After many hardships, Zhong Er came to the State of Chu. King Chu Cheng thought that Zhong Er would make great achievements in the future, so he greeted him with state gifts and regarded him as a distinguished guest.
One day, the King of Chu gave a banquet in honor of Zhong Er, and the two chatted, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Suddenly, the king of Chu asked Zhong Er, "If one day you return to the State of Jin and become a monarch, how can you repay me?" Zhong Er thought for a moment and said, "Beautiful women are waiting for you, precious silk, and you have a lot of rare bird feathers, ivory leather, and even more in Chu. What rare items does Jin Wang have? " The king of Chu said, "Your son is too modest. Having said that, you should show me something? " Zhong Er replied with a smile, "Thanks to you. If I can really return to China to be in power, I would like to get along well with your country. If one day, Jin Chu goes to war, I will definitely order the troops to retreat first (one house equals thirty miles). If I can't get your forgiveness, I will fight you again. "
Four years later, Zhong Er really returned to the State of Jin and became a monarch. This is the famous Jin Wengong in history. The state of Jin became stronger and stronger under his rule.
In 633 BC, the two armies of Chu and Jin fought. In order to fulfill his promise, Jin Wengong ordered the troops to retreat 90 miles and stay in Chengpu. When Chu Jun saw that 8 Jin J was retreating, he thought the other side was afraid and immediately pursued it. The Jin army took advantage of the weakness of the Chu army's pride in underestimating the enemy, concentrated its forces and defeated the Chu army greatly, and won the battle of Chengpu.
The story comes from Zuo Zhuan Xi Gong Twenty-two Years. This idiom means not arguing with others or making concessions on your own initiative.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man named Sun Yang in the State of Qin who was very good at watching horses. No matter what kind of horse it is, he can tell good from bad at a glance. He is often asked to know horses and choose horses. People call him Bole ("Bole" is the name of the stars in the sky and is said to be in charge of managing Tianma).
Once, Sun Yang passed by a place and suddenly saw an old horse pulling a salt cart barking at him. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a swift horse, only a little older. The old horse dragged the cart with difficulty, and Sun Yang felt too wronged by this swift horse. Originally a BMW pony that can run on the battlefield and play a greater role, now it is dragging a salt cart in obscurity, slowly consuming its momentum and physical strength. What a pity! Sun Yang was so sad that she burst into tears at the thought.
In order to make more people learn to kiss up to horses, to make Maxima no longer be buried, and to keep his unique skills from being lost, Sun Yang wrote a book with his years of accumulated experience and knowledge of flattery, which contains various forms of horses. This book is called Imitation of Horse Sutra.
Sun Yang had a son who read the "Xiangma Jing" written by his father. He thought it was easy to kiss up to horses, so he took this book and looked for good horses everywhere. He followed the pattern drawn in the book and found nothing. I searched according to the characteristics written in the book, and finally found a toad with characteristics very similar to those written in the book. I happily took toad home and said to my father, "Dad, I found a swift horse, but the hoof was almost the same." Father couldn't help laughing when he saw it. He didn't expect his son to be so stupid, so he said humorously, "It's a pity that Matthew likes to jump and can't be used to pull a cart." Then he sighed: "Follow the map."
The story comes from Yang Shen's "Yilin Felling Mountain" in the Ming Dynasty. The idiom "from the book" means to do things mechanically in the old way and not know how to be flexible; It is also a metaphor to look for things according to certain clues.
Ji 'an, a man in the era of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, was respected for his integrity, justice and daring to tell the truth. He is informal, pragmatic and official. Although it is not so vigorous on the surface, it can manage a county in an orderly way. Therefore, the court transferred him from Donghai County to the court as a Lord and captain-an official position in charge of the appointment and removal of local officials.
On one occasion, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said that he would implement the Confucian policy of benevolence and righteousness and do good deeds for the people. Before the emperor had finished speaking, Ji An said, "Your Majesty is so greedy at heart, but on the surface he has to pretend to be kind. Why bother? " A word choked the emperor back. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty cried, his face changed greatly, and he announced a blow to the DPRK. All the civil servants in the Qing Dynasty were supporting the staff for Ji An, fearing that he would cause great disaster. After Emperor Wu returned to the palace, he told people around him that Ji An was too thick and straight.
Since then, Ji An's official position has never been promoted. When he was Qi Huangong and a surname, Gong and Zhang Tang were humble officials. Later, they continued to rise, Gong became prime minister, Zhang Tang became an ancient bachelor, but He Ji 'an still stood still. One day, Ji An said to Emperor Wu that your majesty's use of ministers is like chopping wood, and it is "the latecomers come from the top"! Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty certainly realized that this was an indictment. Then he turned to his deputies and said, "People really have to study! You listen to Ji An, more and more outrageous! "
This story comes from Biography of Historical Records and Zheng Ji. The idiom "coming from behind" often means that the latter can surpass the former. And Ji An said the original intention, very different.
At the end of the Warring States Period, Qin launched a series of large-scale attacks on Wei, which was unable to resist, and a large area of land was occupied by Qin Jun. By 273 BC, Qin sent troops to Wei again, with unprecedented momentum.
Wang Wei called the ministers and asked them sadly, is there any way to make Qin withdraw? After years of war, ministers are terrified at the mention of war, and no one dares to mention the word "resistance". At this critical moment in Enemy at the Gates, most ministers advised Wang Wei to make peace with the king of Qin at the expense of a large area of land north of the Yellow River and south of Taihang Mountain.
