During the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), Sun Bin acted as a military adviser to the State of Qi. Since the Qi army won many battles under his leadership, Sun Bin became one of the most famous military strategists of that period.
One year, the king of the State of Wei appointed General Pang Juan to attack the State of Zhao. Under his leadership, the Wei troops defeated the Zhao army several times in succession, and besieged its capital, Handan. Faced with the imminent danger of national subjugation, the king of Zhao State turned to its neighboring State of Qi for help. King Wei of Qi State agreed to help. He had Sun Bin and General Tian Ji command an army to help their neighbor. During the march, Sun Bin spoke to Tian Ji, “The Zhao army is much weaker than the Wei forces in terms of combat capacity. Zhao’s general can’t rival Pang Juan, either. Moreover, Handan is much more distant from us than from the State of Wei. It is very much likely that Pang Juan’s army will have already captured Handan before we arrive. ” Hearing this pessimistic analysis, Tian Ji asked anxiously, “You mean we can’t save Zhao?” Sun Bin smiled and said, “I have an idea to help them.” “What is it? Tell me!” Tian Ji asked. Sun Bin replied, “We must pretend to attack Xiangling. That is an important Wei town. If Pang Juan learns of our attack on Xiangling, he will definitely give up the siege of Handan and return to defend it. At that time, we can lie in ambush and attack them on their way back home.
Pang Juan would be so desperate to save his own country that he will never expect to encounter such an ambush. In this way, we can maybe achieve a great victory.” Tian Ji lit up with hope at Sun Bin’s shrewd plan. He led the army to Guiling, a place Pang Juan and his troops had to pass by on their way back to Wei. Tian Ji and Sun Bin prepared their army to carry out the ambush. They also told the soldiers to spread the rumor that they were going to attack Xiangling.
Pang Juan and his army were just about to destroy the Zhao when they suddenly heard the rumour that the Qi army was going to attack Xiangling. In a rush, Pang Juan withdrew his troops from Handan and rushed back to try to save this Wei town. On arriving at Guiling, they were ambushed by the Qi army. Commanded by Sun Bin and Tian Ji, the Qi force cut its enemy to pieces and sent them fleeing in confusion. The siege of Zhao was thus lifted, and this battle became known in history as “Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao”.
