Be friend a Distant State and Conquer the Ones Nearby

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  Near the end of the Warring States Period, the political situation had developed into a struggle for supremacy among the seven strongest countries. After the reforms instituted by Shang Yang, Cin grew stronger by the day. So king Cin Jhao started plans to conquer the remaining six countries to create the first unified empire in China.
  In 270 BC, king Cin Jhao wanted to conquer Ci, but his prime minister Fan Suei advised against this. Instead, he presented king Cin Jhao with a scheme to befriend a distance state and attack the ones nearby.
  Fan Suei said, "Among the six countries, Ci is the strongest and the farthest away from Cin . If we attack Ci now, our troops must first go through the territories of Han and Wei. With too few troops, it is difficult to conquer Ci. But with enough troops, it would still be impossible to occupy Ci even if we won. We would be in a no-win situation. Therefore, why not attack the neighboring Han and Wei first and then advance towards Ci step by step?" In addition, in order to prevent Ci from allying with Han and Wei, king Cin Jhao took the initiative to form an alliance with Ci.
  In the forty years that followed, Cin followed the same policy: Form alliances with Ci and Chu, while taking Han and Wei first. Later, Cin conquered Jhao and Yan to unify the north. Afterwards he conquered Chu in the south. Finally, Cin was able to conquer Ci. King Cin Jhao's dream of unifying China was thus finalized. This was how king Cin Jhao became Cin Shih Huag, the first emperor of China.

Strategy 23 : Be friend a Distant State and Conquer the Ones Nearby
   When constrained by terrain, you should start with the closest objective and gradually extend your forces further.