When Goujian’s father King Yunchang of Yue received the five swords, the King of Wu heard about them and came asking for them. Chunjun and Juque are both in Your Majesty’s palace.” Xue Zhu kowtowed and said, “I heard my late shifu talk about how he forged five swords for the late King. Tell me the good and bad of these five prized swords.” Goujian summoned Xue Zhu and said, “Your shifu Ou Yezi forged five swords at the orders of the late King. The next morning, Wen Zhong reported that he had sent men to Chu and that Xue Zhu had arrived. Then send men into Chu and recruit him to Yue at a high price.” He said, “Hurry and summon Xue Zhu, dafu. Feng Huzi is in Chu, while Xue Zhu remains in Yue.” Wen Zhong said, “I heard that Ou Yezi has two disciples, Feng Huzi and Xue Zhu. Is it possible that there is no successor in Yue after the death of Ou Yezi?” The State of Wu has such skilful swordsmith. Gan Jiang, Mo Ye, and Ou Yezi are no longer alive now. whose skill in forging sword is no less than them. A legendary swordsmith from the Spring and Autumn period. Yue has the talented sword maker Ou Yezi, 5 欧冶子 – Ōu Yězǐ. A famous swordsmith couple from the Spring and Autumn period. Goujian held the sharp blade that was as thin as paper, still preoccupied.Īfter some time, Goujian lifted his head and said, “Wen dafu, the State of Wu had the couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye 4 干将莫邪 – Gān Jiàng Mò Yé. By outnumbering their opponents, there is no battle they can’t win.”Īs they spoke, they arrived before the King of Yue. The Wu swordsmen held back three of our men with two while the other two attacked one man. When we are able to outnumber the enemy, our opponents will be in dire straits.’ The four Wu swordsmen fought against four of our Yue swordsmen. Thus we fight with ten against one and we outnumber them. “His art of war states, ‘We form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into ten. Although Qi and Jin were powerful countries, they also feared Sun Wu Zi’s vanguard. He was invincible and godlike in his use of his troops. When Sun Wu Zi assisted the King of Wu in state affairs, he commanded the army in their invasion of Chu and breached the capital of Ying. And their making good use of the teachings left behind by Sun Wu Zi when fighting in groups makes it even more difficult to deal with and to stomach.”įan Li said, “Indeed. Wen Zhong frowned and said, “Good brother Fan, it is indeed a disaster that the Wu swordsmen have sharp blades and exquisite swordsmanship. The eight swordsmen sent by the King of Wu displayed sharp blades and skilful swordsmanship that the warriors of Yue could not match.įan Li told Wen Zhong about what happened during the duel contest. Wen Zhong’s eight strategies were successful, but the ninth strategy encountered a major obstacle. Yue did not abide by the prevailing etiquette of the Central Plains, and used many despicable and abominable means to hurt Wu. The ninth was to forge weapons, train soldiers, and be ready to attack Wu.Īccording to comments in later generations, the Wu was civilised while the Yue was barbaric. The eighth was to stockpile provisions to strengthen the country’s resources. The seventh was to drive a wedge between the King of Wu and his loyal court officials, finally forcing Wu Zixu to take his own life. The sixth was to bribe treacherous court officials around the King of Wu to ruin state affairs. The fifth was to send craftsmen as gift to entice the King of Wu to build towers for his palace and expend his wealth and labour. and Zheng Dan to make the King of Wu obsessed with them and neglect state affairs. One of the Four Beauties of ancient China. The fourth was to send the beauties Xi Shi 2 西施 – Xī Shī. The rice would not grow and famine would befall upon the State of Wu. Seeing the grain is large, the King of Wu would distribute it to the peasants as seeds for crops. The third was to borrow grain from the State of Wu and return with larger, steamed grain. The second was to gift the King of Wu a large amount of coins to let him become used to extravagance and to remove his wariness towards Yue. Literally heaven and earth, it means the universe., serve ghosts and gods, teach the way of the gods, and let the King of Yue have the desire to win. The first of the nine strategies was to respect heaven and earth 1 天地 – Tiāndì.
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