THE 36 STRATEGIES / STRATAGEMS

Ruses de guerre, gambits, schemes... Anonymous Asian lore from the Warring States era (Sengoku jidai, Zhànguó shídài) gathers thirty-six stratagems that would be great for intrigue and/or military fiction as well as for real life (for instance, entrepreneurship). No matter whether you are an Iago or a Tywin Lannister, make sure that you --as a schemer-- keep them all close to yourself.

1. Fool the Heavens to Cross the Ocean: the more obvious something seems, the more secrets it can conceal, and people pay more attention to the unusual; thus, mask your real goals by using the excuse of a fake goal; when the enemy has taken this pretense for granted and lowered their guard, strike showing your true colours (the open feint: point west/left in public when your real goal, in pectore, is to the east/right. Also "crying wolf" to lull the enemy into taking for granted that it's still a hoax the time you finally strike, like Hitler threatened the UK and France time after time right before the unexpected, not-taken-seriously real invasion).
2. Besiege One State to Rescue Another: To defend against attack by limbs, strike straight for the heart, the throat, or the solar plexus (this is a metaphor); find out and attack your enemy's weak points. (Like the previous one... this one is easy. Iago, or Baelish, always finding and hitting the soft spots of others, may be a perfect example. In warfare, taking a keystone fortress or a ford/pass, or taking advantage of the enemy's flaws -Gustavus Adolphus against the tercios- may be the perfect example)
3. Kill with a Borrowed Sword: have others -third parties- do your dirty work to keep your own hands clean; also use the resources of said third parties in your own benefit (Thus did Tywin employ the Freys as "borrowed swords" at the Red Wedding).
4. Wait at Leisure while the Enemy Toils / is Exhausted: war of attrition; encourage the enemy to burn up their strength in futile quests, starve, thirst, freeze... while your own troops keep their health and strength intact. Then strike when the enemy is exhausted and losing all their morale! Fabian tactics, avoiding open battle until the enemy is exhausted. (Scorched earth tactics: the reason why never to wage a land war in Russia -or Dorne-. Wallenstein did the same to the Swedes at the Old Keep in the summer of 1632)
5. Loot a House on Fire at Your Ease: take advantage of internal dissension between factions on the enemy side, of epidemics, revolutions... attack the enemy right when it's weakened the most by crisis/force majeure (the great powers taking advantage of the squabble between the Kaiser and electors, and between some electors and others, during the 30 Years' War; Franco similarly defeating the Second Spanish Republic torn from within by schism; the kingdoms around France declaring war on the newborn republic during the Revolution; or Tywin Lannister in the War of Five Kings).
6. Make a Noise in the East, but Strike in the West: the surprise factor. Confuse the enemy with a feint, then strike them down when and where they least expect it (the Wronsky feint, in quidditch, when a seeker makes it look like he's diving for the snitch...).
7. Create Something Out of the Blue: Make them believe there is something when in fact there is nothing (the Swedish scarecrow sentinels on the walls of Poltava). Or that there is nothing when in fact there is something. Or spread rumours until they snowball and, just like in the telephone game, they are taken for granted. Use an illusion (again, Iago is a master of this, for instance in making Cassio appear as the instigator of the brawl, and then as Desdemona's lover).
8. Openly Repair the High Road, but Sneak Through the Secret Passage: deceive the enemy with a very obvious and predictable approach that will take a very long time (making them concentrate on the decoy and lower their guard), then surprise them by taking an unexpected shortcut and a lightning sneak attack. This is an extension of "Noise in the East, but Strike in the West," but using easy-to-see and suspicion-evading physical decoys (a Wronski-feinting seeker, carrying out the feint in broad sunlight, may have a co-conspirator in the nearby audience using a hand mirror or other snitch-looking shining object as the decoy snitch... does that abide by the rules?).
9. Watch the Fires Burn Across the River / Watch the Tigers Fight One Another: Wait at the edge of the battlefield. Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players are exhausted by fighting. Then, storm in at full strength and pick up the pieces, curbstomping them (the dissensions in between the factions of the wavering Second Republic, between those in favour of surrender and those against it, made Franco await the result of the internal schism until he finally attacked).
10. Hide a Knife Behind a Friendly Smile: gain the trust, and maybe even the love, of your enemy, with courteous words and manners -or whatever the victim appreciates in a person-. Again, Iago may be the textbook example in literature, and Wallenstein in real-life history (Hans in Frozen, Petyr Baelish, Sosuke Aizen... follow in Iago's trail).
