How did the Qi army encircle Wei and save Zhao?

Sun Bin was a famous strategist in the Warring States Period. When he was young, he studied Sun Tzu's Art of War with Pang Juan. Later, Pang Juan became a general of Wei, jealous of Sun Bin's talent, tricked Sun Bin into Wei, cut off Sun Bin's kneecap and made him disabled.

With the help of Qi envoys, Sun Bin fled to Qi and became Qi Weiwang's strategist. Taking Wei to save Zhao is a war between Sun Bin and Pang Juan.

During the Warring States period, Wei took the lead in carrying out political and military reforms in many vassal States, and the country gradually became stronger and annexed some weak vassal States. At that time, the national strength was comparable to that of Wei, with Qi in the east and Qin in the west.

In 354 BC, the powerful state of Wei attacked Zhao, and Pang Juan, the general of Wei, commanded the army to surround the capital of Zhao. Knowing that he was too weak to resist Wei Jun, Zhao Chenghou dedicated the land of Zhongshan to Qi, and asked Qi to send troops to rescue him. So Qi appointed Tian Ji as the general, Sun Bin as the strategist, and led the army to the rescue.

Tian Ji originally planned to directly lead the army to fight Wei Jun in Zhao, but Sun Bin had an idea: "We will ambush the army on the road and publicize Xiangling who attacked Wei. Knowing this, Wei Jun will definitely withdraw the troops surrounding Handan and come back to save Xiangling. If we stop the road halfway, we will definitely win. "

Sun Bin advocated the flexible tactics of avoiding the real and making the imaginary, and marched straight into the capital of Wei, resulting in the annihilation of Enemy at the Gates and the whole army. Tian Ji adopted Sun Bin's plan.

Tian Ji intends to lead his troops to Handan, detour the posterior route of Wei Jun, and attack Zhao from inside and outside to solve the siege of Handan. Sun Bin thought it was too late to confront Wei Jun immediately.

Sun Bin explained: "To untie the tangled silk thread, you can't pull it hard with your hands, you can only straighten it out slowly. You can only coax a fight, but you can't participate by yourself. The reason for clearing the area is the same. You can't head-on and confront each other head-on, but you should avoid reality and be empty, that is, avoid the enemy's dominant position and attack its weak position, and naturally solve its encirclement. "

Sun Bin went on to say, "At present, Wei and Zhao are fighting each other, and almost all the elites of Wei Jun are abroad. There are only some old, weak and disabled soldiers left in the state of Wei. It is best to lead the Qi army to the girder of Weidu as soon as possible and cut off the main traffic routes in Wei Jun. Pang Juan will be forced to give up Handan and rescue the girder, and the siege of Handan will be solved without a fight. "

Tian Ji listened to Sun Bin's plan, and immediately commanded the Qi army to go straight to the girder, cut off Wei Jun's retreat, and occupied favorable terrain to wait for Wei Jun to save himself from Handan Li.

Pang Juan was forced to abandon the siege of Handan after hearing the news that the Qi army attacked the girder, and led the army to return to China for rescue. When I arrived in Guiling, I was attacked by the Qi army lying in ambush here. After the fierce fighting between the two sides, Wei Jun was defeated and Pang Juan almost died. The Qi army successfully foiled Wei Jun's attempt.

In the history of war, this tactic is called "encircling Wei to save Zhao". From then on, Sun Bin became famous all over the world, and the world scrambled to tell his art of war.