Chapter Thirteen: On Strategic Alliances

  "Korea is surrounded by enemies on all sides, sir, how can you teach me?"

  After the host and guest were seated, the Crown Prince immediately got to the point. After all, Korea's geographical situation is really too bad. Fearing defeat, as if walking on thin ice, as if facing a deep abyss, that's the current situation in Korea.

  "Hmm." Fan Yu lowered his head and stopped speaking.

  "With a weak Korea surrounded by other countries, I beg of you, sir, to teach me." He then kowtowed again.

  "Hmm." Fan Yu continued without saying another word.

  "Sir, are you unwilling to impart your teachings to me?" The prince knelt for the third time and did not rise.

  Until then, Fan Yi let out a long sigh and said: "It's not like that. I heard that Jiang Shang had not yet met King Wen of Zhou when he was a fishing father fishing on the banks of Wei Yang. At that time, their relationship was very shallow. As a result of a speech, King Wen made him the Grand Preceptor, and they rode together in a carriage back to the palace. This is because Jiang Shang's words moved King Wen's heart, and eventually, King Wen got Jiang Shang's help to unify the world. If King Wen had kept his distance from Lü Shang and not had an in-depth conversation with him, the Zhou Dynasty would not have had the moral integrity to become the Son of Heaven, and Kings Wen and Wu would not have had anyone to assist them in achieving their great cause of unifying the world."

  Now, Fan Yi self-deprecatingly said: "At present, I am just a fugitive who is being pursued for his crimes, and my relationship with Your Highness the Crown Prince is very shallow. Yet what you hope I will say concerns great matters of state that involve supporting the ruler. I want to offer my loyalty to the fullest extent, but I do not know what Your Highness has in mind. This is why I did not dare respond when you asked me three times in a row. It's not that I am afraid of anything and therefore do not dare speak out. I am fully aware that if I present my proposals to you today, tomorrow I may be put to death for my crimes. But I will not try to avoid it. If Your Highness really follows what I say, then even if I die, I won't have any regrets; even if I become a fugitive, I won't feel any distress. Even if I am smeared with lacquer and left to suffer from ulcers, or if I let my hair hang down and pretend to be mad, I will not feel ashamed."

  "Moreover, even the wise and virtuous like the Five Emperors could not escape death, nor could the benevolent Three Kings. The able and virtuous Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons all died, the powerful and unmatched Wu Huo and Ren Bi also met their demise, and the brave and mighty Cheng Jing, Meng Pi, Wang Qingji, and Xia Yu all perished one by one. From this, it can be seen that death is an inevitable fate for everyone. Under the circumstances where I am clearly aware of my own mortality, if I can bring some benefit to Korea, that would be my greatest wish. What else do I have to worry about?"

  The crown prince was just about to make excuses for Fan Jie, no matter what he said, he would not be guilty of speaking. But then he heard Fan Jie walking alone to the window, gazing at the lonely moon, and suddenly spoke out with emotion.

  "In the past, Wu Zixu was put in a sack and escaped from Zhao Guan. He traveled at night and hid during the day, until he reached Ling Shui, where he couldn't even afford to eat. He had to crawl on his belly, bare his upper body, knock his head against things, and play the flute to beg for food in the streets of Wu. But later, he helped Wu rise to power and made Helü a hegemon. If I could be as clever and loyal to Han as Wu Zixu was, even if I were imprisoned again and never saw the crown prince, my plans would still come to fruition, so what would I have to worry about?"

  "In the past, Ji Zi and Jie Yu suffered humiliation and disfigurement, but it was of no benefit to their rulers. If I were to suffer the same fate as Ji Zi, with my hair disheveled and pretending to be mad, but could still offer some benefit to a ruler I consider wise and capable, that would be my greatest honor. What shame would I have? My only worry is that after I die, people will see that I was loyal to the crown prince and yet suffered death, and therefore they will stop coming to Han."

  "Shen Buhai changed the law to follow the envoy, enriching the people of Han but not making the state of Han strong. Now the wind of technical governance is prevalent throughout Korea, the ruler does not think about progress, and the scholars are drunk with power."

  "Now you have a dignified Korean king above, but below you are bewildered by the cunning and deceitful behavior of treacherous officials. You reside in the deep palace, unable to leave the grasp of your attendants, and for life remain perplexed and unclear, with no one to help you distinguish good from evil. If this continues, considering the larger picture, the country will perish; considering the smaller picture, after you ascend to the throne, your clan's power will be great, leaving you isolated and in a precarious position - this is what I worry about, nothing more. As for poverty, humiliation, and other such troubles, execution, exile, and other such calamities, I am not afraid of them. If I die and Korea becomes greatly prosperous, then my death would be more meaningful than my life."

