Coordinating one Stratagem With Another

The manipulation of state affairs by the prime minister Dong Zhuo towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) aroused strong anger in people, but nobody dared to air it. Upright ministers wanted to but failed to think of a way to get rid of him. Deep at night and alone in his garden, Wang Yun, a minister, sighed at these worries, his teaful eyes cast up at the moon. Suddenly, he heard a sigh from the pavilion nearby. He went over to see Diao Chan, the sixteen-year-old, very beautiful singsong girl in his family. Upon enquiry, the girl went down on her knees and said, "Your excellency has treated me so nice after Icame. How could I repay your kindness? Ihave noticed your knitted eyebrows, You must have big worries that Idare not ask. Isighed, because Iwish Icould help you in some way."

Who could believe, thought Wang that the destiny of the Han Dynasty lies in this girl's hand. He helped the girl up, then he himself prostrated and kowtowed to her. "Why do you bow to me?" the puzzled girl asked. She repeated her offer to help in any way.

Convinced of her resolüte attitude, Wang Yun was straightforward: "Both Dong Zhuo and his stepson Lü Bu love women. I'll take you as my step daughter, then I'll betroth you to Lü Bu before I present you as a gift to Dong Zhuo. You will seek opportunities to sow discord between them and make Lü kill Dong. In this way we can preserve the Han Dynasty." "If I fail to do as you say," she vowed, "I will die a violent death." These were the interlocking stratagems laid by Wang Yun and Diao Chan.