Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Zhou Book 2 Scroll 2 (continued)
The 28th year of King Xian (341 B.C.)
Pang Juan of Wei led a raid on the state of Han, prompting Han to request aid from the state of Qi. King Wei of Qi sought advice from his advisers regarding when to come to Han’s aid. Marquis Cheng, the prime minister of Qi, Zou Ji, suggested not getting involved at all. Tian Ji disagreed, stating that aiding Han sooner was better to prevent Wei from annexing it. Sun Bin, however, had a different strategy.
“If we help the armies of Han and Wei before they are weakened, it’s like we are substituting for Han and brunt the assault of Wei‘s armies, effectively acting under the direction of Han. Furthermore, if Wei harbors ambitions to conquer other states and sees that Han is on the verge of collapse, Han will likely turn their sights to the east and seek support from Qi. Therefore, it is strategically sound to strengthen our ties with Han, profiting from their resources, while delaying our clash with Wei. In this way, we can secure significant benefits and enhance our reputation.”
King Wei of Qi approved Sun Bin‘s plan and promised assistance to Han while letting the Han envoy leave empty-handed. Han, with the assurance of Qi‘s support, entered the battlefield confidently but lost all five battles, eventually consigning the entire state to Qi at its mercy. Qi then sent its army, led by generals Tian Ji, Tian Ying, and Tian Pan, with Sun Bin as the chief strategist, to aid Han. The army moved directly toward Wei‘s capital.
Pang Juan, commander of Wei‘s forces, learned of Qi‘s movement and immediately returned with his army from Han. Wei mobilized its people to defend against Qi, appointing Crown Prince Shen as the commander. Sun Bin advised Tian Ji to use strategy to turn the situation in their favor.
“Those three states derived from Jin have always possessed formidable and valiant armies, while they consider Qi as having a reputation for timidity in battle. A wise military commander takes advantage of the enemy’s disposition and leads them toward his own advantage. As mentioned in the Art of War, ‘Charging a hundred li[Chinese mile] forward to engage the enemy might lead to the loss of a top general, while charging fifty li[Chinese mile] forward might cause half the troops to fall behind.’”
Sun Bin ordered the army to build one hundred thousand hearths on the first day upon entering Wei‘s territory. On the second day, they reduced the number to fifty thousand, and on the third day, to thirty thousand. Pang Juan heard this report and became overconfident, thinking that the soldiers of Qi feared them. He left his infantry behind and personally led his cavalry to chase the retreating Qi army all day and night.
Sun Bin, aware of Pang Juan‘s movement, estimated he would arrive at Maling at sunset. Maling was a place with a narrow path surrounded by barriers, ideal for an ambush. Sun Bin had a large tree trunk hacked and wrote “Pang Juan dies under this tree” in white characters. He then positioned archers around the path, instructing them to shoot when they saw fire after sunset.
At sunset, Pang Juan reached the hacked tree and lit a torch to read the white characters. Before he could finish reading, thousands of arrows were shot at him. The army of Wei fell into disarray, and realizing he had no way out, Pang Juan took his own life, saying, “I made that son of a bitch famous!” The troops of Qi capitalized on the momentum and routed the army of Wei, capturing Crown Prince Shen of Wei in the process.
Marquis Cheng, Zou Ji, held a strong dislike for Tian Ji. In an attempt to implicate Tian Ji, Marquis Cheng devised a cunning plan. He sent an individual carrying ten ounces of gold to a local market and engaged a fortune teller’s services. The fortune teller was told that the person seeking guidance was a follower of Tian Ji and that their lord had won three battles and was revered around the world. The fortune teller was further informed that their lord was planning a significant move and inquired whether it would be successful.As soon as the fortune teller completed the session and the customer left, Zou Ji had the fortune teller arrested. Tian Ji found himself unable to defend against the accusations of conspiracy and, in response, led an attack on the capital city of Linzi with his followers. Their aim was to capture Marquis Cheng. Unfortunately for Tian Ji, they were unable to breach the defenses of Linzi, leading him to flee to the state of Chu. Ji, they were unable to breach the defenses of Linzi, leading him to flee to the state of Chu.
Reflection by Rio Grande 
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