Loot a Burning House

Loot a Burning House When the enemy has fallen into severe hardship or crisis, one should seize the moment to strike and secure advantage. This is the stratagem of using strength to subdue a weakened foe. Allusion:In the late Spring and Autumn period, Goujian, King of Yue, slept on brushwood and tasted gall, outwardly submitting to Wu while secretly building up strength. In 473 BC, Wu suffered a natural disaster: the grain harvest failed and popular resentment ran high. Yet King Fucha of Wu insisted on marching north to Huangchi to convene a covenant with the princes of the Central Plains, leaving the realm empty. Goujian seized this moment to advance in full force and took Wu in a single stroke. Wu’s “fire” was the double crisis of natural disaster and the main army’s departure to the north; Yue’s “looting” was the fatal blow delivered when Wu could not attend to both front and rear. Modern Application:When a competitor suffers a sudden crisis, internal turmoil, or strategic misstep, one should promptly mobilize one’s own resources to enter the affected markets or......