李代桃僵　(lǐ dài táo jiāng)

Sacrificing the Less Valuable

It happens when you are thrown into a situation in which you need to sacrifice part of your interest in order to protect the whole interest, or to give up some immediate gain in order to reach your ultimate goal.

The title of this stratagem derives from the line of an ancient poem. It says, in effect, that in the face of an invasion of deadly worms, a plum tree sacrifices itself to save a peach tree that grows next to it.

Originally, this line was used as a metaphor for selfless friendship among brothers. Now, however, it is used to mean sacrificing someone or something in order to save another, usually more important or valuable.

This stratagem is widely applied in wars or any kind of competition.

General Li Mu, who served the king of the State of Zhao in the late years of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), seemed to be a master in applying this scapegoat strategy.

Due to frequent invasions from northern tribes, the king of Zhao assigned General Li to the town of Yanmen to defend the northern borders of the state.(https://www.daowen.com)

After he arrived in the town, the general offered his troops good meals every day, but ordered them to stay in the walled town and never allowed them to engage the enemy.

Meanwhile, he spent most of his time training his troops and a few years later, he began to send small squads of soldiers beyond the walls to protect local herdsmen and their stock scattered outside the town.

The northern tribes saw this move and sent out mounted troops to fight the general’s men.

The latter fled back to the town, leaving behind some soldiers and animals.

After several such skirmishes, General Li had lost some soldiers and animals and the tribesmen became bolder.

Finally they decided to attack the town and seize it from the general.

When the general believed that his enemies were fooled and became self-conceited, he set up a trap and wiped out most of the invaders.

By sacrificing a small number of soldiers and some domestic animals, General Li won the big battle and ensured the security of the state’s northern border for many years.