being trapped in a dead end, and to survive after being put in a dead end! Just tell me what to call it. Now our army has fallen into a dead end. If we want to survive, we have to fight to the death!"

Tian Ji agreed: "Okay, I'll arrange it now!"

Sun He, the lieutenant of Wei County, was leading 50,000 troops and marching quickly to Pingling. The commander Sun Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and complained: "Why call the soldiers of Xiangcheng to defeat the Qi army? Why call us to run so far? Brother, what do you think the people in the court think?"

"Idiot! This is the king's order. If others heard it, you would have been torn to pieces!" Sun He scolded.

His younger brother Sun Xing hurriedly said yes, "Brother, I heard that the commander of the Qi army is Tian Ji, who is also an excellent commander of troops. I am worried that we cannot defeat him."

"Tian Ji is not that scary. What is scary is the Sun Bin beside him. He has many schemes. We must be cautious!" Sun He said.

Sun He asked: "Sun Xing, Sun Bin is a traitor. What is your impression of him?"

Sun Xing replied: "Sun Bin is just a traitor. The king gave him a guest position, but he still wanted to defect to Qi. It is good that he was not killed. However, brother, Sun Bin seems to be a member of our Sun family."

"So what? He betrayed the king and must die! Sun Xing, those things must be kept to yourself!" Sun He's eyes flashed a trace of ferocity.

Sun Xing replied: "Yes! Big brother!"

Sun He ordered: "Send a messenger to inform the Pingling garrison immediately that we will arrive in ten days. Tell him to secretly monitor the Qi army's every move."

"Yes!"

Qi Army Camp

Tian Ji walked into the tent with the secret report and said: "Mr. Sun Bin, the Wei Wei County reinforcements will arrive here in more than ten days. The strength of this reinforcement is estimated to be 50,000. The leader is Sun Xing, the garrison commander of Wei County, and Sun He, the lieutenant of Wei County, is also accompanying them."

When Sun Bin heard the name Sun He, he was shocked and said, "Brother Tian Ji, Sun He is a cunning man, and Sun Xing is also good at battle. The two are the biggest enemies we are facing now. If we want to succeed in the next plan, we must defeat them!"

"How to fight?" Tian Ji asked.

Sun Bin immediately made a plan: "Although Sun He has some strategies, he is mostly usedSun Xing is smart, but he is impatient. If we want to win this battle, we have to use the strategy of confusing the enemy! The Wei army probably wants to attack us from both sides. The soldiers in Pingling will hold down our front, and the soldiers in Wei County will take the opportunity to attack our army from behind. The total number of soldiers in the two places is as high as 80,000. This battle is about defeating them without seeking complete annihilation! Therefore, we have to divide our troops to fight. Our army has a total of 90,000 people. We order Tian Pan to lead 10,000 troops to ambush on the road that the Wei army reinforcements must pass through, Suishan. When ambush here, we must create momentum to let the enemy know that there is an ambush here. Sun He is a cautious person. He will not dare to advance blindly and will definitely postpone his advance. After the enemy is stationed at the mountain pass, Tian Pan will immediately lead the soldiers back to the army and will not fight with the enemy. The main force of our army must quickly defeat the soldiers in Pingling before the enemy reinforcements arrive. In this way, the enemy's two-sided attack will fail. In order to ensure that his army is not surrounded by the Qi army, Sun He will definitely lead the army to retreat. ”

“But Mr. Sun Bin, will Sun He really be fooled?” Tian Ji asked.

“Yes! He will definitely! He and I are of the same clan, and I know him better.” Sun Bin replied.

Tian Ji agreed and said, “Okay! I will arrange it right away. ”

Ten days later, Tian Ji used Sun Bin’s plan to send a fake army to confuse the Wei army that came to support. In order to prevent an ambush and worry that the Qi army would be tired, Sun He stationed at the mountain pass and did not go to support Pingling. The Pingling garrison did not know that the reinforcements could not come, so he continued to send troops according to the date discussed by Sun He and him, and fought against the Qi army head-on. The Pingling Wei army waited hard but did not see any reinforcements. They were outnumbered and defeated and retreated to Pingling City and stayed inside. In this battle, Tian Ji defeated the Wei army and beheaded more than 10,000 people. Sun He knew that he had been tricked and dared not move forward again, so he led his army back to Wei County.

Tian Ji laughed and said, "I didn't expect that the Wei army's combat effectiveness was not very good! Mr. Sun Bin, what should we do next?"

Sun Bin smiled and said, "Carry out according to the original plan, send a detachment to attack Daliang to anger the King of Wei!"

"Good! The King of Wei will be angry to death now. ”

Wei Guo Court

After reading the battle report, Wei Ling was so angry that he threw it on the ground and said angrily: "Wei Neng is a fool! He has so few soldiers and he directly fights against the Qi army. He is so stupid! Sun He is also a fool! He can't even see this trick of confusing the enemy! Stupid!"

"Your Majesty, calm down. My king, I think we should mobilize the troops from Hedong and Henei counties." Pang Juan stood up and advised.

