Brilliant and Gifted, She Spends Her Fortune and Makes It All Back

At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, Yue is on the brink of destruction. Fan Li, a gifted strategist from Chu, accepts Wen Zhong's invitation to help Goujian rule Yue. After Yue's defeat at Mount Kuaiji, he proposes surrendering and going to Wu as slaves. He and Goujian endure this supreme humiliation together. During three years in a stone chamber, Fan Li uses his wits to sow discord between Wu's ruler and ministers, eventually securing his lord's return home.

Back in Yue, Fan Li and Wen Zhong work together with one purpose. He champions the plan to "build up the population and resources for ten years, then train and strengthen the people for ten more." He seeks out the peerlessly beautiful Xi Shi and uses her as part of a beauty trap to sow chaos in Wu's palace. He oversees military training while concealing Yue's strength, and turns Fuchai against the loyal Wu Zixu, leading to his execution. Once Wu is weakened, Fan Li directs the campaign with calm precision, helping Goujian destroy Wu and avenge his humiliation, and establish his hegemony.

When his achievements threaten to overshadow the ruler, Fan Li sees through Goujian's nature: "You can share hardships with him, but not comfort." He resolutely gives up his seals of office and gold, then quietly sails away across the Five Lakes with Xi Shi. He sends a letter warning his close friend Wen Zhong, who is indeed later executed. Under the assumed name Chi Yi Zi Pi, he withdraws to the coast of Qi, working the land and trading until he amasses a fortune. When the King of Qi offers him the post of chancellor, he gives away all his wealth and departs without a trace.

In the end, he settles in Tao, "the center of the world," and takes the name Tao Zhu Gong. Guided by the "Jiran strategies" for reading the seasons and the business principle of "selling dear and buying cheap," he trades with integrity and amasses a fortune three times over, becoming the richest man in the world and earning the title of "Sage of Commerce." In his later years, he gives away his wealth to help others, takes gains and losses in stride, and dies peacefully of natural causes. In public service, Fan Li shaped the fate of the realm; in business, he grew wealthy while living by his principles. Master of both advance and retreat, and profound in wisdom, his insights into people, statecraft, commerce, and life have forged an enduring legend.