victory – Jineral Knowledge

Thirty-Six Stratagems: Chapter 2 – Enemy Dealing Stratagems

Posted on 04/01/201215/02/2019 by Jinavie

(For all 36 stratagems, click here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/thirtysix/?order=asc)

Enemy Dealing Stratagems are tactics you can use when you and the enemy have equal amount of forces. They can be used to increase your chance of winning in a close battle.

Stratagem 7: Create something from nothing
Even if you do not have something, make it look like you have it. Bluff by pretending you have a massive force to disorient the enemy and launch a surprise attack when they are off guard to achieve certain victory.

Stratagem 8: Sneak through Chencang without anyone knowing
Pretend to attack one place and launch a surprise attack some place else. If you hide your intention and deceive the enemy to avoid them, it is far more effective than facing them head on.

Stratagem 9: Watch the fire burn across the river
If there is internal unrest or threat within the enemy, do not attack them. Instead, wait and watch as they destroy themselves.

Stratagem 10: Hide a knife behind a smile
While setting the enemy at ease with a kind exterior, plan meticulously on the inside and wait for the right moment to destroy the enemy.

Stratagem 11: Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree
This means to sacrifice the plum tree by letting it take the pests that usually attack the peach tree. If you utilise allies and surrounding countries well, you can deflect the damage you would receive to them.

Stratagem 12: Take the opportunity to pilfer a sheep
Do not look over even the smallest of an enemy’s flaws. Aggressively seize even the smallest opportunities.

History & Literature

Thirty-Six Stratagems: Chapter 1 – Winning Stratagems

Posted on 03/01/201215/02/2019 by Jinavie

(For all 36 stratagems, click here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/thirtysix/?order=asc)

The Thirty-Six Stratagems is a book from ancient China that outlines 36 stratagems (a ruse to change the flow of battle or aide a victory). The author and the time of writing are unclear, but it incorporates much wisdom from The Art of War and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Regardless of who wrote it, the Thirty-Six Stratagems is a must-read text as it outlines tactics that are very useful in war (especially the harsh battlefield of life) in a way that is easy for anyone to understand and learn. The thirty-six stratagems are divided into six categories: Winning Stratagems, Enemy Dealing Stratagems, Attacking Stratagems, Chaos Stratagems, Proximate Stratagems and Desperate Stratagems. Let’s learn them chapter by chapter.

Winning Stratagems are tactics that you can employ when you have all the conditions for a victory. They are tactics that utilise meticulous planning and deception to confuse the enemy and make victory certain.

Stratagem 1: Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean
People are not suspicious of things they have seen repeatedly. This is a perfect opportunity to seize. Give the enemy false reassurance through repeating a common act and strike when they are off guard.

Stratagem 2: Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao
Instead of facing the enemy head on, detour around them to strike their main base. It is a tactic where you capture something the enemy holds dear and using it to control the enemy as you wish.

Stratagem 3: Kill with a borrowed knife
Hide yourself while using a third party to bring harm to the enemy.

Stratagem 4: Leisurely await for the laboured
If you camp and rest at a strategic spot and strike the enemy after they have tired from a long march, you can raise the chance of winning. Also, laying siege to the enemy when they are short of food and tiring them out is another way to bring victory.

Stratagem 5: Loot a burning house
This means that you should strike when the enemy is in chaos when their base is on fire. In other words, take the opportunity when the enemy is in a tough spot and attack.

Stratagem 6: Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west
Distract the enemy’s attention to a different place and attack from a completely unpredicted location so that the enemy is unprepared.

History & Literature

To Win A Hundred Battles

Posted on 28/12/201115/02/2019 by Jinavie

According to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, there are two ways to victory. The first is winning without fighting the enemy, the second is to win after battling the enemy. The former is the better, wiser option with the latter being the second best choice. Even if you win a hundred battles, it is not the idea victory. Achieving victory without a battle is the far better option. The best method is to predict the enemy’s movements and outwit them. The second best method is to sever the ties between the enemy nation and their close allies, isolating them. The third method is to engage in battle with the enemy and the worst method is to attack them using all means and resources.

To avoid a war and still achieve victory you must anticipate the enemy’s plans and to do this you must gather intelligence. Thus, whether you win or lose a war depends on whether you have the right intelligence. 지피지기 백전불태(知彼知己百戰不殆, jipijigi baekjeonbultae): If you know the enemy and know yourself, even if you fight a hundred battles you are not in danger. If you fight only knowing your military capabilities and not the state of the enemy, the chances of victory is half-half. If you do not know the enemy’s or your own military’s capabilities, then you will lose every fight.

History & Literature

Pyrrhic victory

Posted on 06/09/201114/02/2019 by Jinavie

Sometimes in war, victory comes at devastating costs. Such was the case for King Pyrrhus of Epirus when he battled the Romans at Asculum in 279 BC. Although Pyrrhus was ultimately victorious, due to the sheer size of the Roman army Pyrrhus’ army suffered significant casualties (but still less than the Roman casualties). Pyrrhus’ forces had been so crippled that another assault by the Romans would have utterly crushed them and led to a massacre.

This led to Pyrrhus’ famous saying: “Another such victory and I come back to Epirus alone”, implying that the cost of victory was so high that there is almost no gain. Such a victory is now called a Pyrrhic victory – a victory that is not really a victory.

Life & Happiness

Eleusis Game

Posted on 21/03/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

The victory condition for this card game, named after an ancient Greek city, is quite simple: discover the pre-determined law via induction.
This game needs at least four people, with one person acting the position of God. God decides on a certain law (in the form of a single statement) and writes it down on a paper, thus creating the way of the universe.
Next, the deck of cards is split evenly between the other players, then one person places a card in the centre. After “the world begins to exist”, God looks at the card and says “This card qualifies” or “This card fails”. The next player also places a card in the centre and the God judges whether it fits the way of the universe.

Players carefully study which cards qualify or fail to try discover the way of the universe. If someone thinks they figured the law out, he or she proclaims themself as the prophet, who begins to take over the role of God to announce whether the cards qualify or not. If at any point the prophet is wrong, he is dismissed. If the prophet correctly judges ten cards in a row, he states his hypothesised law and compares it to the piece of paper. The prophet wins if the two laws coincide, but is dismissed if it is not. When all 52 cards are played without a successful prophet, God becomes victorious.

However, as this is a game, the way of the universe cannot be too complex. To make it fun, the God player must devise a law that is simple yet difficult to discover. For example, the law “Alternate a card higher than 9 and a card lower than 9” is tricky as players tend to focus on picture cards or the colours of the cards. Also, laws such as “Only red cards qualify, except the tenth and thirtieth cards are disqualified” and “Accept all cards that are not the 7 of Hearts” are illegal, as they are too detailed. A God who comes up with such ways of the universe that cannot be found using logic and the scientific method loses his right to play the game. Ergo, the God must seek simplicity that is not easily conceived.

So what is the most successful strategy for this game? Even if there is the risk of being dismissed, proclaim yourself as the prophet as soon as possible for the best chance of winning.