The eagle stands like a sleep, and the tiger walks like a disease.
The so-called "the eagle stands like a sleep, and the tiger walks like a disease" means that a gentleman should be smart and not show his talents, and show weakness in time to confuse powerful opponents. In gang life, you can use this plan to deal with a powerful enemy. In front of him, try to be sharp and cover up, resist your desire to show something, pretend to be obedient on the surface, and make the other person feel disdainful and suspicious. Once the time is right, it will beat its opponent like lightning.
There is such a fable: if a hunter wants to catch a tiger, he pretends to be a fat pig and learns to bark. This will not only attract the tiger, but also make it unprepared. When the time is right, he will suddenly attack and hit it. Li Zongwu believes that in the face of powerful opponents, you can pretend to be weak first, so that they won't be suspicious. Once there is an opportunity, you can take it by surprise and surrender in one fell swoop. That's what Sima Yi did in the Three Kingdoms period, and finally killed Cao Shuang.
In the first month of AD 238, Wei Mingdi Cao Rui was seriously ill. On the dragon chair, Wei Mingdi took Sima Yi's hand and entrusted the 8-year-old Prince Cao Fang to him. Sima Yi wept bitterly and swore allegiance. On the same day, Wei Mingdi died, and Prince Cao Fang ascended the throne, known as Qi Weiwang in history. Sima Yi, two assistant ministers, is highly respected and Cao Shuang is young and impetuous. In order to strengthen his own strength, Cao Shuang promoted his cronies to important positions in Beijing for many times. Soon, Cao Shuang told the little emperor that Sima Yi was highly respected, but his position was under his own, and he was very uneasy and wanted to be promoted to a teacher.
ICY agreed to make Sima Yi a teacher, thus weakening his power. Then, Cao Shuang ordered Shangshu provincial officials to tell themselves everything first, so as to monopolize power. After the dictatorship, Cao Shuang became arrogant day by day, like a rapidly expanding balloon.
At this point, Sima Yi suppressed his emotions and kept a modest and respectful attitude towards Cao Shuang. By AD 247, Cao Shuang had basically controlled the state affairs, and the imperial army in Beijing was also in his hands. So on major issues, Cao Shuang basically stopped consulting with Sima Yi, and occasionally Sima Yi made some comments, but he didn't listen.
In this regard, Sima Yi does not seem to care, but still shows a humble attitude. Shortly thereafter, his wind paralysis recurred, so he went home to rest and was no longer responsible. This disease has been going on for almost a year.
Cao Shuang began to feel uneasy about him. In the winter of 248 AD, Sun Sheng, his confidant, became the secretariat of Jingzhou. He specially invited Dr. Sun Sheng to bid farewell to Sima Yi and observe what Sima Yi was doing. When Sun Yat-sen arrived at Sima Yi's mansion and saw Sima Yi holding two handmaids on both sides, he stood up to meet Sun Yat-sen. He took the coat brought by a handmaid and tried to put it on, but his hand shook and his clothes fell to the ground again.
Then he sat down and pointed to his mouth, indicating that he wanted to drink water. The maid brought a cup of porridge. He put the porridge to his mouth and drank it slowly, only to see the soup dripping down, making his chest wet. ...
When Li Sheng returned to Cao Shuang, he told Sima Yi one by one. Finally, he said, "Sima Gong doesn't have much time to live, so there is nothing to worry about." In this way, Cao Shuang completely relieved, no longer guard against. In the first month of A.D. 249, Emperor Cao Fang went out of the city to pay homage to Wei Wendi's tomb, followed by Cao Shuang brothers and only a few guards.
Soon after they left the city, the left-behind department of Cao Shuang's house was strict, and suddenly he heard the sound of a large group of people running in the street and became suspicious. He immediately boarded the tower to check the situation. He was surprised to see Sima Yi riding on a horse and running towards the palace with a large army. Although Sima Yi is already white-haired, his spirit is still tough.
Finally, Sima Yi forced Cao Shuang to be demoted, and it was not cruel to punish his three families. Sima Yi defeated Cao Shuang and his gang in one fell swoop through the mutiny and firmly grasped the political power. This move of his is "running like a tiger", which really taught Cao Shuang a lesson for people with real power but no strength!
Zeng Guofan said: "The eagle stands like a sleep, and the tiger walks like a disease. It's his magic that catches birds and eats people. Therefore, to be a man, you must be strong and talented, and you will have a long way to go. " Li Bai once said an intriguing remark: "Great sages and tigers are unpredictable, quite like ordinary people in those days", which can be regarded as a vivid portrayal of this potential power and "tigers are like diseases".
