Borrowing Arrows: Zhuge Liang’s Clever Trick

Once, in the ancient land of China, there lived a brilliant strategist named Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was known for his incredible wisdom and clever plans, which always helped his country to triumph over its enemies. One day, Zhuge Liang’s kingdom came under attack from a powerful enemy. The enemy had a large army with many skilled archers, and it seemed like they would be impossible to defeat. But Zhuge Liang had a plan. He gathered his soldiers and told them about his clever idea. “We will trick the enemy into giving us their arrows,” he said with a mischievous smile. The soldiers looked at each other in confusion, wondering what Zhuge Liang had in mind. Zhuge Liang explained that they would use straw boats to deceive the enemy. They built many straw dummies and placed them on the boats, making them look like real soldiers. Then, they rowed the boats towards the enemy’s camp, while Zhuge Liang and his soldiers hid behind the hills. When the enemy saw the boats approaching, they were puzzled. “Why aren’t the soldiers falling?” they wondered. They continued to shoot arrows at the boats, but the dummies remained standing, untouched by the arrows. The enemy soldiers argued amongst themselves, trying to figure out why their arrows weren’t hitting the mark. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang and his soldiers were busy collecting all the arrows that had been shot at the straw dummies. They quickly gathered a huge pile of arrows and rowed back to their own camp, where they now had an abundance of ammunition.

The enemy was shocked when they realized what had happened. They had been tricked by Zhuge Liang’s clever plan, and now they were at a disadvantage. With their own arrows turned against them, they were no match for Zhuge Liang and his strategizing skills. As the enemy retreated, Zhuge Liang’s soldiers cheered, celebrating their victory. Zhuge Liang’s plan had worked perfectly, and his kingdom was safe once again. After the battle, Zhuge Liang gathered his soldiers and explained the moral of the story. “Remember, thinking outside the box can help us solve any problem,” he said. “Just like we found a creative way to borrow the enemy’s arrows, we can use our creativity to overcome any challenge that comes our way.” The soldiers nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of creativity and problem-solving. From that day on, they always looked for new and clever ways to outsmart their enemies, thanks to the wisdom of Zhuge Liang. And so, Zhuge Liang’s clever plan became a legendary tale, inspiring many others to think creatively and find solutions to even the most difficult problems.