Use when facing a superior mobile enemy force, especially nomadic cavalry like the Xiongnu. Builds long-term deception through feigned cowardice, resource stockpiling, and a devastating ambush when the enemy grows overconfident.

Use when defending a besieged city with limited forces against a superior enemy. Combines divine legitimacy, psychological manipulation, feigned weakness, and surprise attack (e.g., Tian Dan's fire cattle) to shatter enemy morale.

Use when planning systematic territorial expansion across multiple neighboring states. Applies the 远交近攻 doctrine: befriend distant powers, isolate nearby targets, and conquer incrementally for secure, contiguous gains.

Use when your homeland faces an existential threat despite personal grievances with its leadership. Guides the decision to set aside conflicts, mobilize resources, and reconcile with former adversaries for collective survival.

Use when official channels block necessary military action to save an ally. Plans unauthorized intervention by leveraging debts, securing command assets, and executing swift action despite formal obstacles.

Use when restoring a dismissed official to power or leveraging rival factions for political rehabilitation. Creates urgency by approaching rival powers with the dismissed leader's value, then returns to the original state with evidence of the rival's recruitment attempt to force restoration.

Use when evaluating whether to enter a powerful party's territory or accept an asymmetric alliance. Applies the earth puppet vs. wooden puppet parable to assess exit options, leverage once inside, and the risk of being trapped with no recourse in a 'tiger and wolf' (虎狼) state.

Use when evaluating whether a military action inadvertently strengthens rivals or when analyzing second-order strategic consequences. Based on Hu Yan's advice against attacking Pu — assessing whether success helps your enemies more than yourself and recommending alternatives when it does.

Use when securing a binding commitment before a long campaign where rivals may slander you in your absence. Based on Gan Mao's (甘茂) method — citing the tale of Zeng Shen's mother (曾参之母) to illustrate how repeated false accusations erode even deep trust, then extracting a formal pledge.

Use when seeking to replace a capable enemy commander with an inferior one through disinformation. Based on Qin's strategy at Changping to replace Lian Po (廉颇) with Zhao Kuo (赵括) by exploiting the enemy ruler's impatience with defensive tactics.

Use when prioritizing between competing strategic targets or evaluating conquest options. Weighs prestigious targets (symbolic resources like the nine tripods) against practical targets (territorial expansion) using feasibility, consequence, net benefit, and reputation criteria.

Use when taking command of new troops or establishing organizational authority. Follows Sima Rangju and Sun Wu's methods — enforcing punctuality penalties against high-ranking offenders, asserting 将在军君令有所不受, and demonstrating that rules apply equally regardless of status.

Use when analyzing whether virtue correlates with worldly success or questioning cosmic justice (天道). Compares virtuous sufferers (伯夷, 颜回) against prosperous villains (盗跖) using Sima Qian's method to assess 天道无亲常与善人 and inform ethical decision-making.

Use when designing leadership succession plans or evaluating power transfer legitimacy. Follows the sage king model (尧舜禹) of merit-based selection through collective recommendation, decades-long testing in office, and formal transfer only after proven 功用既兴.

Use when evaluating governance quality, assessing leadership effectiveness, or auditing a ruler's conduct. Provides positive and negative indicators covering talent retention, crisis response, wealth distribution, and popular sentiment to diagnose state health.

Use when sowing discord between enemy commanders and their trusted advisors or conducting disinformation campaigns. Deploys substantial resources to spread defection rumors, stages differential envoy treatment, and exploits resulting trust breakdowns to degrade enemy decision-making.

Use when designing curricula for moral education, mentorship, or self-cultivation programs. Applies Confucius's four teachings (文行忠信), four eliminations (绝四), and heuristic pedagogy (不愤不启) to develop comprehensive character through progressive mastery.

Use when building popular support or consolidating political power through economic generosity. Implements asymmetric resource distribution — collecting with small measures, distributing with large — to cultivate mass loyalty and clan influence over time.

Use when rescuing someone from legal trouble through trusted intermediaries. Based on Tao Zhu Gong's attempt to save his son via Zhuang Sheng: provide resources without strings, give clear instructions, leave immediately, trust the intermediary's method, and never interfere mid-process.

Use when dissuading a victorious leader from overextending through further military action. Employs the 'painting feet on a snake' (画蛇添足) analogy to demonstrate that additional gains risk losing everything already achieved, and frames withdrawal as preserving honor.