chū出qí其bù不yì意
To catch one unawares; to take someone by surprise; to do something unexpectedly.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Antonym:
Story:
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and brought stability to the northern regions, Gao Gan established himself as king in Bingzhou.
Meanwhile, Wei Gu and Fan Xian in Hedong outwardly requested to be appointed governors but were secretly allied with Gao Gan. Cao Cao, instead of appointing them, chose Du Ji as the governor of Hedong.
Du Ji announced that he would travel to his new post alone, which completely caught Wei Gu by surprise. He then cleverly sowed discord among them to solidify his own authority.