魏太帝聽到宋國名將檀道濟領軍北上，就把大將叔孫建及公孫道生找來，要他們不可輕敵。兩軍打到歷城時，宋軍軍糧只剩三天份，檀道濟便決定撤軍。不料，投降的宋兵把軍糧快吃完的消息報告魏軍，叔孫建便下令追擊，檀道濟這時居然下令紮營煮飯，叔孫建看到後以為有詐不敢進攻。宋軍吃完晚飯後，糧官就叫士兵點燈高唱軍糧的數量，每裝滿一袋時，便高唱：「再加兩百斤，滿十萬斤了。」並把糧袋堆成像小山一樣高，士兵還故意失手打翻米袋，魏軍一看滿地白米，趕緊報告叔孫建。第二天，叔孫建披戰袍觀看宋軍，宋營鼓聲大作，戰車上帥旗高掛一人穿便服，後面跟著整齊的宋軍，對四周的魏軍一點都沒放在眼裡，叔孫建不敢輕敵，決定三十六計走為上策，便下令撤軍十里，宋軍就這樣突出重圍，全軍而返。
三十六計之第三十六計：走為上策
指當情勢對我方非常不利，又沒有任何辦法可以改變局勢時，只有撤退避開敵人，才是上上之策。
When the news reached Emperor Wei Tai that the famous Song general Tan Dao Ji was leading his troops northwards towards Wei, he called on his generals Shu Sun Jian and Gong Sun Dao Sheng to defend Wei and not to take the enemy lightly. When the two armies finally engaged each other at Li Cheng, the Song army had only enough food supply to last another three days. So Tan Dao Ji decided to retreat.
However, some of the Song soldiers who were captured in battle revealed to the Wei side the food shortage problem. Hearing this, Shu Sun Jian thought it was the golden opportunity he was waiting for and gave the order to chase the retreating Song army. But to his surprise, Tan Dao Ji ordered his soldiers to camp on the spot and make dinner. Shu Sun Jian was wary of a trap and so hesitated to attack.
After the dinner was finished, Song officers in charge of food supply ordered a supply count. The soldiers lit up the lamps and counted out loud each sack of rice. Whenever a bag was filled up, the soldiers would call out, "Add another 200 kilograms. That's a total of one hundred thousand kilograms." The rice sacks were piled up as high as a small hill. The soldiers also deliberately spilled the sacks so that the rice was scattered all over the ground. The Wei army saw this and reported to Shu Sun Jian immediately.
The next day, Shu Sun Jian put on full armor watched the Song army. The sound of the battle drums from the Song camp was deafening. Tan Dao Ji dressed casually and sat in his chariot. The battle flags ofSong hung high on the his chariot, and he was followed by the well disciplined Song army. They seemed to take no notice to the surrounding Wei army. Seeing his, Shu Sun Jian dared not underestimate the enemy, so he decided to retreat. The Wei army retreated to as far as ten kilometers away. The crisis was thus resolved, and the Song army returned safely home.
Strategy 36 : If All Else Fails Retreat
If the situation is bad and you have no way of reversing it, the best thing to do is to avoid certain defeat in battle and retreat.
