From Historical Records of Qin Shihuang's Biography

Qin Ershi, the prime minister Zhao Gao ambitious, day and night contemplating to usurp the throne. However, he has no idea how many people can be at his mercy and how many people are against him. So he thought of a way to try his prestige, and at the same time he could find out who dared to oppose him.

One day when he was in court, Zhao Gao had a deer brought in and said to Qin Ershi with a big smile on his face, "Your Majesty, I give you a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at it and thought: This is not a horse, it is obviously a deer! He smiled and said to Zhao Gao, "The Prime Minister made a mistake. This is a deer. How can you say it is a horse?" Zhao Gao said calmly with a straight face: "Please see clearly, this is really a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at the deer again and said incredulously, "Why do horses have horns on their heads?" When Zhao Gao saw that the time had come, he turned around, pointed his finger at the ministers and said loudly, "If your majesty doesn't believe me, you can ask the ministers."

Ministers were all at a loss by Zhao Gao's nonsense and whispered privately: What's this Zhao Gao doing? It's obvious whether it's a deer or a horse! Ministers suddenly understood Zhao Gao's intention when he saw a sinister smile on his face and his eyes staring at everyone in turn.

Some timid people with a sense of justice bow their heads and dare not speak, because they are sorry for their conscience by telling lies, and they are afraid of being harmed by Zhao Gao in the future by telling the truth. Some honest people insist that it is a deer rather than a horse. There are also some adulterers who follow Zhao Gao closely at ordinary times and immediately support Zhao Gao's statement and say to the emperor, "This is indeed a swift horse!"

Afterwards, Zhao Gao punished those honest ministers who didn't obey him by various means, and even copied them.

cut off all means of retreat

From Historical Records Biography of Xiang Yu

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Jun general Zhang Han attacked Zhao. Zhao retreated to Julu (now southwest of Pingxiang, Hebei Province) and was surrounded by Qin Jun. Chu Huaiwang named Song Yi as the general and Xiang Yu as the lieutenant to lead the army to rescue Zhao. After Song Yi led his troops to Anyang (now southeast of Cao County, Shandong Province), he stayed put for 46 days in succession. Xiang Yu was very impressed with this, so he asked to enter the decisive battle and solve the difficulties of Zhao State. However, Song Yi hoped that the Qin and Zhao armies would not attack until Qin Jun was exhausted after the war. However, at this time, the army was short of food and grass, and Song Yi was still drinking and taking care of himself. Seeing this, Xiang Yu couldn't bear it. He went into the camp and killed Song Yi, claiming that he was a traitor and turned against Chu. So the soldiers embraced Xiang Yu as the general. Xiang Yu's killing of Song Yi was a great shock to Chu, and he was famous as a vassal. Later, he led all the troops to cross the Yellow River to rescue Zhao to solve the siege of the giant deer. After the whole army crossed the Yellow River, Xiang Yu ordered all the ships to be sunk, the cooking pots to be broken, and his barracks to be burned down, with only three days' dry food, as a sign of death, with no intention of retreating. It was in this way that the army with no retreat reached the periphery of Julu, surrounded Qin Jun and cut off Qin Jun's outreach channel. The soldiers of the Chu army took one as ten, and the sound of war was earth-shattering. After nine fierce battles, the Chu army finally defeated Qin Jun. The other governors who came to reinforce were afraid to come near because of timidity. The Chu army's valor greatly improved Xiang Yu's prestige. Even after the victory, when Xiang Yu met with various governors in Yuanmen, all the governors dared not look at Xiang Yu. Later, "all shipwrecks are ruined" evolved into the idiom "cross the rubicon", which is a metaphor for a desperate battle, with great determination.

Liu bang bears a grudge

Liu Bangxiang, the emperor gaozu of the Han Dynasty, is famous for his generosity, open mind and good knowledge of others. Liu Bang * * * has four brothers, and his eldest brother Liu Bo died in his early years. When Liu Bang was a civilian, he idled around all day, drank and lusted, and made friends with a group of gangsters. Liu bang often takes these people to his sister-in-law's house for dinner. Eldest sister-in-law hates this brother in law very much. Once, brother in law brought a group of no three no four people to Ceng rice, eldest sister-in-law deliberately scraped the pot with a spoon, pretending to have finished the soup. Liu Bang's buddies left. Liu bang secretly went to check and found that there was soup in the pot, and he hated his sister-in-law from then on. When Liu Bang finally became emperor, he enfeoffed all his brothers and relatives, but he didn't enfeoffment his eldest brother's son. The emperor's father asked why. The founding king eloquently said, "I didn't forget to enfeoffment him, because his mother is so unlike an elder." The emperor's father interceded repeatedly, and Liu Bangcai named his eldest brother's son "Tang Jie" (Jie, which means "scraping").