  "This is what you say, sir! Korea is located in a place of four battles, and I am also shallow in learning. Now the wolves are surrounding us, and the foundation of our ancestors is not guaranteed even for a day. Fortunately, I have met you, which is heaven's permission to trouble you to preserve my ancestors' legacy. I can receive your teachings, this is heaven's gift to my ancestors, and not abandon their descendants. How can you say such things! From now on, no matter big or small, everything relies on your guidance, please do not doubt me."

  Fan Yi heard that the Crown Prince was so sure, and finally put down his airs, made a long bow and paid respects. The Crown Prince also hurried to return the courtesy.

  "The King of Korea is already old in years, and the Crown Prince taking over the country is a trend that cannot be stopped. I wonder how Your Highness the Crown Prince views the current state of the world?"

  The crown prince secretly thought to himself, the play is about to begin. Just now Fan Yi readily agreed to assist him, but as the master, he must show a certain level of ability. Otherwise, how can others have confidence in following him? In this era, there are two types of masters that ministers like: one is the incompetent type who listens to their advice; the other is the wise and enlightened ruler, which has prospects for advancement.

  After slightly clearing his mind, Taizi spoke slowly and calmly: "Then I'll briefly discuss the various countries. I hope you will enlighten me, sir."

  "Firstly, let's talk about the State of Yan. The State of Yan is located in a harsh and cold region, with the Eastern Hu to its north. However, it was greatly defeated by the Yan general Qin Kai, so its rear is stable. King Zhao of Yan worked hard to govern the state, making it strong and prosperous. He united five states to attack Qi, almost destroying it. But his son who succeeded him was deceived by Tian Dan's scheme, causing the failure of their great achievement, and the state's power began to decline. Looking at its governance, his talent is not even one-tenth of King Zhao's. Now the State of Yan is no longer a concern, and besides, Yan and Qi are already sworn enemies, so there will definitely be a war between them in the future."

  "Now that Tian Dan has been defeated, the state of Qi is no longer a threat to Qin. The state of Qi, which was once able to resist Qin, will never be the same again. Qin has lost its greatest enemy, and the six states of the east have lost their backbone. Afterwards, Qin and Zhao formed an alliance, and Qin began to make plans against Chu, while Zhao focused on attacking Qi."

  "It has been five years since Qin State broke through Yingyang, established Nanjun, and heavily damaged Chu State. Qin State turned its attention back to the Central Plains. In these two years, it subdued Han State and repeatedly attacked Wei State, which is the strategy for Qin's eastward expansion. A rift has already formed between Zhao State and Qin State, and a war will break out soon."

  The crown prince paused for a moment, seeing Fan Yi's calm face, seemingly without any reaction. He thought to himself, "Can't you at least give some kind of response? This expression is making me think..."

  "This is indeed a shallow view, sir, please teach me!" Prince Ze then had nothing to say and sincerely bowed once.

  Fan Yi was shocked. The Crown Prince's words were naturally well-known to him, but he didn't expect that a noble prince would be so well-versed in the overall situation of the world and not be biased, which is quite rare.

  Fan Yu sank into thought for a moment, then said: "Young master is too serious. I heard that Tang became king of the world with only 70 miles of land, and King Wen was able to subdue the feudal lords with just 100 miles of territory. Was it because they had many soldiers? No, it's because they were able to take advantage of their position and exert their authority."

  "Now Korea is in a situation where four wars are being fought, the country is weak but the land is rich, and other countries are coveting it. This is like an innocent man carrying a jade pendant being accused of a crime. However, when the country is wealthy, the people are strong, when the people are strong, the army is sharp, and when the army is sharp, other countries fear us. This is the way to survive! But sir, you can lead a weak army to defeat a strong enemy and achieve a complete victory!"

  "As you said, the state of Zhao is the hegemon of the north. At present, the power of Qi, Wei and Chu has greatly decreased, making it difficult for them to contend with Qin. Yan and Han are weak and insignificant to Qin. Among the six states in eastern China, only Zhao's national strength is flourishing, like a crane standing among chickens, which will inevitably attract the strong Qin to suppress."

  "In the view of Uncle, Zhao's strategy was to sit on a mountain and watch tigers fight. The lands of Han and Wei are located in the central plains, which serve as a southern shield for Zhao, so Zhao will not allow any loss. After the five states attacked Qi, the reason why Zhao and Qin formed an alliance was because Qin wanted to conquer Chu state, while Zhao wanted to take advantage of Qi state."

  "Originally, Qin, Zhao and Chu could have stood together as three strong powers, advancing to contend for dominance over the world, retreating to defend their ancestral industries. However, Bai Qi's three attacks on Chu State, with a small army defeating the powerful Chu state army, greatly declined the power of Chu State. On the contrary, Zhao State's attack on Qi State was more difficult."