Hearing these words, counselor Su Dai strongly disapproved. He quickly stepped forward and said to Wang Wei, "Your Majesty, they sent you because they were afraid of death, so they asked you to betray your country and make peace, without thinking about the country at all. Think about it. Although ceding a large area of land to the State of Qin temporarily satisfied the ambition of the King of Qin, the desire of the State of Qin is endless. As long as Wei's land is not cut, it will not stop attacking us. "
Speaking of which, Su Dai told a story: Once upon a time, a man's house caught fire. He was advised to use water to put out the fire quickly, but he wouldn't listen. He picked up a bundle of firewood to put out the fire because he didn't understand that firewood couldn't put out the fire, so he could only add fuel to the fire. If the king agrees to make peace with the land of Wei, doesn't it mean taking firewood to put out the fire? "
Although eloquent and timid, Wang Wei only cared about the immediate peace, but according to the opinions of his ministers, he ceded a large area of land from Wei to Qin. In 225 AD, he attacked Wei again, surrounded the capital girder, dug up the Yellow River levee and flooded the girder city. Wei was finally destroyed by Qin.
This story comes from Historical Records Wei Shi Jia. The idiom "pick firewood to put out the fire" means that evil is eliminated in the wrong way, but it is enlarged as a result.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man named Yu Boya, who was proficient in temperament and superb in piano skills. He was a famous pianist at that time. When Yu Boya was young, he was smart and eager to learn. He has learned from others and his piano skills have reached the level. But he always feels that he can't express his feelings about all kinds of things in a superb way. Boya's teacher knew his idea and took him to Penglai Island in the East China Sea by boat, so that he could enjoy the natural scenery and listen to the waves of the sea. Boya looked up and saw the waves surging and splashing; Seabirds are roaring and singing; The lush trees in the forest are like entering a fairyland. A wonderful feeling arises spontaneously, as if the harmonious and beautiful music of nature is playing in the ear. He couldn't help playing the piano, his voice turned at will, and the beauty of nature was integrated into the sound of the piano. Boya experienced an unprecedented realm. The teacher told him, "You have learned."
One night boating in Boya. Facing the cool breeze and bright moon, he was full of thoughts, so he played the piano again, and the sound of the piano was melodious and getting better. Suddenly I heard someone screaming on the shore. When Boya heard the sound, he got out of the boat and saw a woodcutter standing on the shore. Knowing that the man was a bosom friend, he immediately invited the woodcutter aboard and played for him with great interest. Boya played a tune praising the mountains, and the woodcutter said, "How wonderful! Majestic and solemn, such as Mount Tai towering into the clouds! " When he played the surging waves, the woodcutter said, "How wonderful! Vast and boundless, it seems to see rolling water and boundless sea! " Boya was excited and said excitedly, "bosom friend!" You are really my bosom friend. "This woodcutter is Zhong Ziqi. Since then, the two have become very good friends.
This story comes from Liezi Tang Wen. The idiom "high mountains and flowing water" is a metaphor for bosom friends and wonderful music.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a man named Zong Yi was favored by the Queen Mother and became the county magistrate of Shangdang County. After taking office, he did a good job in public affairs and was very aggressive in handling cases. Whether he is a rich and powerful gentry or a commoner, as long as he breaks the law, he will be justly tried and dealt with. The emperor admired him very much and appointed him as the chief of Hanoi County. As soon as he arrived, he cut down the giant of natural disasters. At that time, the law and order and social atmosphere in Hanoi County were greatly improved. Someone accidentally lost something on the way, and no one took it away.
When Zong Yi was transferred to Nanyang as a satrap, there was a powerful landlord Ningcheng who lived in Nanyang. Ning became a courtier and pretended to be humble at every farewell. However, Zong Yi had already heard about his evil deeds, and immediately launched an investigation after arriving in Nanyang, and soon found out his crime and locked him up.
Later, Emperor Wu appointed Zong Yi as the prefect of Dingxiang. At that time, Dingxiang's social security historian was very confused. After Zong Yi took office, more than 200 recidivists held in prison and relatives of more than 200 public officials who bribed recidivists to get rid of their crimes were strictly investigated, arrested and convicted, and more than 400 people were executed in one day. From then on, Dingxiang people "shuddered" when they heard Zhong Yi's name-the weather was not cold and they trembled all over.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, General Huo Guang was an important official of the imperial court and won the trust of Emperor Wu. On his deathbed, Emperor Wu entrusted his youngest son, Liu Fuling (Emperor Zhao), to Huo Guang for assistance. After the death of Emperor Zhao, Huo Guang made Liu Xun Emperor (Xuan Di). Huo Guang was in power for more than forty years, which made great contributions to Wang Jin in the Western Han Dynasty.
After Liu Xun acceded to the throne, she made Xu Fei queen. Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian is a greedy woman. She wanted to marry her little daughter, Cheng Jun, to be the queen of Liu Xun, so she took advantage of Xu Niangniang's illness and bribed a female doctor to poison the queen. The poisonous trick was exposed and the female doctor was jailed. Huo Guang knew nothing about this beforehand, but when it came out, Huo told him. Huo Guang was very scared and accused his wife of not doing such a thing. He also wanted to report it, but he couldn't bear to have his wife convicted. After careful consideration, he concealed this heinous thing. After Huo Guang's death, someone reported the case to Xuan Di, and Xuan Di sent someone to investigate and deal with it. Huo Guang's wife heard about it, discussed countermeasures with her family and cronies, and decided to gather people to plan a rebellion. She didn't want to reveal the secret, so Xuan Di sent troops to surround her family.
Ban Gu, a historian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, commented on Huo Guang's merits and demerits in Han Huo Guang Biography. Said he was "uneducated and ignorant, and kept in the dark in Dali", that is to say, Huo Guang had no knowledge, so he didn't know the truth of the overall situation. The idiom "no learning and no skill" means no learning and no skill.