Befriend distant states while attacking those nearby

Source: Historical Records Biography of Fan Sui and Cai Ze

At the end of the warring States period, the seven heroes competed for hegemony. After Shang Yang's political reform, Qin's power developed fastest. King Zhao of Qin began to plot to annex the six countries and monopolize the Central Plains. In 270 BC, King Zhao of Qin prepared to raise troops and cut Qi. At this time, Fan Sui offered King Zhao of Qin the strategy of "making a distant friend and attacking near" to prevent Qin from attacking Qi. He said: Qi is powerful and far away from Qin. To attack Qi, the troops have to pass through Korea and Wei. With fewer troops, it is difficult to win; Send more troops, and even if you win, you can't occupy the land of Qi. It is better to attack neighboring Korea and Wei first and advance gradually. In order to prevent Qi from forming an alliance with Korea and Wei, King Zhao of Qin sent envoys to form an alliance with Qi. After more than 40 years, Qin Shihuang continued to adhere to the policy of "making friends from afar and attacking from near", making friends with Chu, first capturing Korea and Wei, and then invading from two wings, breaking through Zhao and Yan and unifying the north; Break the Chu state and pacify the south; Finally, qi was also cleaned up. After ten years of war, Qin Shihuang finally realized his wish to unify China.

A person who repays himself by thick oil.

Source: Historical Records Biography of Huaiyin Hou

Han Xin, the general who helped Emperor Gaozu draw the world, was in a very difficult situation when he failed to succeed. At that time, he often went fishing at the gates, hoping that he could solve his life with good luck. However, this is not a reliable way after all, so we should always be hungry. Fortunately, in the place where he often fishes, there are many floating mothers (old women who clean silk wadding or old clothes and cloth) working by the river. One of them is very sympathetic to Han Xin's experience, and she keeps giving him relief and food. Han Xin was grateful for the kindness of the hard-working floating mother who could barely make ends meet with her hands during her hardships, and told her that she would be repaid heavily in the future. The floating mother was very unhappy at Han Xin's words, and said that she didn't want Han Xin to repay her in the future. Later, Han Xin made a lot of contributions to Hanwang, and was named King Chu. He remembered that he had received the favor of the drifting mother before, so he ordered people to send her food and tables, and even gave her 1,200 gold to thank her.

rare commodity that can be hoarded for a better price―sth that can be capitalized on

Source "Historical Records and Biography of Lv Buwei"

I am the grandson of the king of Qin, and I am a hostage abroad. My horses and chariots and daily supplies are not full, and my life is difficult and I am frustrated. Lv Buwei, a big businessman in Yang Zhai, went to Handan, met a stranger who won, and said, "This is a strange commodity that can be hoarded and sold at a good price!" So he went to meet the stranger and said, "I can improve your family status!" " The stranger smiled and said, "You should improve your family status first!" Lv Buwei said, "You don't know, my family status depends on your family status." Knowing that he meant something, the stranger invited him to sit down and talk deeply. Lv Buwei said, "The king of Qin is old. The prince dotes on Mrs. Huayang, but Mrs. Huayang has no son. Among more than twenty of your brothers, Zi is the eldest son, who has the conditions to inherit the State of Qin, and he is assisted by a scholar warehouse. You are in the middle, not taken seriously, and have been a hostage for a long time. If the prince becomes the king of Qin, it will be difficult for you to win the position of heir. " The stranger said, "What shall we do?" Lv Buwei said: "Only Mrs. Huayang can establish a direct heir. Although Lv Buwei is not rich, I am willing to spend my daughter to lobby for you in the west and let her make you an heir. " The stranger said, "If you can realize your plan, I am willing to divide the state of Qin and share it with you."

Zhang Liang is a master

Source "Historical Records, Stay in Hou Family"

Zhang Liang often travels abroad, visiting sages and seeking teachers. One day, he walked to a bridge and saw an old man sitting on the bridge.

