The Chain Stratagem is one of the key deceptions that prepares the way for the fire attack at Red Cliffs in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Its most famous element is Pang Tong’s advice that Cao Cao bind his warships together.
Many of Cao Cao’s soldiers come from the north and are unused to fighting on the river. The movement of the ships leaves men seasick and weak, creating a serious problem for the enormous army.
At this moment Pang Tong, the celebrated Young Phoenix, enters Cao Cao’s camp.
He offers an apparently clever solution.
If the ships are fastened together with iron rings and connected by planks, he explains, the fleet will become as steady as solid ground. Northern soldiers will be able to walk, drill, and fight without suffering from the constant movement of separate vessels.
Cao Cao is delighted by the proposal.
Soon the ships are linked together in great groups. The soldiers find the decks more stable, and Cao Cao becomes even more convinced that the plan has strengthened his fleet.
What he does not realize is that the arrangement creates exactly the condition the fire attack requires.
A single burning ship might normally be isolated or moved away. A mass of vessels locked together cannot separate quickly once flames begin to spread.
When Huang Gai’s fire ships finally rush into Cao Cao’s naval camp, the connected fleet becomes a vast field of fire.
The Chain Stratagem is memorable because the trap first appears to solve a real problem. Pang Tong gives Cao Cao relief from seasickness and instability, but the solution quietly binds the entire fleet together in preparation for the final blaze.