Sacrifice the Plum for the Peach
故事全文
During the Spring and Autumn Period, a man by the name of Tu An Jia in the country of Jin was a favorite lackey of Jin Ling Gong. Jin Ling Gong was a tyrant, and he was killed by a cousin of then prime minister Jhao Dun. Since Tu An Jia's influence in the Court was derived from Jin Ling Gong, he fell out of favor, and so he hated Jhao Dun as a result. He claimed that Jhao Dun was a co-conspirator in the murder of Jin Ling Gong and suggested that the whole Jhao clan be executed as befitting the crime of murdering the king. Jin Ling Gong's son Jin Jing Gong was young at the time, and he believed Tu An Jia's story. So he gave Tu An Jia full authority to execute the Jhao clan.
Because of a tip off about the impending massacre, the pregnant wife of Jhao Dun's son Jhao Shuo was able to escape the fate of being killed. Later she gave birth to a boy. But when the news reached Tu An Jia, he wanted to make sure that the entire blood line of Jhao was wiped out. Knowing that the last Jhao baby was in grave danger, Chen Ying and Gong Sun Chu Jiou wanted to repay the kindness they had received from Jhao Shuo by saving the last Jhao baby. They discussed with each other and came up with a plan. Knowing that Tu An Jia would never quit until he kills the baby, Chen Ying substituted his own newborn son to be killed in order to satisfy Tu An Jia and save the last Jhao baby. This was how the last orphan of Jhao was saved. He was raised by Chen Ying in a remote mountain. Fifteen years later, the injustice done to the Jhao family finally was cleared. This is the famous historical story-The Last Orphan of Jhao-in which the strategy of "Sacrificing the plum to save the peach" was used to save the descendent of a loyal vassal.
Strategy 11: Sacrifice the Plum for the Peach
Originally it means taking the blame for others or being used as a scapegoat. But when applied to strategy, it means to sacrifice something of value in order to stay in the game or to win the game in the end.
