Military Strategy Classics of Ancient China

by Shawn Conners

  Chapter 3 – Stratagems of Attack

  13. Strike the Grass to Startle the Snake

  If something looks suspicious, seek to find out the truth. Take action only when the truth has been found. Only by analyzing your enemy carefully, can you find the critical point in their strategy.

  发现可疑情况就要弄清实情，只有在侦查实情以后才采取行动；反复了解和分析敌情，发现阴谋的重要地方。

  In 627 BC, Lord Mu of State of Qin decided to launch an attack on the State of Zheng. Beforehand, Lord Mu had placed a spy inside the State of Zheng. Advisor Jian Shu advised against the expedition, as the Qin troops would have to travel a very long distance to the State of Zheng. By the time the Qin forces reached the State of Zheng, the Zheng forces would be well-prepared. But the advice fell on deaf ears; Lord Mu sent Meng Ming as the commander-in-chief of the expedition.

  When the Qin troops were setting off, Shuo Shu cried and said, “I am afraid you might not come back victorious, and worse, may be ambushed by the State of Jin at Xiao Mountain.” As expected by Jian Shu, when the State of Zheng heard about the expedition, they expelled the spy planted by Qin and made preparations. On seeing that they were unlikely to be victorious, Meng Ming decided to retreat.

  On reaching the Xiao Mountain, Meng Ming remembered what Jian Shu had said. He did not make any preparation because the State of Qin had a strong relationship with the former Lord of State of Jin. Little did he realize that there were a lot of Jin troops lying in ambush at the Xiao Mountain. One hot afternoon, the Qin forces discovered a small troop of Jin. Meng Ming was furious and ordered his troops to chase them. They lost sight of the Jin troop when they reached a narrow valley of the Xiao Mountain. On seeing the terrain was very treacherous, Meng Ming realized his mistake; but it was too late. Jin soldiers came out from hidden places and captured most of the Qin forces and its general, including Meng Ming. Why the Qin forces lost was because they startled the “snake”, which is the State of Zheng, leading to their defeat at the hand of the Jin forces.

  公元前627年，秦穆公发兵攻打郑国，他打算和安插在郑国的奸细里应外合，夺取郑国都城。大夫蹇叔以为秦国离郑国路途遥远，兴师动众长途跋涉，郑国肯定会作好迎战准备。秦穆公不听，派孟明视等三帅率部出征。蹇叔在部队出发时．痛哭流涕地警告说，”恐怕你们这次袭郑不成，反会遭到晋国的埋伏，只有到崤山去给士兵收尸了。”果然不出蹇叔所料，郑国得到了秦国袭郑的情报，逼走了秦国安插的奸细，作好了迎敌准备。秦军见袭郑不成，只得回师，但部队长途跋涉，十分疲惫。部队经过崤山时，仍然不作防备。他们以为秦国曾对晋国刚死不久的晋文公有恩，晋国不会攻打秦军。哪里知道，晋国早在崤山险蜂峡谷中埋伏了重兵。一个炎热的中午，秦军发现晋军小股部队，孟明十分恼怒，下令追击。追到山隘险要处．晋军突然不见踪影。孟明一见此地山高路窄，草深林密，情知不妙。这时鼓声震天，杀声四起，晋军伏兵蜂涌而上，大败秦军，生擒孟明视等三帅。秦军不察敌情，轻举妄动，”打草惊蛇”终于遭到惨败。当然，军事上有时也可故意”打草惊蛇”而诱敌暴露，从而取得战斗的胜利。

  14. Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect a Soul

  A person that is capable would not ask for help. A person who is incapable would ask for help. By using those who are incapable, I am able to control people and not be controlled by people.

  有作为的，不求助于别人；没作为的，求助于别人。利用无所作为的并顺势利用它，不是我受别人支配，而是我支配别人。

  Towards the end of the Qin Dynasty, most of the people hated the tyranny of the Qin, but there was no one to gather and lead the people to rebel against Qin, until the first year of the second Qin Emperor.

  Cheng Sheng and Wu Guang were conscripted and sent to Yu Yang. During the journey, their group encountered heavy rain and a flood. So, there was no way they could arrive at their destination on time. During that time, the Qin laws stated that for those who are conscripted, if they are not able to reach the designated destination on time, the whole group will be beheaded. Cheng Sheng and Wu Guang, on seeing that it was impossible to reach Yu Yang on time, decided to fight for their lives instead. They knew that the rest of the group members also had such thoughts, so it was a good time to gather them to revolt against Qin.

  But Cheng Sheng realized that he had no power or authority to lead these people to revolt against Qin. During that time, there were two popular figures among the population and they were the eldest prince of the first Qin Emperor, and the other was General Xiang Yan, from the former State of Chu. So both Cheng Sheng and Wu Guang decided to use the superstitious mindset of the people.

