Sow Discord Among the Enemy

Jiàn'ān shísān nián, Cáo Cāo shuài bāshí wàn dàjūn nán xià, tún bīng Chìbì, yù yìjǔ tūnbìng Jiāngdōng.

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao led an army of eight hundred thousand southward, encamping at Red Cliffs, intent on swallowing the Jiangdong region in a single stroke.

Sūn Liú liánjūn yǐ guǎ dí zhòng, zuì jìdàn de biàn shì Cáo jūn xīnbiān shuǐjūn dūdū —— Cài Mào, Zhāng Yǔn èr rén shēn ān shuǐ zhàn.

The allied army of Sun and Liu was badly outnumbered, and what they feared most was the enemy's newly appointed naval commanders, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, who knew naval warfare inside out.

Dōng Wú dà dūdū Zhōu Yú dēng gāo kuī yíng, jiàn Cáo jūn shuǐzhài jǐngrán-yǒuxù, yōuxīn-rúfén, shì yào xiān chú cǐ èr huàn.

Wu's supreme commander Zhou Yu climbed high to spy on the enemy camp; seeing the water fortress in perfect order, he burned with worry and vowed to remove these two threats first.

Zhèngqiǎo Cáo Cāo mùliáo Jiǎng Gàn zì qǐng guò jiāng quànxiáng Zhōu Yú, Zhōu Yú biàn jiāngjì-jiùjì, shè xià “Fǎnjiàn-jì”.

By chance Cao Cao's aide Jiang Gan volunteered to cross the river and talk Zhou Yu into surrender, so Zhou Yu turned his trick to his own ends and laid a “Discord Stratagem”.

Zhōu Yú dàyàn qúnyīng, yángzhuāng dà zuì, yāo Jiǎng Gàn tóng tà ér mián, ànzhōng shǐ rén wěizào yì fēng Cài Mào, Zhāng Yǔn “mìyuē nèiyìng” de shūxìn.

Zhou Yu threw a feast for his officers, pretended to be deeply drunk, and invited Jiang Gan to share his bed; in secret he had a forged letter drawn up, a “secret pact to act as inside agents” bearing the names of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.

Jiǎng Gàn bànyè tōukuī àn shàng wénshū, guǒ jiàn zhè fēng yàomìng de shūxìn, biàn rúhuò-zhìbǎo, qiǎorán chāolù cáng yú huái zhōng.

In the middle of the night Jiang Gan peeped at the papers on the desk, found this damning letter, and rejoiced as if he had found a treasure; he quietly copied it and hid it in his robe.

Cìrì Jiǎng Gàn cí guī, xiàn xìn yú Cáo Cāo; Cáo Cāo sù duōyí, bórán-dànù, wèi jí xìchá biàn huàn lái Cài, Zhāng èr jiàng.

The next day Jiang Gan took his leave, returned, and presented the letter to Cao Cao. Ever suspicious, Cao Cao flew into a rage and, before looking into it closely, summoned the two generals.

Cáo Cāo lìshēng hēchì, bùróng fēnbiàn, jíkè jiāng èr rén tuī chū zhǎnshǒu; jí zhì shǒují xiàn shàng, fāng huǎngrán-dàwù zhòng le fǎnjiàn zhī jì.

Cao Cao thundered at them, allowed no defence, and at once had both men beheaded; only when their heads were brought before him did he realize, with a start, that he had fallen for a discord stratagem.

Zìcǐ Cáo jūn shuǐjūn zài wú rén tōngxiǎo shuǐ zhàn, shìqì dà cuò, zhōng wèi hòulái de Chìbì huǒgōng mái xià le bàijú.

From then on no one in Cao Cao's fleet understood naval warfare, and morale crumbled — sowing the seeds of the defeat that the great fire at Red Cliffs would soon bring.

Zhè biàn shì “Fǎnjiàn-jì” —— bú dòng yì dāo yì qiāng, jiè dí zhī shǒu zì huǐ dòngliáng, shǐ qí zài wúlì huánjī.

This is the “Discord Stratagem”: without raising a single blade, you make the enemy destroy its own pillars with its own hand, until it has no strength left to strike back.

Zài xiàndài shāngzhàn lǐ, duìshǒu cháng huì pài rén lái “dǎtàn” huò “hézuò”, yuè shì yīnqín yuè yào jǐngtì; bù qīngxìn nèibù chuányán, cái néng bǎozhù héxīn tuánduì.

In modern business wars, rivals often send people to “sound you out” or “partner up”; the more eager they seem, the more alert you must be. Only by refusing to swallow inside rumours can you keep your core team intact.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: bǎolěi zuì róngyì cóng nèibù gōngpò, yǔqí qiánggōng qí jiānjiǎ, bùrú shǐ qí zìluàn-zhènjiǎo.

Its wisdom: a fortress is easiest to break from within; rather than batter at its armour, it is better to make it collapse from its own confusion.