Sun Bin is crazy, he doesn't know love and he doesn't know love. Zhong Li Qiu was so worried that he didn't eat or drink and lay on his sleeping couch, no matter how Zhong Li Chun tried to persuade him, Zhong Li Qiu couldn't listen to him. On that day, Gongsun Yue came to Zhong Li's house with expensive gifts, and said to Zhong Li Chun: “I have long admired the beauty and virtue of Miss Zhong Li Qiu, and I want to take her as my wife, so I am sending her a bride price, please accept it.”

  Zhong Li Chun had no good feelings towards Gongsun Yue, he spoke coldly and asked him to leave.

  Gongsun Yue leisurely said, “If Zhong Li Qiu marries me, I can make her forget about crazy Sun Bin.”

  Gongsun Yue's words touched Zhong Li Chun, it's imperative to make her sister forget Sun Bin. Her tone eased up a lot and said to Gongsun Yue, “Gongsun Yue, as Marshal Pang's strategist, you should know the etiquette, the bride price should be sent by your parents or elder brother.”

  Gongsun Yue laughed, “Miss Zhong Li doesn't know, Gongsun Yue was originally from Qi, Qi was in civil unrest, and my parents died. I traveled all over the world alone and finally came to Wei, Marshal Pang took me in, Marshal Pang is my elder brother, these bride price is what Marshal Pang asked me to send.”

  Zhong Li Chun was also a native of Qi, and also left the country because of the civil strife, and hearing such words from Gongsun Yue, he intended to accept the bride price. Zhong Li Qiu angrily walked out from the inner room and said to Gongs Yueun, “Gongs Yueun, take the bride price back!”

  Gongsun Yue was all smiles as he said, “Zhong Li Qiu, your sister has already accepted the bride price.”

  Zhong Li Qiu was still furious: “I won't accept it if she does, if you want to marry her, you marry her!” After saying this, he turned around and went into the inner room.

  Zhong Li Qiu's actions made Zhong Li Chun unable to get down in front of Gongsun Yue, she said to Gongsun Yue, “Mr. Gongsun Yue, I'm really sorry, you go back first, I'll persuade her.”

  Zhong Li Chun sent Gongsun Yue away and returned to the inner room. She sat beside Zhong Li Qiu and persuaded her in a pleasant manner, “Sister, Gongsun Yue has a good appearance and is Marshal Pang's strategist, what is it that makes him unworthy of you?”

  Zhong Liqiu sneered back, “Didn't you say, these military strategists are used to scheming, their words can't be trusted.”

  “I'm talking about Pang Juan, he has his own agenda in letting you marry Sun Bin. Gongsun Yue is different, he's been in love with you for a long time and is sincere in marrying you.”

  “I don't believe in his sincerity, I believe in Sun Bin.”

  Zhong Li Chun lusted and said, “Sun Bin is a madman, he doesn't know fragrance and odor, he can't distinguish between humans and animals, how can you marry him?”

  “I'll wait for him, I'll marry him when he gets better.”

  “What if you can't get well for the rest of your life?”

  Zhong Li Qiu said with tears in her eyes, “If I can't get well, I won't marry anyone else!”

  Zhong Li Chun was instantly enraged, “You have to marry even if you marry, you have to marry even if you don't, I have the final say in your marriage!”

  Zhong Li Qiu said to her sister very seriously, “If you force me to marry, I'll die, this time it's not a joke!” After saying this, she flopped down on the bed and bawled her eyes out, heartbroken to the core.

  Zhong Li Chun looked painfully at her sister who was crying in pain and said, “Sister, don't cry, I won't force you, I'll go back to Gongsun Yue ......”

  Zhong Li Chun brought Gongsun Yue's bride price to Gongsun Yue's residence, and said to Gongsun Yue without any apology, “Mr. Gongsun Yue, I am really sorry, my sister refused to agree to it, so I had to send the bride price back.”

  Gongsun Yue was silent for a while and said slowly, “I understand Zhong Li Chun's mood, I can wait for her ...... five years, ten years, twenty years, I'll wait for my whole life!”

  Zhong Li Chun saw Gongsun Yue so infatuated, it is not good to say anything else, only to leave.

  Zhong Li Chun decided to kill Sun Bin in order to break her sister's romance. She found Sun Bin roaming on the street and said she was here to save him and brought him to the outskirts of the countryside in the woods off the beaten path. Zhong Li Chun strained her face and said to Sun Bin with a straight face, “Sun Bin, I didn't bring you here to save you, but to kill you!” She said drawing her sword.

