The same thought has occurred to me. However, I'm always hoping that would not be the case. In fact, I've been wishing the writers would do some creative strategy changes for sometime now. Maybe if Mao is an insanely intelligent person who can actually backfire Lulu's plans back at him.

A fan can dream, right? (Yes, I know there's nothing fundamentally wrong with (most of) Lulu's successful plans. They're functional. They're practical. But they're also foreseenable. Obvious to the observer, like chess and real overall war strategy I suppose. It makes sense, but damn, elaborate wtf is more entertaining to watch!)