wéi围besiegeWèi魏Weijiù救rescueZhào赵Zhao
Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao — attack the enemy's weak point to force them to retreat.
Literal meaning
besiege (围) — Wei (魏) — rescue (救) — Zhao (赵)
Origin
Records of the Grand Historian. When the state of Wei besieged Zhao's capital Handan, Zhao called on Qi for help. Qi's general Sun Bin (孙膑), instead of attacking the Wei army at Handan, marched on Wei's capital itself — forcing the Wei army to abandon the siege and rush home to defend. Sun Bin then ambushed them on the road. The phrase is now standard for indirect attack.
Examples
Gōng公sī司yòng用wéi围Wèi魏jiù救Zhào赵de的cè策lüè略，gōng攻rù入duì对shǒu手de的zhǔ主yào要shì市chǎng场。
The company used a besiege-Wei-rescue-Zhao strategy, going after the rival's home market.
Wéi围Wèi魏jiù救Zhào赵shì是Zhōng中guó国jūn军shì事jīng经diǎn典。
Besiege-Wei-rescue-Zhao is a classic of Chinese military strategy.
Usage & nuances
Strategic register. Common in business / political commentary on indirect competitive moves.
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