*Dear Aimee,* *Could you make clear what is meaning forget Mei ren ji & apply Lǐ dài táo jiāng?* *Thank you.*
** *The beauty trap (honey trap) (traditional Chinese: 美人��; simplified Chinese: 美人计; pinyin: Měi rén jì)* Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane. Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behaviour that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale. Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot intrigues further exacerbating the situation. Even though this has been done many times, perhaps the most famous historical example is Xi Shi who was sent to the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. *Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree (Chinese: 李代桃僵; pinyin: Lǐ dài táo jiāng) * There are circumstances in which you must sacrifice short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat strategy whereby someone else suffers the consequences so that the rest do not. Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms Period demonstrated this strategy. During a siege, Cao's supplies ran low so he called in the supply captain and told him to dilute the rice with water to save grains. When the soldiers started to complain, Cao ordered for the captain to be killed. He would explain to his troops that the captain had been selling supplies to the enemy. This raised the army's morale and they were victorious in a few more days.