  When the group was preparing fish for dinner, they found a note inside the belly of the fish. On the note was written: “Emperor Chen Sheng”. The group was shocked and news of it spread within the group. During the night, Wu Guang mimicked the cry of the wolf. People on hearing the wolf cry could vaguely hear the words: “Revive Chu, Emperor Cheng Sheng.” With both of these things happening, most of the group members thought that Cheng Sheng must be somebody sent from Heaven to lead them. On seeing the opportunity was ripe, Cheng Sheng and Wu Guang shouted, “Since death awaits us, if we go to Yu Yang, let us revolt now and fight for a chance to live!” Cheng Sheng proclaimed himself as the General and together with Wu Guang started the first peasant rebellion in China's history.

  秦朝实行暴政，天下百姓”欲为乱者，十室有五。”大家都有反秦的愿望，但是如果没有强有力的领导者和组织者，也就难成大事。秦二世元年，陈胜、吴广被征发到渔阳戍边。当这些戌卒走到大泽乡时，连降大雨，道路被水淹没，眼看无法按时到达渔阳了。秦朝法律规定，凡是不能按时到达指定地点的戌卒，一律处斩。陈胜、吴广知道，即使到达渔阳，也会误期被杀，不如一拼，寻求一条活路。他们知道同去的戍卒也都有这种思想，正是举兵起义的大好时机。

  陈胜又想到，自己地位低下，恐怕没有号召力。当时有两位名人深受人民尊敬，一个是秦始皇的大儿子扶苏，温良贤明，已被阴险狠毒的秦二世暗中杀害，老百姓却不知情，另一个是楚将项燕，功勋卓著，爱护将士，威望极高，在秦灭六国之后不知去向。于是陈胜，公开打出他们的旗号，以期能够得到大家拥护。他们还利用当时人们的迷信心理，巧妙地作了其它安排。有一天，士兵做饭时，在鱼腹中发现一块丝帛，上写”陈胜王”（这个王字是称王的意思），士兵大惊，暗中传开。吴广又趁夜深人静之时，在旷野荒庙中学狐狸叫，士兵们还隐隐约约地听到空中有”大楚兴，陈胜王”的口号。他们以为陈胜不是一般的人，肯定是”天意”让他来领导大家的。陈胜、吴广见时机已到，率领戍卒杀死朝廷派来的将尉。陈胜登高一呼．揭竿而起。他说：我们反正活不成了，不如和他们拼个你死我活，就是死，也要死出个样儿来。于是，陈胜自号为将军，吴广为都尉，攻占大泽乡，天下云集响应，节节胜利，所向披靡。后来，部下拥立陈胜为王，国号”张楚”。

  15. Lure a Tiger from its Mountain Lair

  Wait for the natural conditions to be unfavorable to your enemy; use deception to lure the enemy to attack you, since attacking him would be dangerous.

  等待自然条件对敌人不利时在去围困敌人，用人为的假象去诱惑敌人，向前进攻有危险，那就想办法让敌人来攻我。

  Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, just before the Three Kingdoms Period, there was intense fighting among warlords for territories. One young warlord was Sun Ce, who was only seventeen when he took over his father's ambitions. In 199 AD, Sun Ce wanted to expand north, eyeing Lu Jiang. The problem was that Lu Jiang had the Yangtze River and the Huai River as natural barriers, thus making the region very difficult to attack
. Moreover, the warlord occupying the Lu Jiang region was Liu Xun, who wielded great power but was extremely greedy.

  So Sun Ce discussed with his advisors the strategy he should use, and they decided to use the “to lure a tiger from its mountain lair” strategy. Sun Ce wrote a letter heaping praises on Liu Xun and together with the letter included a very expensive gift. At the end of the letter, after much praises at the start, he sought help from Liu Xun. Sun Ce wrote, “The army from Upper Liao always plunders my territories. As we are weak, we are not able to send our troops to expel them. Can you please help us? Your help is greatly appreciated.” Being praised to the sky by Sun Ce, Liu Xun was more than happy to help Sun Ce; because he had plans to take over Upper Liao, because of the huge wealth that the people had gathered. And seeing that Sun Ce was 'weak', he did not have to fear that he would be attacked from the rear. Liu Ye advised against the move, but Liu Xun was too mesmerized by the praises and gifts sent by Sun Ce to take in his advice.

  Sun Ce monitored Liu Xun's movements. When he saw that Liu Xun had left with his troops to Upper Liao, leaving the city defenseless, he seized the opportunity to take over the city. With the weak city defense, it was too easy for Sun Ce's men. Liu Xun, on the other hand, was not able to conquer Upper Liao, and when news travelled to his ears that Lu Jiang has been captured by Sun Ce, he knew all was lost and went to seek refuge at Cao Cao.

