Strategy 22 : Shut the Door to Catch the Thief
故事全文
During the reign of Empress Wu Ze Tian in the Tang Dynasty, there were two ministers by the name of Lai Jun Chen and Jhou Sing who were favored by the Empress. They devised various torture instruments. From time to time innocent officials and civilians would be tortured using these instruments until they succumbed to the pain and made false confessions.
One day, the Empress received tips that Jhou Sing was plotting a revolt. The Empress thus assigned Lai Jun Chen to arrest Jhou Sing and to find out all the conspirators. Lai Jun Chen thought it was a difficult task, not because they were good friends, but because Jhou Sing was also an expert at torture techniques. It would not be easy to make him confess.
Lai Jun Chen then invited Jhou Sing to dinner and deliberately asked him for advice, "Lately the criminals has become more and more cunning. They refuse to confess despite using all kinds of torture on them. Do you have any good ideas?'' Jhou Sing said elatedly, "I have a new idea which would definitely make any suspect confess. It only requires a large water jar full of water. You put the suspect into the jar full of water and bring the whole thing to a boil. Any suspect would confess right away, I assure you."
After he finished, Lai Jun Chen smacked the table and smiled slyly, "Brilliant! What a marvelous idea!'' He then ordered his men to carry a big water jar into the room. They filled it with water and brought it to a boil. Before long it was steaming.
At this point, Lai Jun Chen suddenly turned on Jhou Sing and accused him, "How dare you plot against the Empress! She has known your plot all along and has ordered me to investigate you. Confess now! Or else I will be forced to invite you into the water jar!''
Strategy 22: Shut the Door to Catch the Thief
Shut the door to catch the thief. In other words, the best way to deal with a smaller enemy is to trap him and destroy him.
