《以逸待劳》出处、故事、英文翻译、注释

14.以逸待劳

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【出处】《三十六计》第四计：困敌之势，不以战，损刚益柔^[1]。《孙子·军争》：“以近待远，以佚（逸）待劳，以饱待饥，此治力者也。”《三国演义》第五十回：“若是我用兵时，就这个去处，也埋伏一彪军马，以逸待劳。”

【成语故事】西汉末年，有一位名叫隗嚣的军阀。当年，他离开东汉王朝的建立者刘秀，转而投靠在四川称帝的公孙述。刘秀当然很生气，于是派军队去攻打隗嚣，那次反而被隗嚣打败。后来，刘秀又派了大将军冯异去占领四川的枸邑。隗嚣得到消息后，马上命令一位名叫行巡的部将立刻去抢占枸邑的有利地形。冯异的手下知道这个情况后，都劝冯异不要直接和行巡的大军作战，否则很有可能被打败。但是，冯异坚定地说：“弟兄们，我们必须先抢占枸邑，以等候从远方赶来的敌军，然后消灭他们。”接着，冯异下令，一定要赶在行巡之前就占领枸邑。就这样，枸邑被冯异占领了。紧接着，冯异严密封锁这个消息，紧闭城门，停止了军中的一切活动，并让将士们好好休息。等到行巡的军队急匆匆地赶到城下时，城楼上突然响起了一阵阵鼓声，并亮出了帅旗。行巡的军队没有一点防备，吓得四处逃窜。这时，冯异打开城门，率领士兵冲出城外，很轻松地就将敌人打败了。

【寓意】该成语原意是指不与强势的敌人直接进行对抗，而是采取守势，以消耗对手的精力和耐心，也便于自己养精蓄锐，等到敌人疲劳时再出击，以便取胜。现喻指避开敌人或者对手的锋芒，抢占先机以赢得优势，乘机攻击远途奔袭而疲劳的来敌，以达到一举击溃和消灭敌人的目的。

以逸待劳
To Wait for the Expeditionary Enemy at Ease

14.To Wait for the Expeditionary Enemy at Ease

【Idiomatic Story】 During the last years of the Western Han Dynasty，there was a warlord named KUI Xiao.He left Emperor LIU Xiu who had just founded the Eastern Han Dynasty to seek shelter from GONG-SUN Shu who had proclaimed himself emperor in Si-chuan.That had infuriated LIU Xiu，so LIU Xiu sent troops to attack KUI Xiao but ended in failure.Then General FENG Yi was appointed as the commander by LIU Xiu to lead troops to capture the city Gou-yi in Sichuan.Upon getting the news，KUI Xiao quickly ordered one of his inferior officers named XING Xun to take up the favorable strategic places of Gouyi in advance.

When the news was delivered to General FENG Yi，many of his inferior officers proposed FENG Yi to avoid the head-on confrontation with XING Xun's troops.But FENG Yi ignored the proposals and said resolutely to them，“We must take up the favorable strategic places of Gou-yi in advance to wait for the coming enemy，and destroy them completely at last.” Then he issued an order to march on hastily for Gou-yi.Finally they reached Gou-yi before XING Xun and his troops.FENG Yi instructed and arranged to strictly block the passage of message，keep the gate closed，stop all the military action and make the officers and soldiers take a good rest.

When XING Xun and his troops reached Gou-yi，they found many banners of the Han Army flying on the top of the city wall.Then they heard a loud voice of firing a gun as the signal，the Han Army launched a sudden attack onto them.Without any preparation，XING Xun and his troops were soon defeated.At this time，FENG Yi commanded the Han Army charged out from the gate，XING Xun's troops escaped in disorder.FENG Yi had finally won the victory by waiting for the expeditionary enemy at ease.

【Implied Meaning】It originally means to reserve oneself and avoid the predatory enemy or opponent by acting on the defensive to consume their energy and patience.The attack on the enemy or opponent will be launched at the shinning hour to win the game.Now it is often used to refer to someone who tries his best to avoid the aggressive situation of his enemy or opponent and seizes the initiative to launch an attack for the final victory.

【注释】

[1]损刚益柔：采取措施以削弱强敌的势力，使之有利于弱小的自己。