“Learn their rules better than they know them. Then use every single one.”
— Olga of Kiev
Attributed principle from Olga's strategy in Constantinople, 957. She used canon law to reject Emperor Constantine VII's marriage proposal. Primary Chronicle, Nestor, c. 1113.
Constantinople, 957. The emperor proposed. Not out of love, out of politics. He wanted my lands. I had no army in that room, no allies, no sword. But I had spent weeks studying his faith before the baptism. One rule: a godfather cannot marry his goddaughter. So I asked him to baptize me himself. He did. Then he proposed. And I smiled and said: your own law forbids this. He laughed and called me clever. You do not need to be the strongest person in the room. Just the most prepared.