  东汉末年，军阀并起，各霸一方。孙坚之子孙策，年仅十七岁，年少有为，继承父志，势力逐渐强大。公元199年，孙策欲向北推进，准备夺取江北卢江郡。卢江郡南有长江之险，北有淮水阻隔，易守难攻。

  占据卢江的军阀刘勋势力强大，野心勃勃。孙策知道，如果硬攻，取胜的机会很小。他和众将商议，定出了一条调虎离山的妙计。针对军阀刘勋，极其贪财的弱点，孙策派人给刘勋送去一份厚礼，并在信中把刘勋大肆吹捧一番。信中说刘勋功名远播，今人仰慕，并表示要与刘励交好。孙策还以弱者的身份向刘勋求救。他说，上缭经常派兵侵扰我们，我们力弱，不能远征，请求将军发兵降服上缭，我们感激不尽。刘勋见孙策极力讨好他，万分得意。上缭一带，十分富庶，刘勋早想夺取，今见孙策软弱无能，免去了后顾之忧，决定发兵上缭。部将刘晔极力劝阻，刘勋哪里听得进去？他已经被孙策的厚礼、甜言迷惑住了。

  孙策时刻监视刘勋的行动，见刘勋亲自率领几万兵马去攻上缭，城内空虚，心中大喜，说：”老虎己被我调出山了，我们赶快去占据它的老窝吧！”干是立即率领人马，水陆并进，袭击卢江，几乎没遇到顽强的抵杭，就十顺利地控制了卢江。刘勋猛攻上缭，一直不能取胜。突然得报，孙策已取卢江，情知中计，后悔已经来不及了，只得灰溜溜地投奔曹操。

  16. Release the Enemy Only to Capture Him Later

  If you force your enemy into a desperate situation, he will fight with all he has. If you give your enemy an escape route, he will focus on escaping rather than fighting. When he is escaping, try to follow him, but not force him to attack. While escaping, it reduces his strength and fighting spirit. Once they are tired and have low morale, you can capture them easily without too much bloodshed.

  如果把敌人逼的无路可走，他就会拼命反扑。让敌人跑路反而可以让他的气势减弱。对逃跑之敌要紧紧跟随，不能过于逼迫，借以消耗其体力，瓦解其斗志。等到敌人士气低弱、军心涣散时在去逮捕他，这样就会避免不必要的流血牺牲。总之，不进逼敌人，并让他相信这一点，就能赢得光明的胜利。

  In 225 AD Zhuge Liang had plans for the Northern Territory, but first had to deal with Meng Huo, the leader of the Southern Tribes to secure his rear. Meng Huo led an army of 10,000 men to invade the Shu Kingdom. So, Zhuge Liang personally led an army to fend off Meng Huo. The first time they met, Zhuge Liang lured Meng Huo to a valley and ambushed him. Meng Huo was caught unaware and was captured.

  Since the leader had been captured, the mission could be considered accomplished; but Zhuge Liang considered that Meng Huo had high standing among the Southern tribes, and thus had strong influence on them. So instead, it would be wiser to make Meng Huo succumb to him whole-heartedly. So Zhuge Liang decided to release Meng Huo. Before Meng Huo left, he said to Zhuge Liang that the next time they met, Zhuge Liang would be on the losing side. When Meng Huo went back to the army camp, he removed all the boats from the Lu River to prevent the Shu army from advancing, and stationed his base on the southern bank. Zhuge Liang instead crossed the river where Meng Huo's defense was the weakest, and attacked his supplies depot. Meng Huo was furious and punished his generals. The generals being punished were angry, so they captured Meng Huo and surrendered him to Zhuge Liang. Seeing that Meng Huo was not convinced of his defeat, he released Meng Huo again. This went on for another four times, captured and released. Until the seventh and the last time, when Zhuge Liang set fire to Meng Huo's bamboo-armored soldiers and defeated him, did Meng Huo submit himself to Zhuge Liang, and vowed not to rebel again.

  诸葛亮七擒孟获，就是军事史上一个”欲擒故纵”的绝妙战例。蜀汉建立之后，定下北伐大计。当时西南夷酋长孟获率十万大军侵犯蜀国。诸葛亮为了解决北伐的后顾之忧，决定亲自率兵先平孟获。蜀军主力到达泸水（今金沙江）附近，诱敌出战，事先在山谷中埋下伏兵，孟获被诱入伏击圈内，兵败被擒。