Of course. If you pretend to be ill and forget your original intention, you will be taken in by others, and the loss will outweigh the gain. Blindly thick, blindly patient, and forget their real purpose, which is contrary to the starting point of larded.
Rich but not extravagant, rich but not arrogant
Being rich is what everyone yearns for. Of course, what we are talking about here is not only the material wealth of life, but also the success in their respective fields. Money is rare in life. When you have money, it is not easy to be "rich but not extravagant, rich but not arrogant", but it is precisely because of its difficulty that people who really do it will be respected.
After Newton discovered the law of gravity, people always praised him without stint, such as the father of mechanics, the father of calculus, the greatest astronomer, the greatest genius and the most influential scientist.
Newton said, "I don't know what others think of me." I think I'm just a child playing by the sea. I am always complacent about finding a more beautiful shell than usual, but I have no idea of the vast ocean of truth in front of me. "
It is this personality that never shows off and is not proud that makes him highly respected, and also keeps him clear-headed in the face of "small" achievements and never loses himself; It is this modest and active character that made him make a historic breakthrough in optics and other research after discovering gravity. Newton never used his scientific achievements as a show-off capital, and never let go of any clues to continue to discover scientific principles. No matter how much he has achieved, he remains modest and calm.
It is precisely because of this rich but not arrogant character that he did not stop pursuing the truth and made scientific achievements that shocked the world one after another.
For another example, when performing on the stage of Chinese opera, many actors always want to "sit in the middle and sing the leading role". Once they have made some achievements, they will play a great role and ignore anyone. Shang Xiaoyun, the founder of Shanghai Opera, one of the "four famous artists" of Beijing Opera, never regarded himself as a big shot. He is very kind to everyone, takes care of his peers, and often volunteers to be a supporting actor, supporting some actors who are younger than himself, with junior qualifications or even lower qualifications, and whose artistic achievements and social prestige are worse. This seems to be an incredible "strange thing".
In the early 1920s, when Zhao Tongshan, a Peking Opera star who was in his twilight years, performed "The Mirror of Gankun Fushou" in Guanghelou, Beiping, Shang Xiaoyun specially went to see it once. In fact, the drama has long been a representative drama of Shang school and is quite famous in the drama world. Shang Xiaoyun once taught it to disciples such as Sun Zi, Sun Zi and Sun Zi. However, after watching the performance, Shang Xiaoyun felt that Hu's madness form in "The Madness of Losing Children" was vividly and profoundly played, so he found someone to make a deal. In the monologue, he asked to play Hu, and he played Shouchun himself. Zhao Tongshan was deeply moved by this move, so it was passed down as a much-told story by the opera circle for a period of time, because it is rare for a famous artist to play a supporting role for an actor whose reputation and achievements are not as good as his own. Although Zhao Tongshan was also a famous artist at this time, with many performances and dazzling characters, he was called "Nengpai", but compared with Shang Xiaoyun, his fame was somewhat dwarfed.
It is Shang Xiaoyun's true nature of "being rich but not extravagant, being rich but not arrogant" that makes him not only respected by his peers, but also loved by the world, making him keep forging ahead and strive for perfection in art, and finally becoming a great man.
Newton and Shang Xiaoyun are both leaders in their respective fields, and the reason why they have achieved such high achievements is closely related to their character of "being rich but not extravagant, being rich but not arrogant". They will never be complacent about a little achievement, nor will they show it off. It is precisely because of this that they can go further.
Don't get carried away, don't be happy with wine. As the old saying goes, "All bets are off, but modest gains." A man must be modest, not complacent, not complacent, and always keep a clear head.
Modest and prudent people rarely make mistakes and are not easy to be used; Smart and brave people, once carried away, are prone to make mistakes and lose a lot.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu, the first of the five tiger generals under Liu Bei's account, was a generation of heroes and brave. But in the end, he died of a moment of ecstasy.
Guan Yu has always been highly valued by Liu Bei, so he was entrusted with the heavy responsibility of being stationed in Jingzhou, the "base area". With Guan Yu's bravery, of course, whoever attacks will only lose the battle. Cao Cao sent Cao Ren to attack Guan Yu and was defeated by Guan Yu. Frightened Coss held fast to Fancheng, afraid to fight, and asked Cao Cao for help. Cao Cao hurriedly sent Yu Jin as the pioneer and Pound as the lieutenant to rescue Coss on a large scale with the seven armies. During the rainy season in August, Guan Yu was stationed in Xiangjiang River. When a rising tide lifts all boats, Guan Yu's army went straight from the upstream to the imperial garrison downstream in a warship. The flood flooded the Seventh Army in Forbidden City. Guan Yu defeated Cao Bing, captured Forbidden City alive and killed Pound.