  "Now that Chu's vitality is severely damaged and Qin has lost its worries, the plan to conquer the Central Plains is a must, and it will not change because of Zhao. Therefore, before Han and Wei have the worry of being destroyed, Zhao will not engage in an all-out war with Qin. Now that Zhao has fallen under Qin's eastward advancing chariots, Zhao's strategy of 'advancing north, defending south, allying west and attacking east' is no longer effective."

  "Thus, the trend of the world has become clear, and it is now a competition for hegemony between Qin and Zhao. The state of Zhao fears Qin and cannot but pull in Han and Wei to resist Qin. Last year, the state of Wei was repeatedly attacked by Qin and Zhao, and in the end, Wei had no choice but to ally with Zhao, which was actually the first confrontation between Qin and Zhao. In order to maintain a deep defense line in the south, Zhao and Wei joined forces to attack Huayang, with the intention of uniting with Han to resist the powerful Qin."

  At this point, Fan Yi smiled and said, "Who would have thought that the young master would launch a surprise attack on Huayang at night, greatly defeating the armies of Zhao and Wei, adding many variables to the original alliance between the three Jin states."

  The crown prince listened to these words, and suddenly understood the series of battles that had taken place. It was as if he had been enlightened. However, in his heart, he secretly lamented that according to the original history, Qin had launched a surprise attack from a thousand miles away, defeating the Eastern Mountains in one battle. The plan for the three Jin states to unite had also failed, and they eventually perished one by one.

  Of course, such an idea would never be spoken out loud by him.

  "Fortunately, I've learned a lesson." He couldn't help but feel pleased with himself for having won over this powerful figure.

  "Uncle has three plans to help the young master contend for hegemony over the world. Firstly, form an alliance with Zhao and Wei to resist Qin, this is a plan for self-preservation. Currently, the weakness of the Han state cannot be changed overnight, it must have allies in order to maneuver among the various lords. Being on good terms with Qin is like plotting with a tiger for its skin, currently the best choice is none other than the state of Zhao."

  "Secondly, reforming the system is essential; without reform, there is no way to become strong. The Korean technique of governance has been in place for a long time, but it only results in officials holding positions and enjoying salaries without doing any real work. Only by appointing people based on merit, clearly distinguishing rewards and punishments, can one be sufficient to strengthen the country and make its influence felt throughout the four neighboring countries."

  "Thirdly, distant alliances and nearby attacks. After the law is strong and great, there are no better distant alliances than Zhao and Qin, and no better nearby attacks than Wei, Chu, and Qi. Once you have obtained Wei, Chu, and Qi, you can retreat and form a tripod with Zhao and Qin, or advance and conquer all under heaven in one move!"

  "To hear one word from the master is better than reading ten years of books."

  Having heard Fan Yu's plan, the Crown Prince also became more determined in his original idea. At present, the best strategy for Korea is to unite with the three Jin states, defend itself and accumulate strength, reform and become stronger.

  Looking at the confident Fan Yu, Prince Yan thought to himself that he had managed to snatch away someone who originally belonged to Qin. Qin must still be like before, sometimes attacking Qi and sometimes attacking Wei; without a clear strategy, it would allow him to catch his breath.

  "What is the purpose of this trip to Korea for the unknown prince?" With the approval of Prince Ran, Fan Yu quickly entered the role of strategist.

  "Sir, I have come to form an alliance. Our Prime Minister Zhang Ping has also gone to the State of Zhao to discuss the matter." The crown prince replied accordingly.

  "What plan does the prince have for the 80,000 soldiers of Wei who are unaware?"

  "After Wei State pays the corresponding ransom and the alliance is successful, we will release him immediately." The crown prince explained with a smile.

  Fan Mou carefully measured the crown prince, and a wave of emotion surged in his heart. Originally, he was worried that Korea would incorporate the captured Wei army into its military forces, affecting the alliance. After all, this era is an era of grabbing people, and 80,000 well-trained soldiers will add no small amount of national strength.

  But seeing the crown prince being so knowledgeable about advancing and retreating, understanding the overall situation, not being arrogant or flustered. Alas! Korea has such an excellent crown prince! Following such a wise ruler, one's ambitions will surely be fulfilled!

  It seemed as if he had thought of something, and the prince smiled at Fan Yi: "Sir, rest assured that the alliance with Wei State will not affect your revenge. However, I still say that within ten years, your revenge will be avenged!"

  "I am ashamed, sir, for your kindness. I have nothing to repay you with, except that this life will not betray the trust you have placed in me."