In the turbulent Warring States period, Fan Ju (later known as Zhang Lu) was a talented but lowly retainer in the household of Xu Gu, a minister of Wei. When King Xiang of Qi – newly restored after Tian Dan’s miraculous fire-bull victory – resented Wei for aiding Yan in the earlier invasion of Qi, Xu Gu was sent on a diplomatic mission to smooth relations. He brought Fan Ju along.
A retainer with diplomatic triumph
At court, King Xiang raged at Wei’s past betrayal. Xu Gu stood speechless – until Fan Ju stepped forward with bold eloquence, reminding the king of Duke Huan of Qi’s humility and warning against repeating King Min’s arrogance.
“Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, our ruler rejoices greatly. He hopes you will follow in the footsteps of Duke Huan of Qi – one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period – and restore Qi’s former glory, thereby redeeming the legacy of King Min. That is why we were sent to offer congratulations and renew friendship between our states. Yet Your Majesty only blames others and fails to reflect on Qi’s own faults. Will you emulate Duke Huan’s humility, or repeat King Min’s arrogance?”
King Xiang was taken aback and admitted,
“This is my fault.”
He then turned to Xu Gu and asked,
“Who is this gentleman?”
Xu Gu replied,
“He is my retainer, Fan Ju.”
Deeply impressed, King Xiang wished to keep Fan Ju in Qi. Secretly, King Xiang offered Fan Ju a position as guest minister, along with gifts of gold, beef, and fine wine.
Fan Ju firmly declined the gifts. The messenger pleaded,
“This is the king’s sincerity – if you refuse, how can I possibly report back?”
After persistent entreaties, Fan Ju reluctantly accepted the beef and wine but absolutely refused the gold.
A hero betrayed vs. A man reborn
But back in Wei, Xu Gu grew suspicious, convinced Fan Ju had colluded with Qi. He reported this to Prime Minister Wei Qi, who – without trial – ordered Fan Ju beaten nearly to death.
Left for dead, his body dumped in a latrine and urinated on by guests, Fan Ju miraculously survived.
As night fell, Fan Ju slowly regained consciousness. A guard was watching over him. Fan Ju whispered,
“I won’t survive. But if you help me die at home, I’ll give you all the gold in my house.”
The man replied,
“You must lie still like a corpse. I’ll talk to the chancellor.”
He reported to Wei Qi that the body was beginning to stink. Wei Qi said,
“Throw it outside the city – let the hawks devour it.”
At midnight, the guard secretly carried Fan Ju to his home. His family wept upon seeing him. Fan Ju told them to keep quiet, instructed his wife to reward the guard with gold, gave him the reed mat, and told him to discard it in a wasteland outside the city. Then he said to his wife,
“Wei Qi may still search for me – take me quickly to Zheng Anping’s house at the West Gate.”
That very night, they smuggled him to his close friend Zheng Anping. Fan Ju warned them not to leak a word and ordered them to hold a mock funeral the next day, complete with mourning garments.
Zheng Anping tended to Fan Ju’s wounds and helped him retreat into the mountains to live in seclusion. Fan Ju changed his name to Zhang Lu. From that point on, no one spoke of Fan Ju again.
The man Fan Ju vanished – replaced by a ghost with a plan.
Arrival in Qin: A Year of Silence
Years later, under Zheng Anping’s guidance, Zhang Lu reached Xianyang, capital of Qin. He submitted his ideas to King Zhaoxiang, but for over a year, he received no audience. Disheartened, he wandered the streets – until he heard rumors that Lord Ranghou (the king’s uncle and de facto ruler) planned to attack Gang and Shou, distant cities in Qi.
A local elder whispered the truth: Ranghou’s real aim was to expand his private fief at Tao county, not serve Qin’s interest. Zhang Lu realized: Qin’s foreign policy was chaotic, driven by aristocratic greed, not strategic vision.
That night, he wrote a letter to the king:
“I have words that will determine the fate of the realm.”
“Does Qin even have a King?”
On the day of their meeting, Zhang Lu walked boldly toward the royal palace – only to encounter King Zhaoxiang’s procession. Instead of bowing or stepping aside, he kept walking, muttering aloud:
“What king? In Qin, there is only the Queen Dowager and Lord Ranghou – no king!”
The words struck like lightning. King Zhaoxiang, long chafing under his mother’s and uncle’s control, leapt from his chariot, bowed deeply, and personally escorted Zhang Lu to the Ligong Palace.
Behind closed doors, the king said:
“Speak freely – about anyone, even the Queen Dowager.”
Zhang Lu replied:
“If I die after speaking, I die content.”
The Doctrine of “Ally Distant, Attack Nearby”
Zhang Lu laid bare Qin’s fatal flaw:
“You wage war across thousands of miles, ignoring the states at your doorstep. How can you rule what you cannot hold?”
He cited the example of Wei conquering Zhongshan – only for Zhao to seize it later because it was closer. Then he unveiled his grand strategy:
“Befriend the distant – Qi and Chu. Crush the near – Han and Wei.
Each inch taken from neighbors becomes yours forever.
Like a silkworm eating mulberry leaves – consume step by step, from close to far.
This is ‘Yuan Jiao Jin Gong’ (in Chinese) – Alliance with the Distant, Attack the Nearby.”
King Zhaoxiang leapt up:
“With this strategy, Qin shall unite the world!”
He immediately recalled the army from Qi and appointed Zhang Lu Guest Minister, shifting Qin’s focus squarely to Han and Wei.
The Fall of the Aristocrats
Over the next years, Zhang Lu gained the king’s absolute trust. In secret nightly talks, he advised how to restore royal authority and break the power of the nobility.
In 266 BCE, King Zhaoxiang struck:
- Stripped Lord Ranghou of his chancellorship,
- Exiled the three great noble clans beyond the passes,
- Forced the Queen Dowager into retirement.
Ranghou departed for his fief at Tao county in disgrace, his 1,000 carts of plundered treasure – some richer than the royal treasury – rolling away from the capital he once ruled.
Zhang Lu was named Chancellor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Ying, his new title sealing his transformation from broken outcast to architect of empire.
Legacy of a Strategy
“Yuan Jiao Jin Gong” became Qin’s guiding doctrine for the next half-century. It enabled the systematic conquest of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and finally Qi – culminating in China’s first unification under Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE.
And behind it all stood a man once left for dead in a toilet – a scholar reborn as a statesman, whose pain forged a vision that reshaped history.
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