He Lu, the Marquis of Wu, sat imperiously in his throne. Browsing through the thirteen chapters presented to him by the recluse, he admitted that he was greatly impressed, but as anyone knew, war was a matter of life and death. To leave it in the hands of mere pedant who had never gone to war was pure madness. With seasoned generals like Wu Zixu and Bo Pi and his side, why would he need this young cocky man simply because he wrote an interesting book.

“What makes you think this will work, Zixu?” The Marquis finally asked his general.

“Sun Tzu is a brilliant strategist, Lord. You can see from his works yourself. There are many who seeks his service, but he is a discerning man who has not yet found a worthy lord,” Zixu replied confidently.

“I understand you wish to avenge yourself upon Ch’u, General, but they are the most powerful state in the south. Their armies outnumber us ten to one. I can not hazard my men and possibly the independence of Wu on a wild throw of dice with this man. He is yet unproven in combat.” He Lu said, “It is one thing to write an impressive book that espouses fine ideas with bold words, but quite another to lead men through blood, sweat, and iron…when their wounds make them cry for merciful death. General, you know this as well as I, for you are such leader of men. You have been tested, once too often.”

The mere mention of Ch’u made Wu Zuxi grimace in anger and hatred as he remembered what the evil Marquis of Ch’u had done to his family. Once, he had been a man of Ch’u, second son to a great noble. The Marquis was an illegitimate son who had seized power through treachery. As one of the loyalist nobles, his father had been branded and imprisoned, clearly bound for death row. But Zuxi and his brother had not been at the capital, so the evil Marquis felt it necessary to lure them out lest they endanger his position later.

The Marquis forced his father to write a letter telling them to come to the capital and be appointed to his positions. While his elder brother dutifully agreed and was killed, Zixu heroically refused and fled to Wu. After helping Helu usurp the throne from his less worthy cousin, he was now his most trusted general, but the pain of betrayal by Ch’u had never left his smoldering, burnt soul.

“Then, let him prove himself, Lord. The other states, Ch’u, Shu, Yueh, Lu, and even Ch’in and Chin would not request his service if he were not worthy. Yet, he is a man of Wu, and he is here in our state now.” Zuxi confidently asserted.

“Very well,” Lord Helu replied, “Bring him 1,500 talents of gold and invite him to my court, if that is your wish, Zuxi. I owe much to your service, and if this is your advice, I shall follow it.”

“T’is, my Lord.” Zuxi replied, “and you will not regret it.” Zuxi clasped his fist to open him in show of respect and went off to lead the contingent on nobles to meet Sun Tzu.

Sun Tzu sat comfortably in his sedan chair in the village as Wu Zuxi and the nobles of Wu humbly approached him. Smiling calmly, he greeted the foremost general of Wu, “What brings the great Wu Zuxi to the humble abode of this poor scholar? I am but a peaceful farmer living in retirement.”

The irony was clear, for Zuxi was seven years older than Sun Tzu and the last thing on his mind was retirement. The calmness and brilliance radiated from Sun Tzu’s face like light on a candle.

“Master Sun,” The general replied, “A humble scholar and man of peace would not write the Art of War. Our lord is awash in flames of battles, waiting for a hero like you to snuff it out. Come serve Lord Helu. You will be rewarded with endless wealth and honor. I will lead your armies to glory and make our Lord the true Hegemon of this land like Ch’i Heng Gong and Chin Hian Gong before him.”

But Sun Tzu would not be so easily swayed by words, “Your Lordship is a master general in your own rights. What need you of me? Why create another rival in court, Zuxi? Besides, my idyllic life serves me well. What need I of glory and wealth?”

But Zuxi had bought 1,500 talent of gold to court the greatest strategist in the land and led an army of nobles. A man who escapes the jaws of death at Ch’u is not so easily swayed by failure. He had done his homework, and so it was with these words that he spoke, “Sun Tzu, do you not think I know that we are kindred spirits? Many years ago, you left this cottage to learn of various things and spy on Ch’u. The tyrant murdered your mother. How can you leave her soul unavenged? You are a man of Wu. Join us. Make your state great again, win glory for your country and vengeance for your soul! Surely, you will not have men say that the Art of War is just a useless scholarly work that can not be put to practice!”

The words hit Sun Tzu to the core of his soul, so he had made up his mind to return with Zuxi to serve the Marquis of Wu. But unwilling to show his anger, he calmly replied, “Very well, General, let us go, but if one day we shall become rivals, let it be known that it was your own doing and not mine.”