The old man put one leg on the other and kept shaking his toes around his shoes. Zhang Liang felt funny, so he looked at him a few more times. When the old man saw Zhang Liang looking at himself, he suddenly lifted his foot and threw his shoes under the bridge. The old man said to Zhang Liang, "Hello! You go and pick up my shoes! " Zhang Liang was very unhappy when he heard this, but when he saw that the old man's beard and hair were white and he felt sorry for him, he held back his temper and picked up his shoes and sent them to the old man. But the old man stretched his foot forward again and said, "Put it on for me." Zhang Liang held back his temper, then squatted down and put on shoes for the old man. The old man smiled, stood up slowly, and walked away without saying anything. Zhang Liangwang looked at the old man's back and felt very strange. Just as he turned to leave, the old man came back and said to him, "You are a good little guy. I am willing to teach you some skills. Wait for me here in the morning in five days. " Zhang Liang quickly agreed. On the fifth morning, as soon as he got on the bridge, he found the old man already standing on the bridge. The old man said angrily, "How can you keep my old man waiting for you? That's not gonna work. If you want to learn, wait another five days! " Five days later, when Zhang Liang heard the cock crow, he got up and went to the bridge, but the old man arrived first. He had to admit his mistake. The old man glared at him and said, "If you really want to learn, come back in five days." Go ahead and leave. Looking forward to the fourth day, in the evening, Zhang Liang didn't even sleep, so he waited at the bridge in the middle of the night. After a while, the old man came step by step. Zhang Liangying stepped forward and saw the ceremony.

The old man said happily, "Young people have to do this if they want to learn skills!" The old man took a scroll of military books from his arms and handed it to Zhang Liang, saying, "If you study this book well, you will surely achieve great things in the future." Zhang Liang took the book, thanked it, and wanted to ask something more. The old man turned around and walked away quickly without looking back. From then on, Zhang Liang devoted himself to studying the art of war and eventually became a famous strategist.

Zhao She enforces the law impartially

Source "Historical Records Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru"

In 27 1 year BC, Zhao She served as the tax chief of Zhao at that time. In Handan, the capital of Zhao State, Ping Yuanjun, the younger brother of Zhao Wang, opened nine large shops, which were in the charge of nine government officials. These nine government officials fought for power, evaded taxes, refused to pay state taxes, and injured tax officials who went to collect taxes. When Zhao She heard about this, in order to safeguard the dignity of the tax law, he risked being killed and dismissed from office, and decisively killed these nine housekeepers according to the laws at that time.

Now Ping Yuanjun was angered, and he got even with Zhao She angrily, threatening to kill Zhao She. Zhao She calmly argued: "You are a respected dignitary in Zhao. If your family flouts the tax law, the power of national laws will be weakened;" If the power of national laws is weakened, the strength of the country will be weakened; If the country's strength is weakened, then other countries on the border will be eager to invade our country. At that time, without Zhao, what wealth do you have? With your position in Ping Yuanjun, if you can abide by the law, you can unite from top to bottom, unite from top to bottom, the country can be strong, the country can be strong, and the regime can be stable. "

Ping Yuanjun was deeply moved by Zhao She's righteous words. Suddenly, his anger disappeared, and he was very ashamed and left quietly.

Zhao She's impartial law enforcement, without favoritism, soon enriched Zhao's finances, made the country prosperous and the people safe. Zhao also became one of the seven heroes of the bonfire era in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period from a country that was not very rich.

Gongyi refuses to fish

Source "Historical Records Biography of Officials"

Gongyixiu takes a photo in Lu, and this Gongyixiu's biggest hobby in diet is eating fish. One day, someone presented him with a fish to his liking. According to the "understanding" of today's people, it is nothing for an open-minded country to accept a fish and let people carry it directly to the kitchen. However, to our surprise, his old man's house was firmly opposed. His disciples advised him that your old man's favorite food is fish. Now that someone has delivered it to your door, why don't you want it instead? Gong Yixiu explained: "It is because I like eating fish that I resolutely refuse to accept this fish. You think, if I accept this fish today and lose my appearance one day, although I like to eat fish, I can no longer buy fish on my own salary. If I don't accept this fish and keep my appearance, I can buy fish on my salary for a long time. "