  Sun Bin froze, limped back and ran, screaming as he ran, “Mister save me, the King of Wei wants to kill me!”

  Zhong Li Chun jumped in front of Sun Bin and blocked his way. Sun Bin turned to the left, Zhong Li Chun stopped in front of him again, the sword in his hand pointed at Sun Bin's throat and sneered, “With your two ruined legs, you still want to run?”

  Sun Bin sat his ass down on the ground and faced Zhong Li Chun, his forehead kept kowtowing to his arched hands, “Great King spare your life, Great King spare your life, I'll never run again, I'll never invite the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals again ......”

  “Don't kowtow! I am not the Great King.” Said Zhong Li Chun kicking Sun Bin.

  “You're the Great King, my life is in the hands of the Great King, please spare my life.” Sun Bin looked naive and said kowtowing to Zhong Li Chun again.

  Zhong Li Chun slapped Sun Bin's shoulder hard with the back of his sword and said sternly: “It's useless for you to kowtow, I'll kill you as usual!”

  Sun Bin immediately sat up straight and looked at Zhong Li Chun dumbfounded, asking “Why did you kill me?”

  Zhong Li Chun said in a hateful voice: “For my sister Zhong Li Qiu! She was deeply in love with you, and now you are crazy, but she still misses you ...... as long as you live in the world, she will not marry for life. I can't let you harm my sister, I must kill you!”

  Sun Bin resumed his normal human demeanor and looked up to the sky and sighed, “Sun Bin is empty of The Art of War, not only can he not ride the battlefield and establish a career, he can't even keep his own life, this is the will of God ah ......”

  Zhong Li Chun heard this and looked at Sun Bin blankly and asked suspiciously, “Are you really crazy or pretending to be crazy?”

  Sun Bin smiled bitterly, “Of course I'm pretending to be crazy.”

  “Why are you pretending to be crazy?”

  “Pang Juan wanted to kill me, so in order to avoid the danger of killing me, I had to pretend to be crazy.”

  “Pang Juan and you are like brothers, how could he kill you? Are you talking crazy again?” Zhong Li Chun was still puzzled.

  Sun Bin told Zhong Li Chun exactly what happened before and after Pang Juan set him up. Zhong Li Chun is a cynical and chivalrous woman, she angrily scolded Pang Juan for hiding a knife in his smile and framing his brother for death! She advised Sun Bin to escape from Wei. Sun Bin sighed: “I can't walk fast on my legs and I have no one to help me, how can I escape?”

  Zhong Li Chun said “I'll find you a car and help you escape from Wei.”

  Sun Bin shook his head, “No, you can't do it alone, if Pang Juan realizes I'm missing, he'll immediately send people to chase after me, with the strength of one person, we can't escape, and even if we do, it's hard to find a place to land.”

  Zhong Li Chun asked, “What do you say?”

  Sun Bin said in a deep voice: “We must rely on the power of a country, preferably Qi.”

  Zhong Li Chun, in order to rescue Sun Bin, disguised herself as a man and traveled day and night to Qi, a country to the east of Wei. She heard that Tian Ji, the general of Qi, was upright and frank and held military power, so she went to visit Tian Ji and told him about Sun Bin being framed by Pang Juan and asked him to rescue Sun Bin. Tian Ji was worried that Sun Bin was a key criminal of Wei, if he rescued Sun Bin, Wei would raise an army to ask for punishment and he couldn't explain to the King of Qi.

  Zhong Li Chun said, “Sun Bin can free Qi from the threat of Wei.”

  Tian Ji smiled slightly and said, “You're overstating it, a Sun Bin doesn't have that much power.”

  “Sun Bin's talent is far above Pang Juan's, and he also possesses The Art of War, which can enable one to win a hundred battles.”

  “Sun Tzu's Art of War was lost with the fall of Wu.”

  “There's another set of copies, in the hands of Mr.Guigu, who has passed it on to Sun Bin.”

  “It's hard to convince me with this claim of yours.”

  Tian Ji's schemer, Qin Gu, was a very insightful young man who had been observing the female disguised Zhong Li Chun when he requested Tian Ji to rescue Sun Bin. At this time he said to Tian Ji, “General, this ......” He glanced at Zhong Li Chun and then said, “What this scion said is not unfounded, a few years ago I heard Mr. Mo Zhai say that a copy of The Art of War is in Mr.Guigu's hands, Mr.Guigu never passes this Art of War to others. And since Sun Bin is a descendant of Sun Wu Zi, it's not impossible for Mr.Guigu to pass the Art of War to him.”

