In fact, sometimes showing weakness does not mean that you are really "weak". In life, a proper show of weakness can paralyze the enemy; On the contrary, if we don't know how to be patient, we tend to mess up the overall situation. To be a man, you must know a little bit to advance by retreating. Strong people show weakness and can show their broad minds; And weak people show weakness, but they can help themselves accumulate strength and let themselves accumulate thick and thin.

Hong Yingming of the Ming Dynasty wrote in the book "Caigen Tan": "The eagle stands like sleep, and the tiger walks like a disease, which is exactly the way he grabs people and eats people." Therefore, a gentleman must be smart and talented, so that he can have the strength to shoulder the throne. It means: before the eagle and the tiger hunt, the former stands on the branch, as if napping; The latter walked as if he were sick. However, this is just a means for them to paralyze their prey and kill each other. Therefore, only when a gentleman is good at concealment, smart but not exposed, talented but not publicized, can he take on heavy responsibilities and realize his ambitions. Wu Qian and Zhao Fei were college classmates and worked in the same advertising agency after graduation. Zhao Fei works hard and is down-to-earth and hardworking, but Wu Qian is not as enthusiastic as she is at work, and she always looks like a foreign worker when she goes to work. When she was about to get off work one day, Zhao Fei asked Wu Qian to help her staff with an advertising planning plan, and Wu Qian shirked it without thinking about it: "What else do you want to watch when you get off work?" The boss won't give a penny more. I'm still in a hurry to go on a dinner date with friends! Helpless, Zhao Fei had no choice but to continue her ideas in the office alone. Early the next morning, Zhao Fei handed over the advertising plan to the director, which was well received by the director.

Soon, a supervisor of the company resigned due to an incident, and Wu Qian and Zhao Fei had the opportunity to be promoted. Zhao Fei believes that he is down-to-earth and hardworking, and has made many contributions to the company, and the position of supervisor is none other than himself. But after the personnel order came down, not only did Zhao Fei unexpected, but even other colleagues were shocked - it was Wu Qian who was promoted.

Afterwards, according to insiders, Wu Qian, who had always been lazy in front of everyone, had never been lazy at all, she had been using her spare time to participate in on-the-job training and constantly recharge herself; At the same time, her contact with her boss has never stopped, and her boss has always favored her. As for her laziness and sluggishness, it was just a play for everyone to see. This method used by Wu Qian in the story was also often used in the competition in ancient China, and Cao Pi in the Three Kingdoms was a master in this regard. Cao Cao once hesitated between his eldest son Cao Pi and his third son Cao Zhi, not knowing which one should be appointed as the son. According to the old practice, he was the eldest son, but although Cao Pi was very capable, Cao Zhi's literary style was outstanding, famous all over the world, and he was very loved and respected by Cao Cao.

Cao Pi was worried that his younger brother would take his place, so he asked his confidant Jia Xu for help. Jia Xu is introverted, old-fashioned, resourceful but never easily revealed, he is a low-key person, so most people can't understand his talents. But Hanyang Yan Zhong, who is good at reading people, thinks that he has the talents of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping.

Jia Xu formulated a plan for Cao Pi to promote his strengths and avoid his weaknesses and to make clever measures. He said to Cao Pi: "May the general restore virtue, bow to the cause of a scholar, work diligently day and night, and not violate the way of the son." So much for. That is to say: "As long as you have virtue and measure, do your work diligently, and do not violate the etiquette of being a son." Cao Pi felt that Jia Xu's words were very right, his ability to do things was no less than that of his younger brother, as long as he didn't give others an excuse to change his son, then his father had no reason to replace him. So he appeared as loyal and honest everywhere, cautious and cautious, not one step beyond the thunder pool, and lost no time in showing his filial piety and virtue.

Once, when Cao Cao led his troops to march in person, Cao Zhi specially wrote an article to praise his merits and virtues, please Cao Cao, and at the same time show his talents to the ministers. But Cao Pi fell to the ground and wept, knelt down for a long time, didn't say anything, just lay there and wept bitterly. Cao Cao was surprised and asked him why he was so sad. Cao Pi choked up and said: "My father is old, and he has to take command of the army, as a son, I am worried and sad, I feel that I am too unfilial to share my father's worries, so I am so sad." ”

The ministers were moved by Cao Pi's benevolence and filial piety, and even Cao Cao was deeply moved. On the contrary, Cao Zhi's performance makes people feel that he has no heart and lungs, and he is not worried about his father's pro-conquest at all, and he only knows that showing off himself is really against filial piety, and I am afraid that he will not be able to be the king of a country. This incident made Cao Pi's weight in Cao Cao's mind heavier, the balance tilted towards his side, and Cao Zhi was gradually left out in the cold.

Later, Cao Cao asked Jia Xu's opinion on the matter of the prince, but Jia Xu kept silent at first. Cao Cao said: "I asked Aiqing about the prince, why didn't Aiqing answer?" Jia Xu said: "The minister was thoughtful, so he didn't answer for a while." Cao Cao asked him what he thought, and Jia Xu said: "The minister remembered what happened to Yuan Shao and Liu Biao at the beginning. It turned out that after Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang was appointed as the main and his eldest son Yuan Tan was cooled, which led to civil strife among the heirs in order to fight for power, and finally perished. Similarly, Liu Biao did not appoint his eldest son, Liu Qi, which also led to civil strife. The reason why Jia Xu mentioned these two people was to remind Cao Cao that the lessons of the past should not be forgotten, and Cao Cao naturally understood what he meant, and saw that Cao Pi had been performing well, so that Cao Pi was established as the son in the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217 AD).

Before his death, Cao Cao commented on his sons: "I deeply love my third son, Cao Zhi, but he is vain, dishonest, and indulgent in alcohol. The second son, Cao Zhang, is brave and unscrupulous, and the fourth son, Cao Xiong, is sick and difficult to preserve. Only the eldest son, Cao Pi, is honest and respectful, and can inherit my business. ”

When the news of Cao Cao's death came, the Cao brothers were all out of town, but their performance varied. Cao Pi was in Ye County, when he learned that his father's coffin was coming, he led the officials out of the city for ten miles, dressed in linen and filial piety, and welcomed him into the city. However, Cao Zhi has always put his gentlemanly style in the first place, although he heard that the messenger came to convey the message of mourning, he still sat still, and did not seem to be so sad.

So after Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi naturally ascended to the throne of Wei. If Cao Pi did not retreat as instructed by Jia Xu, but impulsively competed with Cao Zhi for power, the result might have been very different. Because in the hearts of the world, his talent is obviously not as good as Cao Zhi, and he has not made as many heroes as Cao Zhi, and it is difficult to determine the outcome of the victory. But Cao Pi's cleverness lies in the fact that he can follow nature, fight without fighting, abide by the prince's duty, and let Cao Zhi perform alone. As a result, Cao Zhi's ostentatious performance instead set off Cao Pi's virtue and allowed him to ascend to the throne.

As the saying goes, "real people don't show their faces, and they don't show their faces". A person with a mind, even if he has a stunt, will hide deeply, but show the enemy to be clumsy, paralyze the opponent, wait for the opportunity, and make a splash. To use a simple analogy, have you ever seen a rich man who wears gold and silver every day, carrying a money box everywhere? But when they make an investment, you'll be dumbfounded.