Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake
故事全文
During the Cing Dynasty, there was a circuit court judge named Wang Shou Yu. He had a deputy named Jhao Bo Ren. Because of some personal feud with the judge, Jhao Bo Ren was looking for an opportunity to get back at the judge. One day, he bribed a guard to steal the judge's seal. Wang Shou Yu later found out what happened, but he could not arrest the deputy because he did not have any evidence that Jhao Bo Ren stole the seal. And without the seal, Wang Shou Yu could not do his job as a judge.
Seeing how troubled the judge is, his assistant came up with a brilliant plan to recover the seal. That night, the government building suddenly caught on fire. According to the rules, everyone was obliged to come to help put out the fire. At this moment, Wang Shou Yu hastily rushed out of the building with the box that stores the judge's seal in his hands. In front of everybody, he handed over the box toJhao Bo Ren and ordered him home to keep the seal safe from fire. Jhao Bo Ren hesitated. He was suspicious because the box was heavy. But he couldn't do anything but to obey the order, since he could not open the box in front of everyone.
The next morning, Wang Shou Yu assembled everyone in the court house to reward them for their contributions in fighting the fire last night. When Jhao Bo Ren handed the box over to Wang Shou Yu, the judge opened it on the spot. The stone which had previously been placed in the box was now replaced by the stolen seal.
Strategy 13: Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake
When the enemy's intention is unclear, we should launch indirect probes and observe the reactions of the enemy until his plans are exposed. The behavior of the enemy will reveal his strategy, and we can react accordingly.