11. Sacrifice the Plum to Spare the Peach: sacrifice short-term goals in favour of long-term goals. Scapegoating, including the Caiaphas principle (Caiaphas principle: to sacrifice the individual to save the community; for example, Jaime Lannister slitting Aerys's throat to save King's Landing); another example would be sacrificing a forlorn hope used as decoy in order to attain victory, or to save as many resources as possible during retreat.
12. Take Every Chance to Pilfer a Sheep: take every opportunity that presents itself, no matter how small it may be, and avail yourself of any profit, no matter how slight. After all, a sheep is not a cow, yet it may still do as resources. Every mistake the enemy makes must be taken advantage of (Iago taking advantage of the unexpected victory and the celebration thereof -not to mention the faux-pas his victims make-, Wallenstein of the fact that the Swedes will reach Saxony in November...).
13. Stomp the Grass to Scare the Snakes: do something spectacular to provoke an enemy response, to arouse the enemy's suspicions and disrupt their thinking (Wallenstein burning the Old Keep and marching into Saxony to make Gustavus Adolphus react). Also, if stealth is required: Do Not Stomp the Grass to Scare the Snakes: an imprudent act will give your position/intention away to the enemy.
14. Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul: "resurrect" a technology, a method, an ideology... that has become discarded for being "old-fashioned," reinterpreting said resurrected artifact for your own purposes (the Nazis appropriating the swastika -originally a Sanskrit lucky charm- and some Norse myths, aside from racial biology, to create their lore of the Aryan race).
15. Lure the Tiger Off its Den: lure the opponent away from their position, separating them from their source of strength; one can also lure the tiger into one's own turf (the scorched earth tactics mentioned before also take advantage of the unfamiliar extreme climate -whether of Russia or Dorne-, for which the enemy is not prepared).
16. Let Loose in Order to Capture: to avoid bloodshed, "al enemigo que huye puente de plata"; since a cornered victim will make a desperate strike to win or die, leave the one you have cornered a tiny shred of hope to escape, a hope spot which is actually a ruse. When the "hope" of freedom is proven a falsehood that had hitherto been taken for granted, the broken enemy will surrender without a fight.
17. Toss Out a Brick to Get Jade: bait the enemy; make them believe they gain something, or just make them react to them, and actually gain something more valuable (like information) in exchange. (This was the scheme Bellatrix Lestrange used on the leading cast in The Order of the Phoenix, that led to the demise of Sirius Black -the "brick" bait being the prophecy about the chosen one-). The Trojan Horse ruse also fits this kind of strategy.
18. Defeat the Enemy by Taking the Leader: go straight for the leader, for his demise may throw the whole enemy host into demoralisation. This only works if the men do not love the leader, who holds the disorganised group together as a keystone, controlling them by fear (torture, punishments) or by offering them rewards (soldiers of fortune). If the followers truly love and respect the leader, however, they will retaliate (as Wallenstein found out at Lützen!).
19. Steal the Firewood From Under the Pot: deny your enemy the resources needed to oppose you, sapping their strength to weaken their morale (another staple of scorched-earth tactics, seen in the Russian -burning the crops- as well as Dornish/Wallenstein cases -poisoning the springs-; attacking supply lines and caravans of provisions/ammunition is another example). It can also be a human resource -an advisor, a pathfinder...- This works best when the enemy is already wavering, to weaken them even further.
20. Trouble the Waters to Catch Fish: use confusion to further your own goals. When the enemy is dealing with uncertainty, create more chaos to confuse the enemy even more, using stealth and/or distraction to strike them with their guard down. It's more or less like Looting a House on Fire, only that you have fanned the flames into conflagration in the first place (in the former strategy, the "fire" is completely force majeure and internal schisms). Thus, Richelieu and Wallenstein employed intrigue to develop the schisms within the Habsburg Empire -between the Kaiser and the electors, between the Catholic electors and the Society of Jesus, between Catholic and Protestant electors...- The Cardinal even took advantage of Wallenstein's asking the Crown and the Church for a share of the "Edict of Restitution cake" to orchestrate the cashiering of the Duke of Friedland from his position as the Kaiser's first sword.
21. Shed the Cicada's Golden Shell: disguise as someone/something inconspicuous or masquerade as someone/something else (false flag ruses, such as Gustavus III's Swedish "Cossacks" or Hitler's Operation Himmler to justify invasion of Poland; also the age-old trope of Dressing as the Enemy to infiltrate or escape them -whether Winkies, Stormtroopers, Dai Li, or whatever; it's been also used in real life, by Cervantes breaking Moorish prison dressed as a janissary!-).
22. Lock the Door to Catch the Thief: let the enemy ensnare themselves, let them get hoist by their own petards. Tempt them into situations that lead to a flight forwards, and then cut off their supply lines. Once the prey is trapped, lock the door for good. Set a trap and make it click completely when the enemy has fallen hook, line, and sinker (again, Wallenstein marching into Saxony to attract Gustavus Adolphus, for the latter to give battle in November).