  Tian Ji knew that Qin Gu wanted him to rescue Sun Bin and said in a difficult manner, “Rescuing Sun Bin is bound to offend Wei, this is a major matter and should be reported to the King.”

  Qin Gu said, “It's precisely because of the importance of this matter that you can't report it to the King. Qi has repeatedly lost to Wei, if the king knows about this, he will never offend Wei because of Sun Bin.”

  Although Tian Ji thought what Qin Gu said was reasonable, he was still hesitant.

  Qin Gu could see that Tian Ji was skeptical of Sun Bin's talent and didn't want to take such a big risk, so he said, “General, I'll take a trip to Wei as an emissary of Qi to meet Sun Bin and test him face to face, if he's a talented person, I'll try to find a way to save him, if not, I'll just hit the road and go back to my country, how's that?”

  Tian Ji thought about it again and again, and finally agreed to Qin Gu. Zhong Li Chun was thus very grateful to Qin Gu.

  Qin Gu personally went to the countryside to send off Zhong Li Chun, he intentionally broke Zhong Li Chun's identity as a girl, and said that it was because Zhong Li Chun disguised herself as a man to save her friend and persevered that he was impressed, and that he must help Zhong Li Chun's favor to save Sun Bin. Zhong Li Chun was more grateful to Qin Gu.

  Qin Gu came to Wei as an emissary of Qi, and first paid an audience to King Hui of Wei according to the etiquette, and expressed to King Hui of Wei that the King of Qi would like to reconcile the two countries. Afterwards, Qin Gu went to see Pang Juan and offered him precious jewelry, saying that General Tian wanted to make friends with the marshal. Pang Juan smiled faintly and said, “I am General Tian's enemy, how can I make friends with him?”

  Qin Gu said calmly, “In today's world, the lords are fighting for supremacy, the strong win and the weak die, the kings and generals, for the sake of the survival of their respective countries, are enemies today, but can be friends tomorrow, even if only temporarily.”

  Pang Juan, intending to make things difficult for Qin Gu, added: “What if I am not willing to make friends with General Tian?”

  “Qi has lost several times to Wei, it is no longer capable of competing with Wei for supremacy, and Chu has submitted to Wei, the only one who can compete with Wei for supremacy today is Qin, and Wei should make friends with General Tian if it wants to defeat Qin.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “This is a matter between the two countries, as long as the kings of the two countries are friends, it doesn't matter if General Tian and I make friends or not.”

  “That is a poor thing to say, Marshal. Wei is not strong because of the King of Wei, but is invincible because of the Marshal, if the Marshal does not agree to be General Tian's friend, my King and General Tian will have trouble sleeping and eating.”

  Pang Juan laughed out loud and said, “Mr. Fowl, you are very good at talking.” Ordering the men to take the jewelry, Qin Gu saluted Pang Juan and thanked him. Pang Juan was puzzled and asked, “Mr. Fowl, you gave me the jewels, I should thank you, why are you thanking me?”

  Qin Gu replied, “I've heard it said that there are many countries willing to give the marshal jewelry, but the marshal will rarely accept it. As long as the marshal is willing to accept it, he intends to be friends with that country. The fact that Marshal Pang accepted our Qi's jewelry today shows that he intends to be friends with Qi. If Marshal Pang is friends with Qi, other countries won't dare to belittle Qi, and as an emissary of Qi, of course I should thank the marshal.”

  Pang Juan admired Qin Gu and personally hosted a banquet to entertain him.

  When Zhong Li Chun learned that Qin Gu had come to Wei, he immediately rushed to the guest house where Qin Gu was staying, and waited until the moon climbed over the treetops from the setting of the sun, but still did not see Qin Gu return, so Zhong Li Chun could not help but feel anxious. The attendant of Qin Gu said that Qin Gu was a person who loved to socialize and often stayed up all night if he was in the mood to do so, so he asked Zhong Li Chun to come back tomorrow.

  Zhong Li Chun was about to leave when Qin Gu came back and Zhong Li Chun wanted to take him to see Sun Bin immediately. Qin Gu looked at the sky outside the window and said, “It's so late, better wait for tomorrow.”

  Zhong Li Chun said, “Mr. Sun said that an army is precious.”

  Qin Gu s eyes lit up and said, “Soldiers are precious ...... Good, this sentence is good. Let's go, let's go see him.”

