Create Something Out of Nothing, 无中生有 - 36 Strategies
From World's Chinese Wiki
36 Strategies - Strategy No 7: Create something out of nothing, 无中生有
Original: 诳也，非诳也，实其所诳也。少阴、太阴、太阳。
Modern: 用假象欺骗敌人，但不是弄假到底，而是巧妙地由虚变实。也就是说开始用小的假象，继而用大的假象，最后假象变成真相。
English: Using small deception to deceive the enemy, this deception would then grow bigger and eventually becomes a fact.
Contents |
Illustration
In 755 AD, during the Tang Dynasty, military governor An Lu Shan revolted against the Emperor, this was the infamous An Shi rebellion. Under An Lu Shan's command was General Ling Hu Chao, who led an army and besieged the city of Yong Qiu. Defending the city against the rebels was General Zhang Xun who had only a small troop and limited weapons. Zhang Xun ordered his soldiers to make many dummies of straw, each the size of a man and dress them in black. They then fastened them with ropes and lowered them down the outside of the city walls in the night. When Ling Hu Chao's army saw the straw dummies, they thought the enemies were scaling down the wall and immediately unleashed a volley of arrows on them.
By the time Ling Hu Chao's army realized that it was a scam, they had already "given" thousands of arrows away. Subsequently, General Zhang Xun commanded 500 real soldiers to scale down the city walls during the night. Ling Hu Chao's army ignored the move, thinking that Zhang Xun was up to his old trick. The 500 soldiers stormed into Ling's camp, setting the tents on fire, creating chaos and panic. Ling Hu Chao's army was then bitterly defeated.
唐朝安史之乱时，许多地方官吏纷纷投靠安禄山、史思明。唐将张巡忠于唐室，不肯投敌。他率领二三千人的军队守孤城雍丘（今河南杞县）。安禄山派降将令狐潮率四万人马围攻雍丘城。敌众我寡，张巡虽取得几次突击出城袭击的小胜，但无奈城中箭只越来越少，赶造不及。无有箭只，很难抵挡敌军攻城。张巡想起三国时诸葛亮草船借箭的故事，心生一计。急命军中搜集秸草，扎成千余个草人，将草人披上黑衣，夜晚用绳子慢慢往城下吊。夜幕之中，令狐潮以为张巡又要乘夜出兵偷袭，急命部队万箭齐发，急如骤雨。张巡轻而易举获敌箭数十万支。令狐潮天明后，知已中计，气急败坏，后悔不迭。第二天夜晚，张巡又从城上往下吊草人。贼众见状。哈哈大笑。张巡见敌人已被麻痹，就迅速吊下五百名勇士，敌兵仍不在意。五百勇士在夜幕掩护下，迅速潜入敌营，打得令狐潮措手不及，营中大乱。张巡乘此机会，率部冲出城来，杀得分狐潮大败而逃，损兵折将，只得退守陈留（今开封东南）。张巡巧用无中生有之计保住了雍丘城。