To Kill with a Borrowed Knife, 借刀杀人 - 36 Strategies
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36 Strategies - Strategy No 3:To Kill with a Borrowed Knife, 借刀杀人
Original: 敌已明，友未定，引友杀敌。不自出力，以损推演。
Modern: 敌方已经明确，而盟友的态度还未明朗，那诱使盟友去消灭敌人，自己不必付出代价。
English: When the enemies have been identified but allies' intention is still not clear. Use the allies to fight the enemies. This will allow one to fight off enemies without incurring any costs.
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Towards the end of the Spring Autumn Era. Lord Jian of the State of Qi sent an expedition against the State of Lu. The State of Lu is no match for the Qi, so the situation in Lu was panic. Confucius' disciple, Zi Gong analyze the situation and come to a conclusion that only the State of Wu can match the strength of Qi, thus he thought of using Wu to attack Qi. Zi Gong went to see Tian Chang who was then one of the highest ranking official, and has plan to seize position from the Lord of Qi. Zi Gong advised Tian Chang that since the commander-in-chief is one that opposes him, he should make things difficult for him. Instead of having him attack Lu and gain credit, why not try to get him to attack State of Wu instead, which is more difficult. Tian Chang liked the idea but since Qi is all ready to attack Lu, how can he change the mind of the Lord of Qi. Zi Gong said,"This is easy. Let me persuade the State of Wu to save Lu. This will give the Lord of Qi reasons to change the target." So off went Zi Gong to the State of Wu. At the State of Wu, Zi Gong said to the Lord of Wu, Fu Chai,"If the State of Qi have finished off Lu, their next target would be State of Wu. Why not take the first move and attack the Qi now?" Fu Chai agreed but was worried about his rear which is the State of Zhao. So off went Zi Gong to the State of Zhao and managed to persuade them to join in the battle, thus securing the rear for Wu. After moving through the three states, Zi Gong managed to achieve his goal, but after further analysis, he realized that the future of Lu is still not that secured yet. So he went to the State of Jin and spoke to Lord Ding. He told Lord Ding,"If Wu manage to conquer Lu after winning Qi, their next target would be State of Jin, so please make preparation for an expedition from Wu."
In 484BC, Lord Fu Chai of State of Wu lead his troops of 103,000 on an expedition against State of Qi. Lu immediately send troops to aid Wu. The Qi troops was ambushed by Wu and several generals including the Comander-in-Chief, was killed. Qi suffered huge losses, so it brokered for peace. As expected, Lord Fu Chai, after winning the battle, became arrogant and wants to attack Jin, riding on his winning momentum. But on the advice of Zi Gong, Jin was prepared for it and managed to fend off Wu. So we can see that Zi Gong manage to achieve his goal by using the strategy twice: One is the use the State of Wu to save Lu and second is using the State of Jin to fend off State of Wu.
春秋末期，齐简公兴兵伐鲁。鲁国实力不敌齐国，形势危急。孔子的弟子子贡分析形势，认为唯吴国可与齐国抗衡，可借吴国兵力挫败齐国军队。于是子贡游说齐相田常。田常当时蓄谋篡位，急欲铲除异己。子贡以“忧在外者攻其弱，忧在内者攻其强”的道理，劝他莫让异己在攻弱鲁中轻易主动，扩大势力，而应攻打吴国，借强国之手铲除异己。田常心动，但因齐国已作好攻鲁的部署，转而攻吴怕师出无名。子贡说：“这事好办。我马上去劝说吴国救鲁伐齐，这不是就有了攻吴的理由了吗？”田常高兴地同意了。子贡赶到吴国，对吴王夫差说：“如果齐国攻下鲁国，势力强大，必将伐吴。大王不如先下手为强，联鲁攻齐，吴国不就可抗衡强晋，成就霸业了吗？”子贡马不停蹄，又说服赵国，派兵随吴伐齐，解决了吴王的后顾之忧。子贡游说三国，达到了预期目标，他又想到吴国战胜齐国之后，定会要挟鲁国，鲁国不能真正解危。于是他愉偷跑到晋国，向晋定公陈述利害关系：吴国伏鲁成功，必定转而攻晋，争霸中原。劝晋国加紧备战，以防吴国进犯。
公元前484年，吴王夫差亲自挂帅，率十万精兵及三千越兵攻打齐国，鲁国立即派兵助战。齐军中吴军诱敌之计，陷于重围，齐师大败，主帅及几员大将死于乱军之中。齐国只得请罪求和。夫差大获全胜之后，骄狂自傲，立即移师攻打晋国。晋国因早有准备，击退吴军。子贡充分利用齐、吴、越、晋四国的矛盾，巧妙周旋，借吴国之刀”，击败齐国；借晋国之“刀”，灭了吴国的威风。鲁国损失微小，却能从危难中得以解脱。