Armies can stay orderly amid chaos. Disorder, cowardice and weakness stem from organization, momentum and troop deployment. Skilled generals use false appearances and bait to lure enemies, then await them with solid forces.
Han Feizi tells Marquis Wen of Wei turned down troop requests from warring Han and Zhao, claiming kinship ties to both. Initially annoyed, the two states later realized his peacemaking intent and paid homage to Wei for his wise neutral diplomacy.
Han Feizi records a diplomatic tip from Gong Ta to Zhou Zao. Instead of begging Qi’s funding openly and exposing his weak Wei influence, Zhou should pledge to deliver Wei’s obedience, winning royal backing and dual power in both states.
The Partition of Jin among the Three Families is regarded as the dividing line between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period mainly because it marked the complete collapse of the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty and the formal formation of the pattern of the Seven Powerful States in the…