Talking about "hiding things from the world": how to use the positive elements of the "36 stratagems" cleverly

To conceal the truth is to deliberately confuse and deceive the opponent using disguise again and again, so that the opponent will relax his guard and then make a sudden move, thus achieving the goal of winning. The use of this tactic is often based on the fact that when people are observing and dealing with world affairs, they are consciously and unconsciously negligent and lax because they are not suspicious of certain things, so they can take advantage of the falsehood and conceal the truth to cover up certain military actions and seize the opportunity to win by surprise.

Ancient historical allusions to concealment

According to the legend, Emperor Tailoring of Tang led his army of 300,000 troops 5,000 miles east to Chang'an, intending to an expedition to Liaoning. When the army reached the coast, Tailoring looked into the distance and saw a vast ocean and could not help but regret that there was no way to cross the sea. The general, Xe Penguin, had a plan to lure Tailoring to the sea, where he entered a colorful tent and made his officials drink and enjoy themselves. Tia Song was relieved of his sorrow and raised his cup with joy. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the wind and the sound of thundering waves, and in a moment, when he opened the tent, he saw that he had crossed the sea with 300,000 troops in boats and was about to reach the other side. It turned out that Xe Penguin was worried that the emperor had changed his mind and retreated, so he had concealed the fact that he had commanded his army to cross the sea safely. As the emperor was always known as the "Son of Heaven", this ploy, which relied on a disguise and cover to fulfill a set policy, was given a catchy name: "Concealing the Heavenly Crossing".

The trick of concealing the sky from the sea had been used with ease long before this. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Kong Ron, the governor of Benghazi, was besieged by an external enemy and decided to send someone to break out for help. The young general Tia Si Ci, who had always helped his mother and wanted to repay her kindness, volunteered to take on the task of breaking out and asking for help. However, instead of forcing his way out of the siege immediately, he took two horsemen with bows and arrows and a target, opened the gate, and practiced archery in a trench at the edge of the city.

On the first day, the enemy was very wary of the siege and kept a watchful eye on Tanisha. On the second day, Tia Si Ci practiced archery as usual, but some of the enemies were still wary, while others watched with curiosity. On the third and fourth days, Tia Si Ci practiced his shooting as usual, but the enemy soldiers gradually became accustomed to it and paid no more attention to it. On the fifth day, Tia Si Ci ate his fill, packed his clothes, and walked out of the city gates to have the archery targets set up. Just when the enemy thought he was going to bend his bow and shoot at the target, he suddenly got on his horse, waved his whip vigorously, and dashed out of the enemy's circle like an arrow. By the time the enemy general was informed and sent troops after him, he was already gone without a trace. Without a bloody battle, Tia Si Ci easily accomplished the task of breaking out for help. This is one of the early examples of the successful use of the Conceal the Sky and Cross the Sea ploy.

How to apply the concealment tactic to everyday life and work

So, in modern relationships where we seek to live together as equals, how can we achieve the goal of doing ourselves well and others no harm, based on the lessons of the trick? The secret is to try to use your sincerity and smile to subtly dispel the other party's wariness and suspicion so that they agree, or do not object, or at least cannot undermine your plan.

If your boss is hesitant to approve your report, you can show that you are willing to take all the risks. At the same time, you can appear to be holding back, but you can be ready to implement the plan and wait for the opportunity to do so. If you have the courage of your convictions, you can also follow the example of Xe Penguin's trick of concealing the truth from Emperor Tang Tailoring, so that his superiors can accept the reform and progress as a fiat accomplice without worrying.

The customer is also the "emperor". Businessmen can also do some "concealment" - this is not, of course, the cheap tricks played by unscrupulous businessmen nowadays, such as using fakes to disguise the real thing and using the inferior to the superior, but the real thing, the business style of children and old men, to release the customers' vigilance against businessmen, especially the self-employed. The business aims to satisfy customers and make profits for yourself.

If you are a newly graduated university student, you can't easily integrate into your new social circle when you first arrive at work. Some people in the circle are friendly to newcomers, some are not warm, and some are secretly hostile to prevention and rejection, fearing that you will take his place later. In a sense, you are in the same situation that Tia Si Ci was in when he tried to break out. The best way to break out, of course, is to open up a way of life without having to fight a bloody battle. The art of integrating into a new social circle is the art of managing relationships in a rounded way without alienation. The newcomer can follow the example of Tanisha Ci, first with his tail between his legs, without the need to be sharp and aggressive, until he gets a firm foothold, gets to know the situation, and the other side is a little less wary, then he can fully exercise his intelligence and create a situation suitable for his development.

People are often accustomed to thinking in terms of partial information to deduce the whole picture. That is to say, if one believes that local information is true, one tends to believe that the whole picture is true; if one believes that local information is false, one tends to believe that the whole picture is false. Therefore, in the practice of concealment, partial truth is used to cover up an inconvenient secret. For example, the ultimate goal of a trader is to make a profit, but if you bluntly tell a customer, "My ultimate goal in selling this item is to make you $10", it will be difficult to make the sale. If you tell the customer in detail about the usefulness of the product and the benefits you will get from buying it, the deal will be much more successful.

Do you have any better ideas or suggestions on how to use this strategy? Feel free to leave your comments below to discuss and exchange ideas together.