Sun Tzu emphasizes pre-war deliberation in ancestral temples. Ample thorough plans secure victory, while inadequate ones lead to defeat. Without any planning at all, defeat is inevitable, so we can easily predict the final outcome.
This article recounts the diplomatic rescue of Lord Mengchang’s fiefdom of Xue during the Warring States period. When the State of Chu invaded Xue, the renowned diplomat Chunyu Kun was tasked with saving it. Instead of pleading for help, Chunyu Kun used a brilliant rhetorical strategy: he convinced King Min of Qi that the…