Story:
During the Warring States period, neither Zhao nor Yan was a powerful country. However, King Huiwen of Zhao, regardless of the powerful State of Qin, was eyeing Zhao and Yan and planned to send troops to attack Yan.
In order to avoid a war, Su Dai of Yan went to Zhao to pay an audience with Huiwen, lobbying Zhao and Yan to make up and fight against Qin together. Su Dai said to King Huiwen:
"Your majesty, don't talk about war. I'll tell you a story: a mussel hasn't landed for a long time. One day the sun came out and the river bank was warm, so the mussels climbed to the shore and opened their shells to bask in the sun. The mussel only felt very comfortable and dozed lazily. At this time, a snipe flew over, quietly landed next to the mussel, and quickly reached out with its long, pointed mouth to peck the meat of the mussel. The mussel suddenly woke up, quickly closed its shell and tightly clamped the snipe's mouth.
The snipe said to the mussel:
"I see how long you can stay on the shore! If it doesn't rain today and tomorrow, you'll get sunburned. At that time, there must be a dead clam on this shore. "
Mussels are also very tough to say:
"I see how long you can be hungry! If I don't let go of your mouth today and tomorrow, you will starve to death here, and then there will be a dead snipe on this shore. "
In this way, the two little things are fighting, and neither of them will give in. Really want to spell a mutually assured destruction posture.
At this time, a fisherman came over and picked up a bargain very easily, catching both mussels and snipes and rushing home happily.
Su Dai's story had just finished when Zhao Haoqi Huiwen suddenly woke up. He patted his head and said:
"Thank you for your inspiration. If our small countries kill each other and let Qin profit from it, what is the difference between us and the flies and mussels in this story? "
Therefore, the prince of Zhao canceled the idea of attacking Yan.
From this fable, we should realize that no matter what a wise man does, he should think carefully and weigh the pros and cons before acting. Otherwise, fighting each other for a little feud and contradiction is bound to be a stupid thing.