23. Befriend Someone Far and Attack Someone Near: distant allies make good allies for it is unwise for one to invade them, while the easiest lands to attack are those closest to one's own (in the Holy Land, Israel was and is allied with Western powers -the US, the UK, and so forth- while waging war against the Palestine territories).
24. Obtain a Common Enemy: if you have two of your enemies at each others' throats, ally with one of them and borrow the resources of that ally to attack the common enemy, promising them that they'll be rewarded once they've defeated the third party; then, once said common enemy is defeated, use those resources to turn against your temporary ally (Wallenstein surely had this in mind for Sweden, hoping to ally with Gustavus Adolphus against the Kaiser!).
25. Replace the Pillars with Rotten Timbers: Damage the sustaining structures, physical or ideological, on which the enemy depends, and replace them with systems which you control; making them dependent on you, discrediting their allies/friends/advisors and/or gaining monopoly of their resources... This can only work if you have got their trust. (Again, Iago is a master at this, and so is Baelish. Also, in 1631, the Catholic League relied completely on the granaries of Friedland, leading to a debt with Wallenstein that had to be paid... hence the taking of Magdeburg and Leipzig... which led to the League's defeat at Breitenfeld).
26. Point at One to Curse Another: use indirect means of getting your way; use third parties as intermediaries; threaten or punish -physically or emotionally- the weak to keep the strong in awe of you; make an example of those who oppose you by using disproportionate punishment (many cases of scapegoats who had to "drink the hemlock" for their executioners to frighten others into submission, such as Hans Hermann von Katte -beheaded by the Sergeant King of Prussia to shock his son Frederick- or Elia Martell and her children -gruesomely killed on the orders of Tywin Lannister-. Also the Aragonian king Ramiro the Monk and his notorious "bell of Huesca," beheading twelve feudal lords; Charles IX of Sweden also executed the most notorious of his brother John III's partisan lords to keep himself on the throne he had usurped).
27. Wear the Mask of a Fool While Remaining Smart: for who believes the fool, who is never taken seriously? It's the least suspicious person! Pretend you are stupid, or insane, or intoxicated, or physically weak, or not left- or right-handed (as Íñigo Montoya does), but keep your wits about you. Then strike when they least expect it, showing your true wit or strength when it's time to attack! There must be method in the madness (The most vivid example I can come up with is Hamlet feigning insanity during his revenge on a usurper stepfather; "method in the madness" indeed. Tyrion Lannister is also a master at wearing, in his case, the mask of a lush as well as that of a fool. Likewise, Gretel plays stupid to lure the wicked witch into the oven. Used when it applies to physical strength/skill, I would go for Íñigo Montoya switching sword hand and revealing that he is not left-handed! Ryoma, in The Prince of Tennis, usually plays right-handed, but switches racket hand -he's a born lefty- when the going gets tough!).
28. Lure Them Onto the Roof, Then Pull the Ladder Away: ensure there is no going back; employ ruse to lure the enemy into dangerous terrain, then, having cornered them completely, cut off their route of escape, communication, and resources; rendering the enemy isolated, unable to retreat, and bereft of supplies... (Again, scorched earth tactics... trying to get involved in a land war in Russia or Dorne... but also, to coax one's own allies to follow one, the burning of bridges after crossing streams and the burning of ships after having landed ashore to ensure that there's no turning back and that the dice are cast -"quemar las naves", as both Hernán Cortés and Nymeria did upon landing-).
29. Deck the Trees with Artificial Blossoms: appear powerful when you have far less power. Make it appear that you have more resources to keep a stronger enemy at bay (Tordenskiöld's soldiers marching around Carlsten Fortress, ostensibly 20000 strong but actually 500 strong; the Swedish scarecrow "guards" on the walls of Poltava. Another example would be the gruffalo story, in which the mouse and the gruffalo travel together through the woods, the gruffalo frightens the predators, but does not realise he is the dreaded one, and believes that the mouse is the one the predators fear, as the mouse herself had told the gruffalo beforehand when the two of them met), or appear weaker and lacking more resources to dissuade the enemy. Make a trifle appear valuable / something worthless appear useful by the use of ruse.
