Zhi Bo demanded territory from Wei Xuanzi, who refused. Ren Zhang asked: “Why decline?” Wei Xuanzi answered: “He asks for land without reason, so I will not yield.”
Ren Zhang said: “Unprovoked land claims will alarm neighboring states. Zhi Bo is insatiably greedy, and all realms will live in dread. If you grant him land, he will grow arrogant and underestimate his foes. Frightened states will then unite closely. Allied troops facing an arrogant enemy will soon bring Zhi Bo down. The Book of Zhou states: If you would defeat someone, first support him; if you would seize something, first give it to him. You had better offer land to inflate his pride. Why would you abandon the chance to unite all realms against the Zhi clan, and leave our state alone to be their target?”
Wei Xuanzi agreed and gave him a fief with ten thousand households. Zhi Bo was greatly pleased. He next demanded land from Zhao and was rejected, so he laid siege to Jinyang. Later, Han and Wei revolted from outside, while Zhao fought back from within. The Zhi clan was ultimately destroyed.
Note
This text is excerpted from Han Feizi, Chapter: The Forest of Persuasions (Part I). It tells us that confronting a greedy and aggressive foe with brute force is risky. Temporary compromise to fuel the enemy’s arrogance and rally allies is a wiser way to achieve final victory.
Late Warring States Legalist philosopher. He quotes this historical event to illustrate strategic statecraft.
Zhi Bo
Leader of the powerful Zhi clan in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Extremely greedy and arrogant, he sought to annex other clans’ lands and finally perished.
Wei Xuanzi
Ruler of the Wei clan, one of the major forces in the Jin regime.
Ren Zhang
Wise advisor of Wei Xuanzi, skilled at analyzing situations and devising stratagems.
Zhao clan & Han clan
Two influential noble clans of Jin, allies that jointly overthrew the Zhi clan.
Power Struggles of Noble Clans
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the royal power of Jin declined, and powerful noble clans fought fiercely for territory and dominance.
Stratagem of Indulging Arrogance
A classic ancient tactic: concede temporary benefits to make the enemy conceited and careless, then launch a counterattack.
Quotation from The Book of Zhou
An ancient political classic. The cited sentence summarizes the tactic of yield first to conquer later, widely used in ancient military and political struggles. It echoes the saying from Dao De Jing: when he is going to weaken another, he will first strengthen him.
And Han Fei had further illustrated this in Chapter 21.9.
Alliance and Counterattack
Weak forces unite to resist a dominant power, reflecting the balance of power among vassal clans.
智伯索地於魏宣子，魏宣子弗予，任章曰：「何故不予？」宣子曰：「無故請地，故弗予。」任章曰：「無故索地，鄰國必恐，彼重欲無厭，天下必懼，君予之地，智伯必驕而輕敵，鄰邦必懼而相親，以相親之兵待輕敵之國，則智伯之命不長矣。《周書》曰：「將欲敗之，必姑輔之，將欲取之，必姑予之。」君不如予之以驕智伯。且君何釋以天下圖智氏，而獨以吾國為智氏質乎？」君曰：「善。」乃與之萬戶之邑，智伯大悅。因索地於趙，弗與，因圍晉陽，韓、魏反之外，趙氏應之內，智氏自亡。
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