錦囊妙計
The Brocade-Bag Stratagems
Meaning
Miraculous plans sealed in a brocade bag — contingencies prepared in advance, to be opened at each crisis. The ultimate plan B.
Origin story
Zhou Yu schemed to lure Liu Bei to Wu with a marriage to Sun Quan’s sister — and hold him hostage. Knowing the invitation was a trap, Zhuge Liang assigned Zhao Yun as escort and handed him three brocade bags: "Open them in order, at each crisis." The first plan spread news of the betrothal through the whole city, making the sham marriage real; the second roused a comfort-lulled Liu Bei with word that Jing Province was in peril; the third borrowed Lady Sun’s authority to face down the pursuers. All three worked in turn — Liu Bei came home safely with his bride, and Zhou Yu was mocked for "losing the lady and breaking his troops." Hence the brocade-bag stratagem: the brilliant plan prepared before it’s needed.
Source: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, ch. 54
People
Modern examples
- She walked into the talks with a brocade-bag plan ready in case negotiations collapsed.
- Every outage, the runbooks the old lead left behind save the team — stratagems from the brocade bag.