Take It Easy
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Cao Wei was a distinguished general under Emperor Zhenzong in the Song dynasty. He beat back the enemy many times who marauded China’s northwestern border region.
Once the enemy fled after a serious defeat, leaving behind a large number of beasts of burden and other supplies. They were all captured by Cao Wei’s army. The animals considerably slowed down the march of his army. Yet General Cao rejected suggestions from his officers that they discard those animals for fear that the enemy might launch a surprise attack.
Soon report came that the enemy was indeed turning back upon learning that the Chinese army was slowed down by their spoils. But General Cao was not concerned at all. He ordered his troops to move on until they reached a favorable terrain. Then he deployed them, waiting for the enemy.
As the enemy troops were drawing near, General Cao dispatched an envoy to their commander, saying that he did not want to attack them when they were tired out but would like to engage them in a battle when they had rested up because he wanted to fight an honest war and win an honest victory. His proposal was readily accepted by the enemy commander whose men had just traveled a hundredli.
After a long break, the two sides fought. General Cao’s army got the upper hand very soon and crushed the enemy in a big way.
When asked why he was able to win an easy victory, General Cao Wei replied, “Our initial victory did not wipe out the main force of the enemy. So I tried to entice them back by pretending to be greedy and letting those animals hold up the pace of my army. As the enemy troops turned back from a distance, they were naturally tired, but their morale was high. If we fought them right away, there was no guarantee we would win. As we know, if a man stops and takes a rest after a long walk, he’ll very likely feel more tired when he gets up. He’ll be aching all over and will be in no form to fight. That’s why I wanted the enemy to loosen up so that we could defeat them without much difficulty.”
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Wise Proverbs
- If you know the enemy and know yourself, you can fight a hundred battles without a single defeat.
- 知己知彼，百战不殆。
- Plan strategies within a command tent, and ensure victory on the battlefront a thousand li away.
- 运筹帷幄之中那个，决胜千里之外。
- Look before you leap.
- 摸清情况再行动。
Editor Says:
Different occasion, different tactics. General Cao Wei’s way of winning was just as marvelous as that of Cao Gui.