The Thirty-Six Stratagems: Difference between revisions

#<li>''Deceive the heavens and cross the ocean'': [[Kansas City Shuffle|Mask your real goals with a fake goal]] until your aims are achieved; the enemy will be so annoyed with the constant false alarms that they will consider future alarms [[Somebody Else's Problem]]. (This rule is also used as a Chinese aphorism for "to pull the wool over someone's eyes".)

#<li>''Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'': Avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his [[Achilles Heel|weakness]] (for example, a [[Hostage Situation|weaker ally]]) elsewhere.

#<li>''[[False-Flag Operation|Kill With a Borrowed Knife]]'': Cause damage to the enemy by getting a [[Let's You and Him Fight|third party]] to do the deed or causing an [[Enemy Civil War]].

#<li>''[[My Defense Need Not Protect Me Forever|Substitute Leisure for Labor]]'': Have your troops well-prepared for battle, in the same time that the enemy is rushing to fight against you, ideally resulting in [[Curb Stomp Battle|their exhausted troops running into your fresh soldiers on the terms of your choosing]].

# <li>''Loot a Burning House'': The best time to attack an opponent is when they have their own problems to deal with.

# <li>''Clamor in the East, Attack in the West'': Get the enemy to [[Look Behind You!|focus his forces elsewhere]], and then attack a position that would be weakly defended.

# <li>''Create Something from Nothing'': Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing, or vice versa (i.e. lie like a rug).

# <li>''Openly Repair the Walkway, but Sneak through the passage of Chencang'': Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while surprising him by taking a shortcut and sneak up to him.

# <li>''Observe the Fire from the Opposite Shore'', or ''Sit on the Mountain and [[Playing Both Sides|Watch the Tigers Fight]]'': Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves, then [[Divide and Conquer|go in at full strength and pick up the pieces]].

# <li>''[[Silk Hiding Steel|Hide a Knife behind a Smile]]'': Charm and ingratiate yourself to your enemy. When you have gained his trust, [[Face Heel Turn|move against him]] in secret. (This rule is also used as a Chinese aphorism for someone with [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]].)

# <li>''Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree'': Sacrifice [[The Scapegoat|short-term]] [[Silent Scapegoat|objectives]] in order to gain [[Xanatos Gambit|the long-term goal.]] (Peaches are associated with immortality; see eg. [[Journey to the West]].)

# <li>''Take the Opportunity to Pilfer a Goat'': While carrying out your plans, [[Xanatos Speed Chess|be flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small,]] and avail yourself of any profit, however slight. (This is also used as an aphorism for [[Stealing From the Till]] or the [[Five-Finger Discount]].)

# <li>''Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake'': [[Indy Ploy|Do something without aim,]] but make it so [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|spectacular]] to provoke a response of the enemy, thereby giving away his plans or position, or just [[I Shall Taunt You|taunt]] him. Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected as this will arouse the enemy's suspicion and [[Didn't See That Coming|disrupt his thinking]]. However, an imprudent act will give your position or intentions away to the enemy.

# <li>''[[Revival by Commercialization|Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul]]'': Revive something from the past by giving it a new purpose, or reinterpret it to your advantage.

# <li>''Lure the Tiger Down From the Mountain'': Lure an opponent away from his field of advantage, thus separating him from his source of strength.

# <li>''To Catch Something, First Set it Free'': Cornered prey will often mount a final [[Desperation Attack]]; to prevent this, you let the enemy believe he still has a [[Hope Spot|chance for freedom]].

# <li>''Toss out a Brick to attract Jade'': [[Spanish Prisoner|Bait someone]] by making him believe he gains something or just make him react to it and obtain something valuable from him in return.

# <li>''To Capture the Bandits, capture their Leader'': If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money or threats, then [[Instant Win Condition|take aim at the leader]]; the rest of the army [[Decapitated Army|will disperse or come over to your side]]. If, however, they are allied to the [[A Father to His Men|leader]] through loyalty, then beware, the army can continue to fight on after his death out of [[Avenging the Villain|vengeance]].

# <li>''Steal the Firewood from under the Pot'': Take out the leading argument or asset of your target, denying your enemy the resources needed to oppose you.

