Learn to be a person and do things from the Art of War and the 36 Stratagems

Author: Wang Yu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Unpredictable, Strike When Unprepared
[Original Text] The Art of War by Sun Tzu, in the chapter "Planning," states: "Strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect. This is the essence of victory for the military strategist, and it cannot be revealed in advance."
[Translation] To launch an attack when the enemy is unprepared and take action where they least expect it. This is the secret to military success, which cannot be pre-empted.
[Analysis] "Strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" is one of the most famous military principles, having become a timeless military adage. During the Three Kingdoms period, the renowned Wu general Lü Meng cleverly used this strategy to seize Jingzhou. This battle led to the famous Three Kingdoms hero Guan Yu's retreat to Maicheng and severely weakened the Shu state. Faced with the distinguished general Guan Yu, the relatively unknown Lü Meng first feigned illness, allowing Lu Xun to take over the defense of Lushun. Lu Xun wrote a letter and sent a generous gift to Guan Yu, who, upon reading the letter, found its tone extremely humble and thus grew even less wary of Lu Xun. As a result, Guan Yu relaxed his vigilance against Wu and withdrew the main force guarding Jingzhou to attack Fancheng. At this moment, Lü Meng seized the opportunity, leading 30,000 elite troops and over 80 fast ships. He disguised some of his soldiers as merchants, all wearing white robes and rowing the boats, while hiding his elite troops inside. The guards stationed at the riverfront beacons, mistaking the ships for merchants, allowed Lü Meng's fleet to dock entirely. Lü Meng then seized the chance to ambush the guards along the river and bribed the soldiers in Jingzhou with heavy sums of money, ordering them to open the city gates. The guards, thinking it was their own troops, opened the gates, and Lü Meng seized the opportunity to capture Jingzhou. The city fell into his hands with ease, fulfilling Sun Quan's long-held dream of seizing Jingzhou.
"Strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" is not only applicable in war but also in business. If you can "strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" in the marketplace, you can also achieve remarkable results. For example, Tianjin Fourth Aluminum Products Factory created a whistle-equipped aluminum pot, which quickly became in high demand. Aluminum pots are common household items, and many people had tinkered with them over the years, but most improvements were minor and lacked novelty. However, Tianjin Fourth Aluminum Products Factory came up with an ingenious idea—adding a whistle to a regular aluminum pot. When the water boiled, the steam would blow the whistle, alerting people to remove the pot. This small, unexpected innovation made the "whistling pot" a bestseller.
In our daily lives, applying the wisdom of "strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" can often yield surprising outcomes. For instance, a boy and his girlfriend were arguing, and neither wanted to admit fault. But this wasn’t working. So, the boy sent his girlfriend a text message saying he was traveling and wouldn’t be back for several days. His girlfriend wanted to make up but couldn’t bring herself to. Seeing the message, she was disappointed but had no choice. The next morning, the boy stood in front of his girlfriend with flowers, giving her a huge surprise. Their small misunderstanding was resolved, and their relationship grew even stronger. Here, the boy used the tactic of "strike where they are unprepared."
"Strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" is also the universal law governing all things in the universe. Materialist dialectics holds that all things in the universe are in constant development and change, and this law of change is unchanging. "Strike where they are unprepared and attack where they do not expect" emphasizes change and opposes rigid patterns. From this perspective, it is not only a widely applicable strategy but also an eternal principle.