30. Exchange the Roles of Host and Guest: usurp leadership in a scenario in which you would be subordinate; create dependency, reversing the roles so that the more powerful opponent finds themselves in a subordinate position. Pretend to be the guest to be accepted, but develop and become the owner from within (Here, the Duke of Friedland and Iago give some textbook examples: Wallenstein offering the Count of Tilly Friedland grain to create a debt that Tilly would have to pay, to weaken the Catholic League -as said in Replace the Beams with Rotten Timbers- / Wallenstein offering the Kaiser the money and the provisions to raise "the Empire's own" army; Iago convinces all of his victims, who outrank him, that he is the perfect confidant, then -thanks to their trust- has them over a barrel. In Judges 4, Yael welcomes a fleeing, vanquished General Sisera and caters to his every need -exhaustion, thirst, concealment from the enemy-, then, when he has let his guard down the most, she literally hammers home a point!).
31. Honey Trap: send the enemy irresistible pleasures of the flesh, such as offerings of money, wenches, or drugs (strong drink, opium...) as a gift with pretenses of peace, to distract them and sow confusion among them. The leader and/or the officers, having given in, will neglect their duties and lower their guard; also, suspicious individuals on the enemy side will find themselves at odds with those who have given in to the honey trap, creating internal dissension and even intrigues (This is, in a nutshell, Queen Medb's MO in the Táin: more specifically, she uses the promise of her daughter's hand, mead, and bards to lure new allies. In the Old Testament, Yael's killing of Sisera and Judith's of Holofernes may also count in. In the Gesta Romanorum story 88 this is combined with the Empty Fort when an outnumbered general feigns surrender, retreats, and resigns his castle or campsite, with all the provisions therein, into the hands of the outnumbering enemy: "Now the castles -or campsites- were furnished with casks of wine empoisoned with the seed of a certain herb; insomuch, that whosoever drank of it immediately fell asleep. He knew that his opponents were starved; and that, overjoyed to find such excellent quarters, they would drink to excess, and fall into the half death-like quiet of sleep. They did so, and the general, returning, put them all to death.").
32. Fling Open the Gates to the Empty Fort: when you are vulnerable, make the enemies think twice about attacking you; double bluff the enemies by pretending weakness, as if to entice them to attack. Appear ready to fight, but make the enemy suspect there is a ruse when in fact there is none. When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all pretense of military preparedness, act calmly and taunt the enemy, so that the enemy will think you have a huge ambush hidden for them. It works best by acting calm and at ease when your enemy expects you to be tense. This ploy is only successful if in most cases you do have a powerful hidden force and only sparsely use the empty fort strategy. (The ruse at the storming of the Marienberg Fortress, ostensibly garrisoned by unarmed Jesuits, which Gustavus Adolphus, however, quickly saw through; Tywin Lannister opening the gates of King's Landing to the rebels, ditto Vibhishana in Sri Lanka - In the Gesta Romanorum story 88, this is combined with the Honey Trap when an outnumbered general feigns surrender, retreats, and resigns his castle or campsite, with all the provisions therein, into the hands of the outnumbering enemy: "Now the castles -or campsites- were furnished with casks of wine empoisoned with the seed of a certain herb; insomuch, that whosoever drank of it immediately fell asleep. He knew that his opponents were starved; and that, overjoyed to find such excellent quarters, they would drink to excess, and fall into the half death-like quiet of sleep. They did so, and the general, returning, put them all to death.").
33. Use the Enemy's Own Spies to Sow Dissension: recruit moles, or double agents, or fifth columnists, or turncoat informers (Judas Iscariot); and employ them to "sow weeds among the wheat." When preoccupied with settling internal disputes, the enemy's ability to confront external threats is compromised. Then, after the stratagems have been successfully carried out, reward these expendable moles as a traitor deserves.
34. Injure Yourself to Gain the Enemy's Trust: the Wounded Gazelle Gambit. Win their trust through sympathy, pretending you have been hurt. A variant is to take extreme risks (ie "suicide" risks) to prove yourself to them. On one hand, the enemy is lulled into lowering their guard, since you are not being regarded as an immediate threat. The second application is a way of ingratiating yourself with your enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy (like the stepsisters do in Disney's Cinderella, by accusing her of stealing their accessories; or the twin cats incriminate Lady in front of Aunt Sarah, by making her appear as the real culprit. Iago also employs the Wounded Gazelle Gambit, being injured as he tried to restrain a drunken Cassio, by making it appear that he was overly concerned about the lieutenant's alleged addiction).
35. Chain Multiple Stratagems: pile up two or more of these strategies which have been explained before, either as a cause-and-effect chain or having Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and so forth as backup (Iago, Wallenstein, and Baelish have made such chains of stratagems).
36. If Everything Else Fails, Retreat. Nothing more remains to explain than the same axiom in Swedish: "Bättre fly än illa fäkta" (Better to Flee than Sadly Fighting Be). Retreating, unlike surrendering, is temporary -you'll lose the battle, but still be able to win the war-; and everyone learns more from their mistakes.