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三十六计英文-Thirty-Six Stratagems 31. Beauty trap 三十六计
三十六计英文
32. Empty city ploy
From Sun Tzu:
If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent
the enemy from engaging us even though
the lines of our encampment be merely traced
out on the ground. All we need do is to throw
something odd and unaccountable in his way.
-- from Section Six, "Weak Points and Strong," Art of War.
If all is lost, and your resources are exhausted or depleted, try the
unexpected. In a few such situations in the past, commanders threw open the
gates of their fortress, inviting the enemy to come and attack. Legend has it
that one such outnumbered leader of a cavalry stockade, when surrounded by
Indians, had the men open the gates and sweep the entryway to the stockade.
Allegedly, the Indians were so puzzled by this behavior that they decided not to
attack.
Perhaps a better way to read the stratagem is to say that if attack seems
inevitible and unwinnable, cause the enemy to believe that you have retreated or
deserted the battle field. We know the story of George Washington secretly
pulling his men into the dark forest at night and retreating through the woods.
When the British attacked the next morning, they found an empty camp.
Well, what if---after the Brits had scrounged through everything and were
standing around figuring out how to track Washington---the minutemen had
suddenly rushed back through the trees, muskets firing?
In a sense, this was the ploy of the Greeks in the final attack on Troy. The
Greeks convinced the Trojan army that they had withdrawn, leaving only the great
Trojan horse as a parting offering. Thus, the Greeks created an "empty city"
appearance that was so convincing that the men of Troy opened their gates and
pulled the great horse within their city walls. They believed that they had
nothing left to fear.
One aspect of the deception is to give every sign of the front line being
"empty," so that after the enemy assures himself that he has won, you attack.
Perhaps this tactic should be used only in situation in which the enemy has
demonstrated an upper hand all along and believes himself to be the sure victor.
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