PureInsight | August 8, 2007
[PureInsight.org] During the
Spring and Autumn period (770 - 476 B.C.), a person from Zheng country
came to talk to Qin Miaogong: "I am in charge of the entrance gate of
Zheng. A Qin troop could come and attack Zheng secretly."
Miaogong sent three generals with their troops to attack Zheng.
When the army arrived at the border of the Zheng, they met a Zheng
businessman, Xian Gao, who was about to go to Zhou to sell his twelve
cows. When Xian Gao saw the Qin army, he sent a person back to his
country to deliver the urgent message. In the meantime, he walked
towards the troop and said: "The Zheng emperor sent me here to offer a
dozen cows to cheer up your soldiers from the honorable Qin country."
The three generals consulted each other and decided: "We originally
planned to launch a surprise attack. Now the Zheng is prepared. Even if
we go there, we can not achieve a surprise attack as planned." So they
retreated.
Xian Gao used his twelve cows to avoid his country being ruined. That was really an excellent deal.
{From Historical Records)
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2007/7/30/45048.html
