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.
Step 2 look for pearls
A long time ago, there lived a family near the Yellow River. They made a living by cutting reeds, weaving curtains and dustpans, and their lives were very poor.
One day, my son was cutting reeds by the river. The hot sun made him dizzy, so he sat down to have a rest. He looked at the river in front of him, shining in the sun, and remembered his father's words. There were many treasures in the deepest part of the river, but no one dared to go because there lived a fierce black dragon named Zilong. He thought, if we dive to the bottom of the river and find the treasure, our family won't have to work all day, but we can eat three meals. We might as well have a try. He took off his clothes again and again and plunged into the cold river.
At first, he could see small fish swimming around him. Further down, the light gets darker and the water gets colder. Finally, he couldn't see anything, and it was dark all around. He is a little scared and doesn't know where to swim. Just then, not far away, there was a round object shining. Look carefully, ah, that's a pearl! He held his breath and swam over, holding the pearl in his hand and pulling it hard, and the pearl reached his arms. He quickly surfaced, went ashore and ran home.
As soon as my father saw the pearl, he asked him where it came from. He told the story to his father in detail. The father listened and said, "That was close! This precious pearl grows under the chin of the black dragon. The black dragon must have fallen asleep when you picked it. If it wakes up, you are dead. " This story can be found in Zhuangzi Lieyukou. The idiom "looking for pearls" means that writing an article can stick to the theme and grasp the main points.