# <li>''SloughStir offup the Cicada'sWaters Goldento Shellcatch a Fish'': Create an illusion to fit your goalsconfusion and distract others. (A secondary meaning foruse this ruleconfusion wouldto befurther [[Fakingyour theown Dead]]goals.)

# <li>''Shut the Door to catch the Thief'': If you have the chance to [[Leave No Survivors|completely capture]] the enemy then you should do so, thereby bringing the battle or war to a quick and lasting conclusion.

# <li>''Befriend a Distant State while attacking a Neighbour'': When you are the strongest in one field, your greatest threat is from [[The Rival|the second strongest in your field]], not the strongest from another field, and thus the distant neighbor will make a good ally, however temporary.

# <li>''Obtain Safe Passage to conquer the state of Guo'': Borrow the resources of an ally to attack a [[Enemy Mine|common enemy]]. Once the enemy is defeated, [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|use those resources to turn on the ally that lent you them in the first place]].

# <li>''Replace the Beams with Rotten Timbers'': Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their [[Counterfeit Cash|methods of operations]], change the rules which they are used to following, go contrary to their standard training.

# <li>''Point at the Mulberry tree, but curse the Locust'': To discipline, control, or warn others whose status or position excludes them from direct confrontation; use analogy and [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|innuendo]]. Without directly naming names, those [[Malicious Slander|accused]] cannot retaliate without [[I Never Said It Was Poison|revealing their complicity]].

# <li>''Feign Madness but Keep your Balance'': Hide behind the mask of a [[Obfuscating Stupidity|fool]], a drunk, or a [[Obfuscating Insanity|madman]] to create confusion about your intentions and motivations.

# <li>''Lure them onto the Roof, then take away the Ladder'': [[Defensive Feint Trap|With baits and deceptions]], [[Kiting|lure]] your enemy into [[Geo Effects|treacherous terrain]], then cut off his lines of communication and avenue of escape; to save himself, he must fight both [[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines|your own forces]] and the elements of nature.

# <li>''Deck the Tree with False Blossoms'': [[Batman Gambit|Through the use of artifice and disguise]], make something of no value appear valuable; of no threat appear dangerous; of no use appear useful.

# <li>''[[Bavarian Fire Drill|Exchange the roles of Host and Guest]]'': Usurp leadership in a situation where you are normally [[Treacherous Advisor|subordinate]]. Infiltrate your target. Initially, pretend to be a [[Deceptive Disciple|guest]] to be accepted, but develop from inside and become the owner later.

# <li>''The Beauty Trap'': Send your enemy [[Honey Trap|beautiful women]] to cause [[Apple of Discord|discord]] within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels: First, the ruler becomes so enamored with the beauty that [[Love Ruins the Realm|he neglects his duties]] and allows his vigilance to wane; second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behavior that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale; third, other females at court, motivated by [[Green-Eyed Monster|jealousy and envy]], begin to plot intrigues, further exacerbating the situation.

# <li>''The Empty Fort Strategy'': When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all presence of military preparedness and [[Refuge in Audacity|act calmly]] so that the enemy will [[I Know You Know I Know|think]] you have hidden reserves and want to trap them into the fort.

# <li>''Let the Enemy's own spy sow discord in the Enemy camp'': Undermine your enemy's intelligence-gathering abilities by [[Feed the Mole|using his own spies against him]] or planting [[The Mole|your]] [[Reverse Mole|own]] [[Double Agent|agents]] among his.

# <li>''Injure yourself to gain the Enemy's trust'': [[Playing Possum|Pretending to be injured]] has two possible applications. In the first, the enemy is lulled into relaxing his guard since he no longer considers you to be an immediate threat. The second is a way of ingratiating yourself to your enemy by [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit|pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy.]]

# <li>''Chain Stratagems'': In important matters, one should use [[Xanatos Gambit|several stratagems applied simultaneously]] after another as in a chain of stratagems. Keep [[Gambit Pileup|different plans]] operating in an overall scheme; however, in this manner if [[Spanner in the Works|any one strategy fails]], [[Xanatos Roulette|then the chain breaks and the whole scheme fails.]]

# <li>''[[Know When to Fold'Em|If all else fails, Retreat]]'': The best battle is one fought with your side never having to mobilize, but if it becomes obvious that your current course of action will lead to defeat, then retreat and regroup.