lit. secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu) / fig. to feign one thing while doing another / to cheat under cover of a diversion
空城计
kōng chéng jì
the empty city stratagem (in which Zhuge Liang presents himself as unperturbed while making it evident that his city is undefended, hoping his adversary will suspect an ambush) / double bluff
to repeat an old stratagem / up to one's old tricks
木马计
mù mǎ jì
wooden horse stratagem (cf Trojan horse)
司马昭之心路人所知
Sī mǎ Zhāo zhī xīn lù rén suǒ zhī
Sima Zhao's stratagem is obvious to everyone / fig. an open secret
明修栈道，暗渡陈仓
míng xiū zhàn dào , àn dù Chén cāng
lit. repair the plank road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu) / fig. to feign one thing while doing another / to cheat under cover of a diversion
xū