  按说，擒拿敌军主帅的目的已经达到，敌军一时也不会有很强战斗力了，乘胜追击，自可大破敌军。但是诸葛亮考虑到孟获在西南夷中威望很高，影响很大，如果让他心悦诚服，主动请降，就能使南方真正稳定。不然的话，南方夷各个部落仍不会停止侵扰，后方难以安定。诸葛亮决定对孟获采取”攻心”战，断然释放孟获。孟获表示下次定能击败你，诸葛亮笑而不答。孟获回营，拖走所有船只，据守沪水南岸，阻止蜀军渡河。诸葛亮乘敌不备，从敌人不设防的下流偷渡过河，并袭击了孟获的粮仓。孟获暴怒，要严惩将士，激起将士的反抗，于是相约投降，趁孟获不备，将孟获绑赴蜀营。诸葛亮见孟获仍不服，再次释放。以后孟获又施了许多计策，都被诸葛亮识破，四次被擒，四次被释放。最后一次，诸葛亮火烧孟获的藤甲兵，第七次生擒孟获。终于感动了孟获，他真诚地感谢诸葛亮七次不杀之恩，誓不再反。从此，蜀国西南安定，诸葛亮才得以举兵北伐。

  17. Toss out a Brick to Get Jade

  Use a decoy to trick the enemy, putting him in a confused state, and he will fall into the trap.

  用类似的东西诱惑敌人，使敌人懵懵懂懂地上当受骗。

  In the year 700 BC, the State of Chu sent out an army to conquer and annex the State of Jiao. Their movement was very fast and when they reached the city walls, their morale was extremely high. The Lord of Jiao knew that going out to fight with the Chu troops was asking for death, so they decide to defend the city within the walls. The terrain surrounding the State of Jiao was a place easy to defend, but difficult to attack. The Chu troops repeatedly attacked the city walls, but to no avail. So this went on for more than a month. One advisor from the State of Chu analyzed the situation and thought that they should use wits, instead of numerical strength, to conquer the city; so he hatched up a plan and let the Lord of Chu in on it. Since the city had been surrounded for a very long time, they would have a shortage of firewood. The plan was to get soldiers to pose as woodcutters to collect firewood from the nearby forest. The Jiao soldiers, on seeing that the woodcutters were defenseless, would ride out to capture these woodcutters together with their firewood. So they could use the 'woodcutters' to lure out the Jiao soldiers and capture the city, while they were out.

  The Chu soldiers carried out the plan. The first few days, they let the Jiao soldiers plunder the firewood from the 'woodcutters' successfully. After several successful attempts, the Jiao sold
iers became complacent. On the sixth day, a large group of the Jiao soldiers rode out to chase after the 'woodcutters' again. This time, they were lured into an ambush. The Jiao soldiers were totally caught unaware when Chu soldiers came out of their hiding. They tried to retreat, but their retreat route was cut off. Most of the Jiao soldiers were either captured or killed. On seeing that they had destroyed most of the Jiao soldiers, the Lord of Chu ordered another attack on the State of Jiao. Seeing that there was no way of winning, the Lord of Jiao decided to surrender.

  公元前700年，楚国用”抛砖引玉”的策略，轻取绞城。这一年，楚国发兵攻打绞国（今湖北郧县西北），大军行动迅速。楚军兵临城下，气势旺盛，绞国自知出城迎战，凶多吉少，决定坚守城池。绞城地势险要，易守难攻。楚军多次进攻，均被击退。两军相持一个多月。楚国大夫莫傲屈居瑕仔细分析了敌我双方的情况，认为绞城只可智取，不可力克。他向楚王献上一条”以鱼饵钓大鱼”的计谋。他说：”攻城不下，不如利而诱之。”楚王向他问诱敌之法。屈瑕建议：趁绞城被围月余，城中缺少薪柴之时，派些士兵装扮成樵夫上山打柴运回来，敌军一定会出城劫夺柴草。头几天，让他们先得一些小利，等他们麻痹大意，大批士兵出城劫夺柴草之时，先设伏兵断其后路，然后聚而歼之，乘势夺城。楚王担心绞国不会轻易上当，屈瑕说：”大王放心，绞国虽小而轻燥，轻躁则少谋略。有这样香甜的钓饵，不愁它不上钩。”楚王于是依计而行，命一些士兵装扮成樵夫上山打柴。

  绞侯听探子报告有挑夫进山的情况，忙问这些樵夫有无楚军保护。探子说，他们三三两两进出，并无兵士跟随。绞候马上布置人马，待”樵夫”背着柴禾出山之机，突然袭击，果然顺利得手，抓了三十多个”樵夫”，夺得不少柴草。一连几天，果然收获不小。见有利可图，绞国士兵出城劫夺柴草的越来越多。楚王见敌人已经吞下钓饵，便决定迅速逮大鱼。第六天，绞国士兵象前几天一样出城劫掠，”樵夫”们见绞军又来劫掠，吓得没命的逃奔，绞国士兵紧紧追赶，不知不觉被引入楚军的埋伏圈内。只见伏兵四起，杀声震天，纹国士兵哪里抵挡得住，慌忙败退，又遇伏兵断了归路，死伤无数。楚王此时趁机攻城，绞侯自知中计，已无力抵抗，只得请降。