围wéi魏wèi救jiù赵zhào

Literal: to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao
Figurative: To relieve pressure on yourself not by confronting a problem head-on but by striking the opponent's weak spot, forcing them to pull back; to solve a crisis indirectly.

Where does 围魏救赵 come from?

During the Warring States period, the state of Wei laid siege to Handan, the capital of Zhao, which begged Qi for help. General Tian Ji, advised by the strategist Sun Bin, did not march to Handan to break the siege directly. Instead he led his army to attack Daliang, Wei's own lightly defended capital. The Wei army had to rush back to defend its homeland, abandoning the siege of Zhao, and Sun Bin ambushed and crushed it at Guiling. Thus Zhao was saved without Qi ever having to fight at Handan.

Source (出处): 《史记·孙子吴起列传》

How is 围魏救赵 used? Two examples

对duì手shǒu猛měng攻gōng我wǒ们men的de主zhǔ力lì产chǎn品pǐn时shí，我wǒ们men用yòng围wéi魏wèi救jiù赵zhào的de办bàn法fǎ去qù抢qiǎng他tā们men的de新xīn市shì场chǎng。
When our rival hit our flagship product hard, we used the besiege-Wei-to-rescue-Zhao tactic and went after their new market instead.
正zhèng面miàn谈tán不bù下xià来lái，他tā来lái了le一yī招zhāo围wéi魏wèi救jiù赵zhào，先xiān去qù说shuō服fú对duì方fāng的de合hé伙huǒ人rén。
Since talking head-on got nowhere, he pulled a besiege-Wei-to-rescue-Zhao move and went to win over the other side's partner first.

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