Zhuge Liang’s Victory by Shame

No one enjoys a show-off, but as it turns out, if you do it enough, showing off and rubbing someone else's face in your best can apparently save lives. That is what happened when Meng Huo, an enemy leader, was to be defeated by Zhuge Liang, a military strategist and Prime Minister of the Chinese state of Shu between 221 and 263.

Because it continued happening, the tale of Meng Huo's demise has become the stuff of folklore. In accordance with the myths, Liang defeated Huo on the battlefield. Meng Huo was not impressed, so Liang released him; instead of torturing or killing the man, he gave him a tour of his army and boasted about how amazing it was before asking what he thought. Seven times in total, they repeated this. Meng Huo saw that Zhuge Liang's soldiers were superior after seven captures, so he voluntarily surrendered and ultimately joined the other side.