Wei Ling suppressed his anger and said: "Then what is the plan of the general?"

Pang Juan replied: "Gather the troops from Hedong and Henei counties, join forces with the Daliang Imperial Army, and fight the Qi army head-on! The combat effectiveness of the Qi army is not as good as ours, and they can only use those tricks to deal with our army. The area near Daliang is all plains, and there is no place for ambush, so we should fight the Qi army head-on nearby. ”

Wei Lang just nodded when a messenger rushed in and said, “Your Majesty! The main force of the Qi army is heading towards Daliang and has already reached the outskirts of Daliang! Outside the city, there was dust and flags fluttering.Our army cannot estimate the number of Qi troops, but we can be sure that the main force of Qi troops is already outside the city! "

"What! The Qi army entered the port and attacked my capital city, how arrogant!" Wei Lang said angrily.

Wei Lang immediately ordered: "Order Gongzi Ang to lead the army back to Daliang immediately! Defeat this arrogant Qi army!"

Pang Juan stood up and dissuaded: "Your Majesty! It is better to summon the troops from Henei and Hedong to support Daliang. If Gongzi Ang is asked to lead the army, the journey will be too long, and I am afraid that the Qi army will be waiting for the opportunity!"

Wei Lang asked back: "General! How long does it take for the troops of a county to gather together?"

"At least ten days, half a month or even a month." Pang Juan replied.

Wei Lang said angrily: "By the time the troops of the two counties have gathered together, the Qi army will have already broken through Daliang! It would take them at least ten days to gather the army, and several more days to rush over. It would be better to call for Gongzi Ang to come to support. Gongzi Ang's army will arrive in Daliang in ten days at most!"

In order to prevent the Battle of Guiling, Wei Shen stood up and dissuaded him: "Father, there are 50,000 imperial guards in Daliang City. It will be no problem to defend for one or two years."

Wei Ling still insisted: "I know we can hold out for one or two years, but it is my face that the Qi army has reached the capital of my Wei State! If this is spread out, how will the world view me! How will it view Wei State! Call Gongzi Ang to support immediately!"

Ji Liang stood up and advised: "Your Majesty, we can mobilize soldiers from Yecheng and Xiangling to come to support. The total number of soldiers in the two places is more than 40,000. Together with the soldiers in Daliang City, there are nearly 100,000. The soldiers from these two places can arrive in Daliang in five days at most. ”

Wei Lang once again demonstrated his skill of turning a deaf ear and ordered: "Order Prince Ang to quickly support Daliang! Tell him that the Qi army is heading straight for Daliang and Daliang will soon be lost, tell him to quickly support!"

Prime Minister Huizi also wanted to stand up and advise, but was gently pulled by Shen Dao on the side. Shen Dao whispered: "Prime Minister, the king asked Prince Ang to come here, ostensibly for his face, but in fact he wanted to test Prince Ang's loyalty. ”

Hui Shi understood instantly that Wei Ling still hadn’t let go of his suspicion of Gong Zi Ang. It was estimated that Wei Ling was still worried about the 100,000 troops in Gong Zi Ang’s hands. On the surface, it was for face, but secretly it was to test Gong Zi Ang.

At this time, Wei Shen really couldn’t figure out what Wei Ling was thinking? Why were there soldiers nearby? Why did he call Gong Zi Ang to come all the way for support?

After leaving the court, Wei Shen asked Xu Zi who was standing beside him. Seeing that there was no one around, Xu Zi whispered: "Your Highness, the king is actually testing Gong Zi Ang's loyalty. After all, Gong Zi Ang has 100,000 troops, and the king is still suspicious of him, so he wants to test Gong Zi Ang through this matter. ”

Wei Shen immediately understood why Pang Juan was defeated in the Battle of Guiling in history. It was probably not because the King of Wei did not want to mobilize other troops, but because he wanted to test Pang Juan's loyalty. On the surface, the Battle of Guiling in history was Sun Bin's extraordinary strategy, but behind the scenes, it was the turmoil in the court of Wei. The King of Wei's suspicion made Pang JuanWe can't get support back.

Wei Shen immediately said: "I think our army will lose this battle."

Xu Zi was surprised and said: "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

"The soldiers have been fighting outside for nearly a year, and some have rushed back to Daliang in a dusty state. They are exhausted from fighting and running around. Even a strong man can't bear it. How can they beat the Qi army?" Wei Shen sighed.

…………

Wei Army Camp

When Gongzi Ang learned that the king's envoy had arrived, he hurried out to greet him. As soon as the king's envoy got off the carriage, he read out the king's order: "According to the king's order, the Qi army of 100,000 has broken through several cities and defeated the defenders in various places many times. The army is heading straight to Daliang. Now the Qi army has reached Daliang City. The king asks the general to rush back to help. Please lead the army to Daliang as soon as possible."

After hearing this, Gongzi Ang's mind went blank for a moment, and he could only bite the bullet and say: "I obey the order!"

……………