  Since Pang Juan took Sun Bin's insanity at face value, Sun Bin has been leaving early and returning late, sometimes begging, sometimes telling people's fortunes, sometimes talking and laughing, sometimes crying sadly and incessantly. At first, Pang Juan sent people to keep an eye on him, but later on, he became lax, and he often stayed in the marketplace, not returning home for a few nights. On this night, according to his promise with Zhong Li Chun, he was lying on the side of the street with a disheveled face, waiting for Zhong Li Chun.

  Gongsun Yue passed by in his carriage and saw Sun Bin lying on the side of the street, he jumped out of the carriage and told the driver to drive away first. Gongsun Yue came to Sun Bin's side and advised, “Sun Bin, it's better to go back to your house and rest.”

  Sun Bin looked back at him and said, “Back to the mansion? Heavenly Mansion or Earthly Mansion?”

  Gongsun Yue sneered, “Mr. Sun, don't act crazy in front of me.”

  Sun Bin sat up, looked around and said, “Mr. Gongsun, didn't we agree that you don't care about my affairs, and I don't ask about yours.”

  “I want to get Zhong Li Qiu, but she hasn't agreed so far, I want you to help me think of a way.”

  “I don't have a solution for women's affairs.”

  Gongsun Yue smiled coldly, “If I can't get Zhong Li Chun, I can't continue to keep your affairs a secret.”

  Sun Bin had a feeling that Zhong Li Chun would be arriving soon and wanted to get rid of Gongsun Yue quickly, so he said, “Give me a few days to think about it.”

  Gongsun Yue left and Sun Bin reclined by the street. Zhong Li Chun flashed out from behind a house, walked up to Sun Bin and whispered, “Mr. Sun, follow me.”

  Sun Bin climbed up, looked around, and followed far behind Zhong Li Chun.

  Gongsun Yue didn't go far, he hid in the shadows of a store and looked at the far away Zhong Li Chun and Sun Bin with a sinister smile on his face.

  Sun Bin followed Zhong Li Chun to a humble inn and met Qin Gu who was dressed as a merchant. After Sun Bin and Qin Gu saluted each other, Zhong Li Chun helped Sun Bin sit on a mat cushion.

  Qin Gu looked at Sun Bin's disabled legs and opened the door, “Forgive me, Mr. Sun's legs are so weak, how can you fight on the battlefield in the future?”

  Sun Bin said calmly, “It's the general who conquers the frontier, I just want to be a schemer and advise the general to win on the frontier.”

  “A schemer may remain obscure for the rest of his life.”

  “I am an invalid, I do not seek fame, but merit.”

  Qin Gu thought for a moment and asked “There are two countries, one is strong and the other is weak, you are the strategist of the weaker country, what can you do to make the army of the weaker country defeat the stronger country?”

  Sun Bin replied, “First, make the country's government prosperous and bright so that the people and the king are of one mind; second, have the timing of the day when fighting; third, possess the advantage of the location; fourth, have people with wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness as generals; and fifth, have a strict military system and the control of food and provisions. This is what Sun Tzu's Art of War calls Dao, Heaven, Earth, Generals, and Law.”

  Qin Gu nodded slightly and continued to ask, “What is the superior strategy to defeat the enemy?”

  “Sun Tzu said: the upper strategy is to defeat the enemy. Thwart the enemy's battle strategy.”

  “And secondly?”

  “The next best thing is to cut down communication. Thwart the enemy's diplomacy.”

  “And again?”

  “Fail the army. Defeat the enemy's army.”

  “And next?”

  Sun Bin replied, “Attack the city.”

  Qin Gu high-fived, “Wonderful! That's a fantastic answer! Mr. Sun, Qin Gu is going to save you from danger even if his liver and brain are on the ground!”

  Sun Bin was touched to the core and said, “Mr.Qin, Sun Bin will never forget your great kindness ......” and said he got up and wanted to kneel in front of Qin Gu, Zhong Li Chun grabbed a step forward and pulled Sun Bin back, “Mr. Sun, your legs, you can't kneel. ”

  “I can't express my gratitude to Mr. Bird without kneeling.”

  “This isn't the time to be grateful, it's time to quickly discuss how to leave Wei.”

  Qin Gu said to Sun Bin, “Miss Zhong Li is right, Mr. Sun, I need to save you from getting out but I can't alarm Wei, do you have any good ways?”

  “There is one way ......”

