In business warfare, companies try to avoid direct attack on the competitor and resorts to devious techniques such as getting someone else to do the dirty job and thereafter feign innocence. This business stratagem gives companies a huge comfort zone. How this stratagem came into being? Here is the legend behind “kill with a borrowed knife”:
Duke Zhuang of Zheng (743–701 BC) was the Third Ruler of State of Zheng and arguably a great strategist of his time whose use of stratagem is legendary. He opted for various nuances of Chinese stratagem to bring down rival kingdoms. The one he used against the State of Kuai is an exceptional and entered into Chinese folk lore on military affairs.
Before invading Kuai, he did his homework. First he sent out his trusted spies to roam around Kuai to find out about the strength of its army, the details about military generals and advisers who have sway over the court of Kuai. After drawing the best men list he got into managing information warfare.
Duke Zhuang then spread misinformation inside his own state of Zheng. The fake news was: a number of generals and advisers of Kuai are in his pocket and are ready to betray the king of Kuai. He was also cunning enough to publish the names of the conspirators. He announced that after capturing Kuai all these top men stand to benefit for their help and would be richly rewarded.
He did not stop at that. He published this secret arrangement in places where the people gather making it into the grapevine promptly. As the message spread throughout, the spies of Kuai operating inside Zheng got wind of it and dutifully passed the info to the king of Kuai.
When the king of Kuai got this message he got into mighty rage. Without investigating the veracity of this fake news he ordered all those whose names appear be apprehended immediately and be executed without any mercy. By this rash action the king of Kuai unwittingly made his army rudderless, because the best of talent is gone and whoever remained were indeed fearful that similar fate awaits them too and were ready to run away.
As the news of execution reached Duke of Zheng, he did not lose a single moment. He immediately ordered his men for a quick battle with king of Kuai and his weakened army. Seeing the daylight and regretting for the fate of defeat he brought upon the state of Kuai, he appealed to the remaining men for a last minute ditch to forestall defeat. However, the counter attack could not take-off as the demoralised army was vanquished in no time and the king of Kuai was captured & summarily executed!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Business Strategist
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Business Strategist
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