Thirty-Six Stratagems: Melee Strategies

The fourth set: melee plan:

The fourth set of melee plan: 19. Take out the salary from the bottom of the cauldron; 20. Fish in troubled waters; 21. The golden cicada escapes its shell; 22. Close the door to catch the thief; 23. Make distant friends and attack closely; 24. Cut off the Guo on the false road.

The plan is to be in a state of melee between friends and foes, and warlords. See the dragon in the wild.

Remove the firewood from the bottom of the pot. Metaphors solve problems fundamentally.

Symbol of "Dui Xia Qian Shan Shan": Among the sixty-four hexagrams of "Book of Changes", the "Lu" hexagram is "Dui Xia Qian Shan Shan", and the upper hexagram means Qian and Tian. The lower hexagram is Duiweize. Also, Dui is the Yin hexagram, which is soft; Qian is the Yang hexagram, which is strong. If it is exchanged at the bottom, from the perspective of cyclical relationships and laws, the bottom must rush up, so the phenomenon of "softness overcoming hardness" appears. This plan is derived from reasoning using this image, which means that I can defeat a strong enemy with this plan.

Classic case: Cao Cao’s surprise attack on Wuchao.

Strategy 20: Fishing in troubled waters: Take advantage of the chaos, exploit the weakness and have no master. Then, enter the banquet in the dark.

It is a metaphor for taking advantage of the chaos to gain unfair benefits. Also known as "fishing in troubled waters".

Sui, enter the banquet in the dark: the words come from the "Book of Changes." Sui" hexagram. Sui, hexagram name. This hexagram is a superposition of different hexagrams (shock the lower part and double the upper part). The upper hexagram of this hexagram is Dui, which is Ze; the lower hexagram is Shock, which is Thunder. When thunder hits the lake, the earth becomes cold and everything is dormant, so it is like an elephant named "Sui". Follow, the meaning of obedience. The word "Xiang" in "Sui Gua" says: "There is thunder in the lake, and the gentleman will go to the dark to enjoy the banquet." It means that people should work and rest according to the weather, and they should go to the house to rest in the evening.

Classic case: disrupting the situation and defeating Fu Jian.

Strategy 21: The golden cicada escapes from its shell: Preserve its shape and complete its potential; Do not doubt your friends, but do not move your enemies. Xun stops the poison.

Cicadas shed their young shells when they turn into adults. A metaphor for using tricks to escape.

The sun stops the gu: The words come from the hexagram of "The Book of Changes·Gu". Gu, hexagram name. This hexagram is a superposition of different hexagrams (Xun below Gen above). The upper hexagram of this hexagram is Gen, which is the mountain, which is strong, and it is a yang hexagram; Xun, which is wind and soft, is the yin potential. Therefore, the hexagram image of "Gu" is "hard above and soft below", which means that the mountains are quiet and the wind is flowing at the bottom, and everything will go smoothly. Also, Gen is in the upper hexagram, which means tranquility; Xun is in the lower hexagram, which means humility. Therefore, it is said that "humility and tranquility" and "grandeur and peace" are the signs of great governance in the world.

This plan quotes the word "彖" in this hexagram: "The thunder stops, Gu." The meaning is that I secretly and cautiously transfer the main force to stabilize the enemy, and I will take advantage of the enemy's lack of surprise to escape from danger. environment, you can safely avoid the danger of war. "Gu" means things go well.

Classic case: Cixi used a trick to return to Beijing.

Strategy 22: Catch the thief behind closed doors: Small enemies will be trapped. If you peel it off, it will be unfavorable.

Catch the thief who enters the house behind closed doors.

If you peel off, it will be detrimental to your future: the words come from the "Book of Changes". Peel" hexagram. Peel, the hexagram name. Different hexagrams in this hexagram overlap (Kun is below Gen and above). The upper hexagram is Gen, which is the mountain, and the lower hexagram is Kun, which is the earth. It means that the vast and boundless land is swallowing up the mountain, so it is also called "Pi". "Peel" means falling. The hexagram: "If you peel off, it will be unfavorable if you go there." It means: The hexagram of peeling off means that if you go somewhere, it will be unfavorable.

This plan refers to this hexagram, which means that small groups of enemies must be surrounded and destroyed immediately, which is not conducive to urgent pursuit or long-range attacks.

Classic case: Bai Qi Changping defeated Zhao Kuo.

Strategy 23: Make friends at a distance and attack at a close distance: The situation is forbidden, the advantage is obtained from the near, and the harm is obtained from the distance. Get angry and get wet.

Befriend distant countries and attack neighboring countries. This was the diplomatic strategy used by the Qin State to annex the six countries and unify the country.

The upper part of the fire and the lower part of the lake: The words come from the hexagram of "Yijing·罽". Gui, the name of the hexagram. This hexagram is a superposition of different hexagrams (Dui Xia Li Shang). The upper hexagram is Li (fire), and the lower hexagram is Dui (ze). When the top is separated from the bottom, water and fire are in conflict with each other. Water and fire are in conflict with each other, but they can create each other, and the cycle is endless. Also "罽" means taking advantage of violation, that is, contradiction. The word "Xiang" of this hexagram: "The upper fire and the lower lake, 罽." It means the upper fire and the lower lake, the two are inconsistent and contradictory.

This plan uses the principle of "high fire and low water" to contradict each other, and illustrates the different methods of "distance and close attack" to make the enemy contradict and contradict each other, and I just defeat them one by one.

Classic case: Fan Ju established national policy and worshiped the prime minister.

The twenty-fourth plan is to use the false road to attack Guo: Between the two major forces, the enemy is threatening to follow, but I am using false power. Sleepy, I don’t believe what I said.

In the name of borrowing a road, they actually want to invade the country (or the road). Guo, the name of the vassal state. Also known as "the false way destroys Guo".

Being sleepy means not believing something: the words come from the hexagram "Kun" in "The Book of Changes". Sleepy, hexagram name. The original hexagrams are stacked with different hexagrams (kan lower and dui above). The upper hexagram is dui, which is Ze, which is yin; the lower hexagram is kan, which is water, which is yang. The hexagram shows that the water that should be contained in the pond leaves the pond and penetrates downwards, so that the pond becomes trapped without water. Water leaves the pond and disperses without returning, so it is trapped in itself, so the hexagram is called "trapped". "Sleepy" means sleepy. The hexagram: "When you are sleepy, don't believe what you say." It means that if you are in a sleepy situation, don't you believe this foundation? This plan uses this hexagram to say that when a small country between two big countries is facing a situation of being coerced by others, if I say to rescue it, will he not believe it when he is in trouble?

Classic case: Stupid Duke Yu was greedy for money and lost his country.