  Messy footsteps came from outside the inn. A group of soldiers pushed their way in, they were here to find Sun Bin. Zhong Li Chun wanted to go forward to stop them, but was pulled back by Qin Gu. Qin Gu whispered, “A little impatience is a big mistake.”

  Zhong Li Chun let out a long sigh, “For such a brilliant man to be subjected to such an insult, I just can't bear it.”

  “In order for Mr. Sun to no longer be insulted, one must endure even if one cannot endure ......”

  Zhong Li Chun and Qin Gu watched as the soldiers took Sun Bin away.

  Sun Bin was put back into the pigsty and couldn't go out for days on end. Sun Bin felt a bit surprised and suspected Gongsun Yue told Pang Juan about him pretending to be crazy. Sun Bin threatened Gongsun Yue who came to visit him in the pig pen, “Telling Pang Juan about me won't do you any good, you're the one who leaked his plot.”

  Gongsun Yue didn't mind, “If I can't get Zhong Li Qiu, I'd rather take the risk.”

  Sun Bin didn't show any weakness either, “If you dare to take the risk, why wouldn't I, a crazy person with no strings attached, dare to do so?”

  Gongsun Yue smiled, “You wouldn't dare because of Zhong Li Chun and that Qi messenger.”

  Sun Bin froze and asked “How do you know?”

  Gongsun Yue replied, “You went to the inn together, I saw it all.”

  Sun Bin was very angry and called Gongsun Yue despicable.

  Gongs Yueun didn't get angry, he said to Sun Bin: “Don't be angry, if I didn't see it, someone else would have seen it and it would have been worse. Mr. Sun, Pang Juan didn't let his guard down on you, there are people watching you every day. You have no other way out but to help me get Zhong Li Qiu in exchange for my help.”

  Sun Bin was silent for a moment and said, “I'll reply to you in a few days.”

  Gongsun Yue smiled coldly and said, “After a few days, you won't be in Wei anymore.”

  Sun Bin said, “It's precisely because I'm not in Wei that I won't get in your way.”

  Gongsun Yue thought that Sun Bin had a point and agreed to help Sun Bin leave Wei.

  One dark and windy night, Zhong Li Chun and one of Qin Gu's attendants climbed over the courtyard wall of the Pang Mansion and quietly came to the pig pen. Gongsun Yue, who had been waiting outside the pig pen, flashed out from the dark shadows and opened the door of the pig pen. Zhong Li Chun and the attendant walked into the pig pen. Sun Bin and the follower changed into each other's clothes. The follower dirtied his face and messed up his hair and lay on his side in the pig pen like Sun Bin. Gongsun Yue took Sun Bin and quietly left the Pang Mansion.

  Early the next morning, Sun Bin hid in Qin Gu's carriage and drove sharply to the east towards Qi. He felt that the sun in the east was so bright and beautiful and lamented, “I really didn't expect that I, Sun Bin, would still have a day to shine.”

  Before the words left his mouth, there were several troop cars chasing towards them in the distance. Qin Gu hurriedly told Sun Bin to hide under the burlap in the car.

  The speeding carriages caught up with them and on the first car sat Pang Juan. Pang Juan asked Qin Gu in a loud voice: “Why did Mr.Qin leave without saying goodbye?”

  “Yesterday I went to my residence to say goodbye, and the marshal was not there.”

  “Mr.Qin, you cannot leave Wei.”

  Qin Gu froze, thinking did Pang Juan find out about Sun Bin ...... He quickly calmed down again and said to Pang Juan, “I'm an emissary from Qi, why can't I leave Wei?”

  Pang Juan laughed, “I once said that Mr.Qin is a very smart person, I appreciate you, if you can stay in Wei, I'll make sure that the king reuses you.”

  Qin Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, “General thinks so highly of Qin Gu, I can't thank you enough, but Qin Gu promised General Tian that he would serve him for three years, so Qin Gu doesn't dare to renege on his promise.”

  “And after three years?”

  “I will follow the most outstanding soldier in the world.”

  “Good, I will wait for you after three years.”

  Pang Juan's carriage flashed aside.

  Qin Gu nodded his head in greeting and drove his carriage, carrying Sun Bin towards the east towards Qi.

  Note: “The Golden Cicada Shelling” is the twenty-first of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the original meaning is to keep the original form, confuse the enemy, and move in concealment. Sun Bin and others followed this plan, let Qi servants dress up as Sun Bin, pretended to be his shell, got out of the shell and fled from Wei. To know what happened next, please read next time: “Substitute the plum for the peach”.