Strike when the opponent is not paying
attention. (出其不意)
During the Tang dynasty in China, there was
a famous general named Li Jing. He was extremely skilled in warfare, winning
many victories through his wisdom. In fact, he could even defeat his enemies
without deploying troops. History books tell a story about him.
After the Tang Dynasty unified China, the
country grew stronger day by day. A peace treaty was signed with the Turkic
Kingdom to the north, ending the long-standing hostility between the two
kingdoms.
In 629 AD, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty
was named Li Shimin. One day, he received important intelligence that unrest
had broken out in the Turkic Kingdom to the north.
He said to Li Jing, 'I am sending you to
the Turkic Kingdom to investigate the situation. If there is an opportunity, I
hope you can seize it to overthrow their current regime.'
After receiving the order, Li Jing began to
consider how to accomplish this mission. He devised a plan to instil fear and
unease in the leaders of the Turkic Kingdom.
The first step of this plan was crucial: he
had to strike when the opponent is not paying attention. He immediately
organised a force of 3,000 men and marched to the capital of the Turkic
Kingdom.
Due to a peace treaty between the Tang
dynasty and the Turkic kingdom, Li Jing and his soldiers were stationed in an
area reserved for diplomatic envoys upon their arrival in the capital.
At the same time, he instructed spies
within the Turkic Kingdom to spread false information, namely that his 3,000
soldiers were merely a vanguard and that a large Tang army of tens of thousands
would be approaching the Turkic Kingdom within a few days.
Due to the political turmoil within the
Turkic Kingdom, its leaders were alarmed by these rumours spread by Li Jing's
spies. They feared that Li Jing would break the peace treaty and use this
opportunity to launch a pre-emptive attack.
Having sensed the Turkic king's suspicion,
Li Jing did not act immediately. Instead, he continued to spread rumours,
subtly undermining the relationship between the king and his ministers.
Several months later, Li Jing felt the time
was right. Having observed the escalating internal conflicts and contradictions
within the kingdom, he launched a surprise attack with his 3,000 soldiers.
Li Jing's victory was immense: the main
military force of the Turkic Kingdom was annihilated and the king fled the
capital.
This idiom literally means to strike when
the opponent is not paying attention.
It is used to describe an unexpected action
taken when someone is off guard.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
In the information age, how can you tell
the difference between true and false information? Have you ever lost out
because you believed rumours?
I hope this story will provide you with
some new insights.
出其不意(Strike when the opponent is not
paying attention.)
中國的唐王朝有一個著名的將軍，他的名字叫做李靖，他非常的擅長打仗，他用他的智慧贏得了許多勝利，他甚至可以不用出動軍隊就打敗他的敵人。歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
唐王朝統一整個中國之後，國力一天比一天更強大，在唐王朝北方的突厥王國跟唐王朝之間簽訂了和平協議，這兩個王國之間終止了長期來的敵對狀態。
西元629年，那個時候的唐王朝的國王的名字是李世民，有一天，李世民收到一個重要的情報，這個情報就是唐王朝北方的突厥王國中發生了動亂。
李世民對李靖說。
我派遣你前往突厥王國去了解狀況，如果有機會，我希望你可以藉機顛覆他們目前的政權。
李靖收到命令之後，他開始思考要如何完成這項任務，他構思了一套計畫，他決定用一些手段來讓突厥王國的領導者感到恐懼與不安。
這套計畫的第一步很重要，他要趁對方沒有留意的時候出手，他立刻組織了一支僅有3000人的軍隊前往突厥王國的首都。
由於唐王朝與突厥王國之間有著和平協議，李靖到了突厥王國的首都後，他與這3000名士兵駐紮在專供外交使節居住的區域內。
他同時開始要求一些潛伏在突厥王國的間諜發布假訊息，這個訊息的內容是李靖帶領的這3000名士兵只是先發部隊，幾天之後，還有一批好幾萬人的唐王朝的正規軍隊會接近突厥王國。
由於突厥王國國內正發生政治動亂，所以突厥王國的領導者聽到李靖所安排的間諜說的這些謠言之後很擔心，他擔心李靖會破壞和平協議並利用這個機會主動攻打突厥王國。
李靖覺察到突厥王國的國王對自己的猜忌之後，他沒有立刻採取行動，他又開始散布謠言，他暗中破壞突厥王國的國王與大臣們的關係。
李靖待在突厥王國幾個月後，他感覺到時機已經成熟，他看到突厥王國的內部的矛盾與衝突愈來愈嚴重，他帶著這3000個士兵發動對突厥王國奇襲。
李靖這次的勝利非常的巨大，突厥王國的主要軍力都被消滅，國王逃離首都。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思趁對方沒有留意的時候出手。
這句成語被用來形容一種趁別人沒防備的行動，在一個人意料不到的情況下採取行動。
在對方意料不到的情況下採取行動。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
在這個資訊時代，你如何分辨你所聽到著消息的真假呢?你是否曾經因為聽信謠言而導致自己受到損失的經驗呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為舊唐書-卷67-李靖傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B767