Guan Yu flooded the seventh army and was full of ambition. He thought it would be easy to win Fancheng, but he didn't expect Sun Quan to be in Jingzhou's mind at the moment. It turned out that Guan Yu was not a reckless man, but this time he was too proud, and he was easily deceived by Lu Meng and Lu Xun.
Lv Meng is also a talented person. Guan Yu didn't take him seriously, but he was still very vigilant. In order to seize Jingzhou, Lu Meng listened to Lu Xun's suggestion, pretended to be ill and resigned, and returned to the capital to recuperate. Sun Quan deliberately sent a nobody, Lu Xun, to station in Lukou. In this way, Guan Yu even ignored Wu Dong. In addition, Lu Xun wrote to Guan Yu as soon as he arrived at Lukou, praising Guan Yu. He said in the letter: "You observed the enemy's flaw, took the opportunity to send troops, personally led a disciplined team to March and deploy, and achieved great victory with very few troops. The record is great. The rout of the enemy, for our allies, also benefited a lot, so after hearing the news of your victory, we are all rejoicing, and I really want to follow you to sweep cao thief and assist the Han Dynasty. ..... I have long admired the general's style and longed for your advice. Cao Jiang was captured by you in the Forbidden City, and people from far and near rejoiced at it, thinking that the general's exploits were enough to last forever. Even Jin Wengong's battle to stay away from and defeat Chujun's Chengpu and Han Xin's grand plan to destroy Zhao in Huaiyin can't compare with your great victory ... "
Guan Yu saw that Lu was so modest and believed it, and he was no longer afraid of Wu Dong's army. He transferred most of the defenders to Fancheng to prepare for a decisive battle with Coss. Lu Xun inquired about these situations clearly and then made a report to Lu Meng. So Lv Meng took advantage of the night to attack Jingzhou and won a great victory. In this case, Guan Yu was easily defeated, defeated in Maicheng, captured and killed.
Guan Yu, a warrior, was defeated in Maicheng, and the tragic ending of being beheaded was related to his self-esteem and complacency. In fact, it was his complacent personality that made him refuse to marry Wu Dong, which led to his demise. From ancient times to the present, there are countless lessons from this failure. So always remind yourself not to get carried away and forget the danger behind you.
Only flexion and extension can advance and retreat freely.
As the old saying goes, "A little tolerance leads to great mischief." Since ancient times, heroes have always been flexible, and it is impossible to do anything smoothly. There are advances and retreats. If you only know how to move forward and don't know how to retreat, all major events will fall by the wayside. Therefore, since ancient times, there has been a saying that "those who can bend and stretch are gentlemen".
Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu is one of the most flexible people. He never takes things personally, but always judges the situation and makes decisions and actions that are most beneficial to him. Therefore, Li Yuan was able to change from weak to strong and finally unify the whole country in the troubled times when the world was in dispute and the heroes came together at the end of Sui Dynasty.
When Li Yuan was a comfort envoy in Shanxi and Hedong, he was ordered to catch thieves. Tang Gaozu, the general thief, is naturally easy, but he can't do anything about the Turkic tribes in the north, because the Turks have fighters and the people are good at riding and shooting. Tang Gaozu's repeated defeats made him nervous.
Later, when Tang Gaozu was left in Taiyuan, the Turks attacked Taiyuan city many times with tens of thousands of troops. Tang Gaozu ordered people to lead the army to attack the Turks, but they were almost wiped out. Later, with the plan of suspected soldiers, the Turkish soldiers reluctantly withdrew. The Turks also supported and sheltered Guo, Xue Ju and others to make trouble, making it even more impossible to prevent.
Under such intimidation, many people think that Tang Gaozu will definitely fight the Turks with hatred. Unexpectedly, Tang Gaozu sent Liu Wenjing, a counselor, as a special envoy to the Turkic Qujie, and expressed his willingness to give all the "beauties and silks" to the Turkic Khan.
It is a great shame for everyone to see Tang Gaozu make such a big concession under such great humiliation. However, Li Yuan "everyone is drunk and I wake up alone". He told his subordinates that although concessions are humiliating, only flexibility can make them a gentleman and achieve great things.
According to the general trend of the world at that time, we have made up our minds to attack Sui. However, if you want to think of the success of a soldier, you can only command the world if you go west into Guanzhong. However, if we want to go west into Guanzhong, Taiyuan is a base area that must not be lost.
