In The Art of War · Calculations, Sun Tzu proposed twelve deceptive warfare tactics, among which the ninth one is:
“Infuriate the quick-tempered enemy and disrupt his judgment.”(怒而撓之)
This strategy targets commanders with impulsive and irritable personalities. The character “nao” means disruption and disturbance. By continuous provocation, public insult and mental harassment, opponents can force hot-headed generals to lose rational thinking, abandon preset combat plans, and step into enemy traps voluntarily.
Sun Tzu emphasized the hazard of angry decision-making again in The Art of War · Fire Attack:
“Rulers must not launch wars out of personal anger; generals must not start battles out of temporary resentment. Anger can fade away sooner or later, but a fallen nation can never be rebuilt, and dead soldiers can never resurrect. Emotional impulse always leads to irreversible military failures.”
The Battle of Si River
During the Chu-Han Contention, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang confronted each other at Chenggao for a long time. When Xiang Yu needed to march east to eliminate Peng Yue’s rebellion in the rear, he appointed his trusted general Cao Jiu to garrison Chenggao. As recorded in Records of the Grand Historian, Xiang Yu gave an explicit order:
“Hold the city firmly. Refuse all challenges from the Han army. Do not take the initiative to fight. I will return within fifteen days after suppressing the rebellion.”
Enemy’s Provocation Tactics
Cao Jiu abided by the military order and held fast to the city at the beginning. Unable to win a quick victory, Liu Bang launched psychological warfare aiming at Cao Jiu’s personality defect. The Han army built high platforms outside the city and insulted Cao Jiu and Chu soldiers relentlessly for six days, even insulting their ancestors publicly.
According to historical documents, Cao Jiu once worked as a prison officer. Such staff were usually harsh, stubborn and extremely sensitive to public humiliation, making him an easy target for anger provocation.
Military Collapse Caused by Uncontrolled Rage
Overwhelmed by fury, Cao Jiu completely ignored Xiang Yu’s strict order and commanded his army to cross the Sishui River to attack the Han army. Liu Bang ambushed the Chu army halfway across the river. The Chu troops fell into chaos instantly and suffered a total defeat.
All military supplies and treasures were seized by the Han army. Filled with shame and guilt, Cao Jiu, together with Dong Yi and Sima Xin, committed suicide by the riverside. The fall of Chenggao put Xiang Yu in a lasting strategic disadvantage in the Chu-Han struggle.
Core Reasons for Cao Jiu’s Failure
Cao Jiu, the Grand Marshal of the Chu army, clearly knew that the Han army was deliberately provoking him. Why did he still fall for the trap?
Sima Qian, in the Records of the Grand Historian, wrote a thought-provoking passage:
“Grand Marshal Jiu was formerly a prison officer in Qi; the Chief Clerk Xin was also a prison officer in Yueyang. Both had once done favors for Xiang Liang, and for this reason King Xiang trusted them.”
Hence we know that Cao Jiu and Sima Xin were originally prison wardens. In their early years, they interrogated prisoners in jails. When Xiang Liang, the uncle of Xiang Yu, was once imprisoned, they helped him. Therefore, Xiang Yu, out of gratitude, promoted them and entrusted them with military command.
Why did Sima Qian deliberately mention their background here? This is by no means a casual remark. In the narrative style of the Records of the Grand Historian, one’s origins are often the key to understanding one’s character and fate.
A “prison officer” is someone who regularly deals with prisoners. They are accustomed to harshness, have irritable tempers, and are fond of disputing right and wrong.
As for Cao Jiu and Sima Xin, they had no military talent whatsoever. They were suddenly elevated to high positions only because of past favors. Although they held the office of Grand Marshal, they still acted in the manner of prison officers.
Therefore, we can summarize several main reasons for his mistakes.
- Firstly, his innate irritable personality determined poor emotional control.
- Secondly, he was promoted owing to personal kindness instead of real military capability, lacking necessary strategic composure.
- Thirdly, he valued superficial personal dignity over overall military situation, completely falling into the enemy’s mental trap.
Now we will look into another ancient military story and we will see how a positive model, Sima Yi, proves that emotional control wins wars.
Sima Yi’s Extraordinary Composure Facing Public Humiliation
In the late Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang launched the Northern Expedition and confronted Sima Yi at Wuzhang Plains. The Shu army was short of supplies and needed a speedy battle, while Sima Yi adopted the attrition tactic: defending solidly and refusing field battles to wear out the distant Shu army.
Humiliation with Women’s Garments
Having no way to provoke Sima Yi into fighting, Zhuge Liang adopted Sun Tzu’s anger-provoking stratagem. He sent a set of women’s clothes to Sima Yi’s camp, mocking that Sima Yi was cowardly and womanish for hiding behind the defense line and avoiding combat.
As recorded in Book of Jin and the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, all Wei generals were furious and demanded to attack Shu army immediately. Nevertheless, Sima Yi kept absolutely calm. In the popular novel version, he accepted the humiliating clothes calmly and even tried them on in front of all troops without any sign of rage. In official history, he restrained his anger actively, asked the Wei emperor for a formal battle prohibition, and stabilized his army’s mood firmly.
Final Strategic Victory
Sima Yi saw through the enemy’s mental trick thoroughly. He never yielded to anger and stuck to his defensive strategy. Eventually, Zhuge Liang died of overwork in Wuzhang Plains, and the Shu army retreated completely. Sima Yi won the confrontation totally by controlling his own emotion.
Conclusion and Universal Inspiration
The two contrasting cases reveal a profound military truth: the biggest enemy of a commander is not the opposing army, but his own uncontrolled anger.
Su Shi, a great litterateur in ancient China, commented on Zhang Liang:
“A true hero stays calm in sudden crises and remains unangry in undeserved humiliation. This is because the cause they uphold is great, and their ambition is far-reaching.”
Please refer to the following article for more on the story of Zhang Liang receiving the military book.
Warfare is always a duel of mentality as well as troops and tactics. Losing temper equals exposing your fatal weakness to the enemy.
From ancient battlefields to modern competitions, the wisdom remains unchanged: Never be manipulated by others’ provocation. Self-control is always the most powerful weapon to defeat all mental tricks.
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