Judgement of talents and talents has existed since ancient times. Those who attack others and promote themselves, are shameless and unscrupulous, and even murder people who are more talented than them, often have the opposite effect; their agencies are too clever, and they end up losing their lives. Pangjuan of during the Warring States Period is a typical example.
Pang Juan and Sun Bin were both famous generals during the Warring States Period in my country. They both studied the art of war under Guiguzi. Sun Bin was a descendant of the famous military strategist Sun Wu and was deeply influenced by his ancestral "The Art of War". Pang Juan was cunning and tried his best to get close to Sun Bin in order to achieve his own goals. and became brothers with him.
Pang Juan and Sun Bin
Pang Juan was from the Kingdom of Wei. It was said that King Hui of Wei in his country wanted to imitate Duke Xiao of Qin. He did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to recruit Shang Yang style heroes, so as to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and achieve hegemony. He knew that his senior brother Sun Bin was smarter than him, so he decided to explore Sun Bin's tone. After hearing this, Sun Bin agreed very much. Before parting, Pang Juan swore to Sun Bin: "If I have a chance to be promoted in Wei, I will definitely recommend my senior brother and share the wealth."
Pang Juan was also a man of real talent and learning. He used military force to govern the country. He explained the principles and methods to King Wei Hui, and he was very clear and logical. King Wei Hui felt that he was extraordinary and worshiped him as a general. So he arranged his troops and drilled his troops every day. Soon, he led his troops to attack several nearby small countries and won several battles. Later, even the great Eastern country Qi State was defeated by him. From then on, King Wei Hui trusted him even more. Pang Juan, who was arrogant and proud of himself, was a little arrogant and arrogant at this time, but he always had a problem in his heart, which was his senior brother Sun Bin. Sun Bin was more knowledgeable than him and was familiar with the "Art of War" passed down from his ancestors.
Pang Juan was afraid that Sun Bin would be used by other countries and become his enemy, so he recommended Sun Bin to King Wei Hui. King Hui of Wei also heard about Sun Bin's reputation, so he invited Sun Bin to Wei to work with Pang Juan. Pang Juan was afraid that King Wei Hui would reuse Sun Bin and neglect him, so he repeatedly slandered him in front of King Wei Hui and sent someone to cut off two of Sun Bin's kneecaps and tattoo them with words.
After Sun Bin was sentenced, Pang Juan pretended to take Sun Bin home to heal his wounds and provide support. Sun Bin was grateful to him and promised to write his ancestral "The Art of War" for him. Thanks to an old man who served Sun Bin beside him, he told Sun Bin all the truth about the matter. Only then did Sun Bin recognize Pang Juan's true face. One day not long after, he suddenly became crazy and lived on the street, sometimes even stuffing pig feces into his mouth. Pang Juan sent people to observe him for a long time and thought he was really crazy, so he relaxed his surveillance. It happened that an envoy from Qi State came to Wei State and secretly rescued Sun Bin and took him to Qi State in a car.
Qi State General Tian Ji had long heard that Sun Bin was a talented general, so he introduced him to King Wei of Qi. King Wei of Qi discussed the art of war with Sun Bin, and he wanted to grant him an official position. Sun Bin declined and said: "I will not receive salary for no merit. What's more, if Pang Juan learns that I am in Qi, he will be jealous again." Why don't I live in seclusion first, and when the king uses me, I will help him." King Qi Wei agreed to his request.
In 353 BC, King Hui of Wei sent Pang Juan to lead troops to attack Zhao State and surrounded Zhao State Handan . Zhao State had no choice but to ask Qi State for help. King Wei of Qi then worshiped Tian Ji as a general, hired Sun Bin as a military advisor, and sent troops to rescue Zhao. Tian Ji planned to lead his army directly to Zhao State to relieve Zhao State from the siege, but Sun Bin said: "If we avoid the real situation and avoid the false situation, the situation will change and the problem will naturally be solved. Now that all the elite soldiers and generals of Wei State are besieging Zhao State, the country must be empty." , we might as well besiege Wei's military fortress Xiangling first, Pang Juan will definitely withdraw his troops from Zhao to rescue him. By then, we will wait for him halfway and give him a head-on blow, and we will definitely defeat him." Tian Ji followed Sun Bin's advice. Strategize and act according to plan. As expected, Pang Juan returned to rescue, but was ambushed by the Qi army in Guiling. Pang Juan returned defeated.
In 342 BC, Pang Juan led his army to attack South Korea again. South Korea could not resist and asked Qi for help. The King of Qi also sent Tian Ji and Sun Bin to lead the Qi army to rescue.Sun Bin resorted to his old method again. Instead of directly rescuing Han, he led his army to besiege the capital of Wei. When Pang Juan heard that the capital was under siege, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops and rescue them. When they returned to the capital of Wei, the Qi army retreated again. Pang Juan felt that he was being teased by Sun Bin, so he ordered a pursuit. He was particularly careful this time, for fear of being ambushed by Sun Bin again.
Unexpectedly, in order to lure the enemy deeper this time, Sun Bin adopted the strategy of "setting up camp and reducing the number of enemies" to paralyze Pang Juan. However, Pang Juan mistakenly believed that the Qi army was fleeing heavily and was vulnerable, so he led his army to pursue the Qi army day and night, all the way to Maling. The mountains here are high and the valleys are far away, and it is very narrow. The Wei army pursued them in the dark on the winding mountain roads. Suddenly, soldiers from the front came to report: "The road ahead has been blocked by wood." Pang Juan was so anxious that he stepped forward to take a look. Sure enough, the trees nearby had been cut down, leaving only one big tree. Pang Juan was curious and took a closer look at the tree trunk. There seemed to be writing on the shadow, so he ordered the soldiers to take the torch and shine it, and saw the writing on the tree: "Pang Juan died under this tree." Pang Juan understood immediately, shouted that he had been deceived, and ordered him to evacuate quickly, but it was too late. At night, flying arrows from all around came like raindrops. In an instant, Pang Juan and the soldiers around him were hit by arrows and died. The surrounding Qi troops rushed down the mountain and killed the Wei army by surprise, and the entire army was wiped out.
From then on, Sun Bin became famous in various vassal states, and his military work "Sun Bin's Art of War" has been circulated to this day. "You must not have the intention to harm others, and you must have the intention to guard against others. If you do too much injustice, you will be killed yourself." This is the inspiration left to future generations by this story.
