Ritual-Tour Summons Entrapment / 巡游会侯式诱捕
Ritual-tour summons entrapment / 巡游会侯式诱捕 is the tactic Hanji 172 identifies in 陈平’s advice to 刘邦. After someone reports 韩信 for rebellion, the generals urge direct attack; Chen Ping instead asks whether Liu Bang’s troops and commanders can beat Han Xin. Once Liu Bang admits they cannot, Chen Ping proposes that the emperor pretend to tour 云梦泽 and gather vassal kings at 陈县.
The tactic works by turning a possible war into a protocol problem. A vassal king summoned during an imperial tour has to appear loyal; refusal looks incriminating, while attendance lets the center control timing, escort, and guards. The trap therefore uses ritual normality as the mask for coercion.
The concept is related to 帝国巡游政治剧场 and 和谈诱捕, but it is narrower than both. The tour is not mainly a broad display of imperial legitimacy, and the meeting is not a bilateral peace parley. It is a ruler-sponsored summons that exploits the target’s own status obligations.
Key Claims
- When the target is militarily dangerous, court protocol can be cheaper than battlefield victory.
- A benign-looking tour or gathering can make preparation for resistance look disloyal before the target knows whether danger is real.
- The tactic depends on asymmetry between formal obedience and actual coercion: the target must enter the ruler’s controlled space to prove loyalty.
- The mechanism also sharpens 谋反指控陷阱 because the accusation creates the need for action while the ritual summons creates the arrest opportunity.
- In Hanji 172, the trap succeeds only after 钟离眜’s death removes a remaining deterrent around Han Xin.