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36 War Strategies of Ancient China
Strategy 2
Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao
When the enemy is too strong to attack directly, then
attack something he holds dear. Know that in all things he cannot be superior.
Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
Warring States Era China
This strategy derives its name from a famous incident
that occurred in 354 BC. At this time one of China's most renowned strategists,
Sun Bin (A descendent of the even then famous Sun Zi) was an advisor to the king
of Qi. Sun had earlier been at the court of Wei but another minister, Pang Juan,
became jealous of Sun's cleverness. Through court intrigues he had Sun framed as
a spy, sentenced to mutilation, and imprisoned. Sun escaped and fled to Qi.
Several years later the king of Wei appointed the same Pang Juan as commander of
the army and sent him to attack the capital of Zhao. The king of Zhao
immediately appealed to Qi for help. The king of Qi consulted his advisors who
all spoke in favour of rushing to aid their ally, only Sun Bin recommended
against attacking. Sun advised: " To intervene between two warring armies
is like trying to divert a tidal way by standing in its path. It would be better
to wait until both armies have worn themselves out." The king agreed to
wait.
The siege of Zhao had lasted more than a year when Sun
Bin decided the time was ripe to come to Zhao's aid. The king of Qi appointed
prince Tian Ji as general and Sun as military advisor. Tian Ji wanted to attack
the Wei forces directly to lift the siege of Zhao, but again Sun advised against
direct intervention saying: " Since most of Wei's troops are out of the
country engaged in the siege, their own defence must be weak. By attacking the
capital of Wei, we will force the Wei army to return to defend their own capital
thereby lifting the siege of Zhao while destroying the Wei forces in turn."
Tian Ji agreed to the plan and divided his army into two parts, one to attack
the capital of Wei, and the other to prepare an ambush along the route to the
capital.
When the Wei general Pang Juan heard that the capital
was being attacked, he rushed his army back to defend the capital. Weakened and
exhausted from the year long siege and the forced march, the Wei troops were
completely caught by surprise in the ambush and suffered heavy losses. Chao was
thus rescued while Pang Juan barely escaped back to Wei to recoup his losses.
Sun Pin would later defeat his nemesis Pang Juan using another classic strategy.
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