Watch the Fire from Across the River

Dōnghàn mònián, Yuán Shào bīngbài yōufèn ér sǐ, tā de jǐ ge érzi wèile zhēngduó quánlì dàdǎ-chūshǒu.

At the end of the Eastern Han, Yuan Shao died of frustration after a military defeat, and his several sons fell to fighting one another for power.

Yuán Tán hé Yuán Shàng gè zhàn yì fāng, hùbùxiāngràng, dǎ de bùkě-kāijiāo.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang each held one region, and neither would give way; their fighting showed no sign of stopping.

Cáo Cāo chènshì běishàng, yào yìjǔ tūnbìng Yuánshì de shìlì.

Cao Cao took the chance to march north, meaning to swallow up the Yuan clan's power in one stroke.

Cáo Cāo de bùjiàng fēnfēn qǐngzhàn, xiǎng chèn luàn lìkè chūbīng tǎofá.

Cao Cao's generals one after another asked to fight, eager to march at once and attack while the enemy was in chaos.

Cáo Cāo què yáotóu shuō: “Búbì zháojí, tāmen xiōngdì zhījiān de huǒ, huì yuè shāo yuè wàng.”

Cao Cao shook his head and said, 'No need to rush; the fire between those brothers will only burn hotter.'

Tā xiàlìng dàjūn zhùzhā zài hébiān, ànbīng-búdòng, zuò kàn Yuánshì xiōngdì zìxiāng-cánshā.

He ordered the army to camp by the river, hold its position, and simply watch as the Yuan brothers slaughtered each other.

Guǒrán, Yuán Tán dǎ bú guò Yuán Shàng, jìngrán zhuǎn'ér xiàng Cáo Cāo qiúyuán.

Sure enough, Yuan Tan could not beat Yuan Shang, and to everyone's surprise he turned to Cao Cao for help.

Cáo Cāo xiān zhù Yuán Tán chúdiào yìxiē duìshǒu, yòu děng tāmen liǎngbài-jùshāng shí zài gègè-jīpò.

Cao Cao first helped Yuan Tan remove a few rivals, then waited until the brothers had worn each other down before crushing them one by one.

Méi guò jǐ nián, Yuánshì de shìlì jiù bèi Cáo Cāo yìdiǎndiǎn cánshí gānjìng, jīhū bú fèi duōdà lìqi.

Within a few years the Yuan clan's power had been nibbled away by Cao Cao bit by bit, almost without great effort.

Zhè jiùshì “Gé'àn-guānhuǒ” —— dírén nèibù qǐhuǒ shí, búbì jízhe chūshǒu, děng tāmen zìxiāng-cánshā, zài zuòshōu-qílì.

This is 'watching the fire from across the river': when a fire breaks out inside the enemy's camp, there is no need to rush in; wait for them to destroy each other, then gather the profit.

Shāngchǎng shàng yě chángjiàn zhè zhǒng zhìhuì: dāng liǎng ge duìshǒu wèile yí kuài shìchǎng pīn de nǐ sǐ wǒ huó shí, dì-sān fāng bùfáng xiān ànbīng-búdòng, děng tāmen liǎngbài-jùshāng, zài qù shōubiān kèhù hé réncái.

The same wisdom is common in business: when two rivals fight to the death over one market, a third party may well hold back first, wait until both are exhausted, and then take over their customers and talent.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: bù dāng jíxiānfēng, ràng duìshǒu xiān xiāohào zìjǐ, fǎn'ér néng yòng zuìxiǎo de dàijià ná dào zuìdà de hǎochù.

Its wisdom lies here: do not rush to the front; let the opponents wear themselves down first, and you can win the biggest prize at the smallest cost.