Lawyer Win Strategy 36

Author: Yang Peiguo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Devious and cunning actions that do not require deliberately selecting unknown times or places to carry out. Thieves sneaking in at midnight, killing in quiet alleys—such things are done by ordinary, unstrategic people. True strategists would not act this way. In the ninth year of the Kaihuang era, the Sui general He Ruobi led his troops to attack the Chen Kingdom. To deceive the Chen Kingdom, He Ruobi ordered the Sui forces guarding along the Yangtze River to display banners and troops densely during every rotation and handover, creating a grand spectacle in Lixiang. At first, the Chen people thought the Sui army was preparing to attack and quickly mobilized their national forces to defend. However, after a long time with no movement, they learned it was a false alarm and disbanded their troops. This happened repeatedly, and the Chen army grew accustomed to the Sui army’s tactics and ceased to be vigilant. He Ruobi seized the opportunity and, with the Chen people completely unprepared, led his across the Yangtze River and easily captured Nanxu.
The strategy of "Concealing the Truth to Deceive the World" originated in the Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan era, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin personally led his army to attack the Liao Kingdom. When he reached the East Sea, he saw the turbulent, boundless waves and felt uneasy, hesitating to proceed. His general Xue Renhui tried to persuade him but failed. In desperation, he devised a plan: soldiers disguised a large ship as a luxurious palace and invited the emperor to "enter the palace" for a meeting. In this way, the ship smoothly crossed the sea as the emperor and his ministers chatted amiably, successfully completing the campaign against the Liao Kingdom. Later, people used the phrase "showing the false while hiding the true" to describe the practice of concealing one’s intentions under a certain form, naming it the first strategy in the "Thirty-Six Stratagems."
The core of the "Concealing the Truth to Deceive the World" strategy is "to strike where least expected" and "to act where others do not anticipate." In essence, it reflects the complex relationship between form and content. From a conventional perspective, people should be able to deduce the truth hidden behind an external form based on their accumulated knowledge and experience, just as "1 + 1 = 2" is a given. Unforeseen events are rare, and as a result, people may develop a cognitive inertia, assuming that familiar, common, or prepared-for things will inevitably yield predictable outcomes without further analysis. However, the actual development of things shows that the relationship between form and content is highly complex and variable. Relying solely on past experience and knowledge is unreliable; one must consider the specific context and circumstances of the situation. Otherwise, being deceived by someone else’s "Concealing the Truth to Deceive the World" strategy and experiencing unexpected results is not surprising.
The key to mastering and applying the "Concealing the Truth to Deceive the World" strategy lies in viewing familiar things with a fresh perspective. This means, when observing, understanding, or dealing with things, one must set aside what is already known and the resulting cognitive biases, embedding one’s strategy within commonly known or habitual things to achieve surprise and victory, or to uncover others’ hidden intentions and plan preventive measures in advance. It must be emphasized that the use of "Concealing the Truth to Deceive the World" has both benevolent and malevolent intentions. While good intentions are justifiable, one must truly grasp its essence and techniques to recognize and counter those with ulterior motives. It is crucial not to reject the strategy out of a misguided sense of moral propriety.