Let an ally weaken his army
And constantly changes the formation.
Create chaos in the ranks
And achieve victory with his strength.

The disposition of troops in battle can be compared to the arrangement of a house, where the axis of heavenly balance is the longitudinal beam, and the earthly axis is the side columns. This allows you to determine the location of the best parts of the troops. By fighting together with a third party, you can force it to rebuild its position and send the enemy’s best units into battle instead of its own soldiers, weakening the ally’s position and easily defeating his troops.

The wife of Emperor Zhenzong, named Liu, was childless and was very worried that she could not give her husband a crown prince. She was very upset about her situation and did not know how to make the emperor continue to appreciate her. But the emperor honored her maid Li with the highest attention, after which the girl became pregnant.

Empress Liu was afraid that the maid would give birth to a son for the emperor and he would become the only heir to the throne. Then it will be pushed into the background and lose its influence.

After thinking, the empress decided to use the stratagem so as not to lose her status. She pretended to be pregnant by placing a pillow under her dress. She also bribed several palace maids to guard her rival. When maid Li's son was born, he was quietly replaced with the corpse of a newly born wild cat cub. Everyone was told that the child was stillborn. On the same day, the empress allegedly gave birth to an heir to the emperor, passing off the maid's child as her son.

No one in the palace noticed the substitution. Everyone welcomed the birth of the emperor's son. Empress Liu's trick was a success. She became the mother of the future emperor.