But Wu Zuxi and the high nobles of Wu went on their knees and bowed to the scholar before Zuxi said, “I am your servant, Master Sun Tzu. A wild wolf such as me is no rival to the Great Dragon of Wu.” So in this manner, Sun Tzu went with the General to Wuzhi, the capital of Wu.

“Impressive work it is,” Helu remarked, as Sun Tzu bowed humbly in his presence. “Very impressive for a young man as yourself. An inexperienced young man at that if I may add. How am I to know if it really works?”

“Test me, Lord.” The scholar replied.

“You said with the right commander, anyone, even a rabble, can be trained to fight. How about a small group of beautiful women? My courtesans and concubines, can you train them?” The Marquis asked playfully, slowing setting up a trap for Sun Tzu.

“I stand by my word, Lord Marquis. I shall train your concubines, but you must give me command.” Sun Tzu affirmed without a trace of doubt.

“Very well, my two favorite concubines will also be in your training. This should be fun.” Helu smiled.

“The matters of state should never be taken lightly, my Lord.” Sun Tzu replied firmly as Helu handed him the sword of command. “There shall be no fun here, for it is serious work, but at the end of it all, you shall have a fine army of women.”

Helu rolled his eyes in disbelief and slight annoyance. Did Sun Tzu think he could really train a band of dainty women who knew nothing but the arts of pleasure to do battle? This young man reads too much of his own book and is drunk with theory. Anyway, it was the only way to put the pedant in his place and make the great general Wu Zuxi happy, so the Marquis replied, “Of course, General Sun. You have the Sword of Command, so it’s really your call now.”

Sun Tzu lifted his command sword high and ordered to Helu’s two favorite concubines, “As you have higher rank than the others, I hereby appoint you as my sub-commanders. You will relay my orders to the others. One drum beat signifies a left turn. Two drum beats signifies a right turn. When I order three short drum beats in rapid succession, you will face forward and lift your spears towards the enemy. Is that clear, sub-commander?”

The favorite concubines gave Sun Tzu a teasing smile, clearly uncaring of the words coming out of his mouth. Then, the Sun Tzu ordered the drumbeats, but none of the concubines followed any of his orders. All they did was giggle and play with their weapons. Such was expected, for concubines were but creatures of pleasure who cared little for discipline.

Sun Tzu then commanded them again, “The first mistake is that of mine as General. I will repeat my orders again. One drum beat signifies a left turn. Two drum beats signifies a right turn. When I order three short drum beats in rapid succession, you will face forward and lift your spears towards the enemy.” As he said it, he also demonstrated the turns physically in a professional and strong manner. When it was done, he asked the two favorites again, “Was that clear?”

They nodded with the same teasing smile they gave him earlier, but Sun Tzu’s face was stern and unforgiving as he ordered the drumbeats. The same thing happened again! No one obeyed his commands. The Marquis stifled his laugh, wondering if the 1,500 gold talents were better spent elsewhere, while Wu Zuxi looked in dismay. Was this all the great Sun Tzu could do?

Then, Sun Tzu pointed his command sword to the two favorites. “The first failing is mine as general, but when a commander accepts my orders as clear and fails to deliver it, it is the fault of the commanders. I hereby punish you with death!”

Helu was shocked. Hoping to save the lives of his two favorites, he pleaded with Sun Tzu, “Great General, your theories are great, and I admire them greatly, but I do not want to lose my two favorite concubines. Please forgive them once for my sake.”

But Sun Tzu would not relent. “When a Sovereign entrusts his general with command and the General is on the field, he does not need to take commands from the Sovereign. It’s in the Art of War.” After saying this, Sun Tzu ignored the Marquis, executed his two favorites, and appointed two sub-commanders in their place. When this was done, the concubines fearing for their own deaths followed his orders and drumbeats to the smallest word. They had become battle-ready!

Helu walked away from the scene. Sun Tzu had proved his ability to command, but Helu was so sad and somewhat angry at the loss of two favorite concubines for the sake of a crazy test. Wu Zuxi knew this greatly troubled him, so he followed the Lord of Wu, fearing for Sun Tzu’s life.

Wu Zuxi then broke the silence and said, “My Lord, beautiful women are dime a dozen. One day, Sun Tzu will lead your armies to victory, conquering the entire land, and we will replace those two manifolds. Do not let this opportunity go for the sake of two beautiful faces, which in any case, are now lost to you forever anyway.”

Helu was a great leader. He nodded in acceptance of Wu Zuxi’s sound advice and appointed Sun Tzu as Supreme Commander of Wu. Now, they would be invincible. There was greatness in them!