How can I enter the customs and keep Taiyuan? At that time, Tang Gaozu had only 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Even if all of them were stationed in Taiyuan, it would be difficult to cope with the Turkish invasion, not to mention moving west into Guanzhong. The only way is to adopt a pro-Turkish policy and let the Turks get some benefits. So, Tang Gaozu made concessions without hesitation, surrendered to the Turks, and then agreed with them that after pacifying the capital, the land would be owned by Tang Gaozu, and all the beautiful jade articles would be owned by the Turks.
Hiring Turks has both advantages and natural willingness to mend fences with Tang Gaozu. Because of Li Yuan's concession, he got a lot of support from the Turks in the process of attacking Guanzhong. Turkic Khan sent him many horses all the way, and Li Yuan bought a large number of horses, and soon established a cavalry team with strong fighting capacity.
Although many people despised Li Yuan's concession at that time, under the circumstances, Li Yuan's choice was wise. It enabled the weak "Li Jiajun" not only to keep the security of Taiyuan, but also to successfully advance westward, laying the foundation for Guanzhong and finally completing the great cause of reunification.
It is difficult to achieve great things by enduring a moment of humiliation without a little tolerance. Since ancient times, heroes have suffered a lot, and they can bend and stretch to be human. If you can't stand what ordinary people can't stand and can't bend what ordinary people can't bend, you are not impossible for ordinary people. Only by setting your eyes farthest, embracing the world with your heart and being able to bend and stretch moderately can you advance and retreat freely in the vast world and achieve great things.
He who knows others is smart, and he who knows himself is wise.
There is a saying in Sun Tzu's Art of War: "Know yourself and know yourself, and you will be invincible." It means that only by understanding the strength comparison between the two sides can we take the initiative in the war and finally win. War is like this, so is life. It is difficult to correctly understand and evaluate people without prejudice, so there has been a saying that "knowing people is wise" since ancient times; Especially rare is a confidant, not exaggerating or underestimating yourself, and truly facing yourself. Therefore, people with this quality are often respected by people.
Guan Zhong and Bao, politicians in the Spring and Autumn Period, were good friends. When I was a child, Guan Zhong's family was poor and Bao Jia was rich, but they knew each other and trusted each other. Guan Zhong and Bao were business partners in their early years. Guan Zhong paid little capital, but he got a lot of money when he paid dividends. Bao never cares. Knowing that Guan Zhong's family had a heavy burden, he asked Guan Zhong, "Is this money enough?"
A few times, Guan Zhong helped package ideas, and they all screwed up. Bao was not angry. He comforted Guan Zhong and said, "Things can't be done, not because of your bad ideas, but because of the bad timing. Never mind. " Guan Zhong was an official for three times, but he was dismissed every time. Bao told people that Guan Zhong was not without talent, but did not meet anyone who appreciated him. Guan Zhong joined the army, got cold feet and ran away. When others were laughing at Guan Zhong's fear of death, Bao didn't. He knew that Guan Zhong was worried about his elderly mother at home.
Later, Guan Zhong and Bao were both officials in Qi State. At that time, the state of Qi was in chaos, and the governors fled to other homes in order to avoid disaster. Guan Zhong assisted Gong Zijiu, who lived in Lu, while Bao served another son of Qi in the giant country.
Soon, civil strife broke out in the State of Qi, which was killed and the country lost its monarch. After hearing the news, Miyako Jiuhe hurried back to Qi in an attempt to seize the throne. Guan Zhong led a man to intercept Xiaobai's son and then prepared to shoot him with an arrow. Who knows that the arrow just hit the hook on his belt, faked his death and cheated Guan Zhong, and fled back to Qi.
Because of the insider, Xiaobai was able to enter the capital first and become a monarch, known as Qi Huangong in history. At that time, Lu attacked Qi and sent troops to resist Lu's army. In the autumn of the same year, Qi defeated Lu. After settling down, he wanted Bao to be the prime minister of Qi, and wanted to kill Guan Zhong for revenge. Bao said to him, "I am lucky to follow you." You finally became a monarch. You are outstanding. I can't make you more outstanding.
If you only want to cure qi, it is enough to have my uncle's teeth now; But if you want to succeed in Wang Ba, you must use Guan Zhong. Which country Guan Zhong rules, which country is strong. Such people are indispensable! Qi Huangong didn't agree. He said: "Guan Zhong shot an arrow from the beginning, which almost killed me. Even if I don't kill him, how can I use him? " Bao still spares no effort to persuade.
Finally, under Bao's persuasion, he returned to Qi with Guan Zhong. Guan Zhong returned to Qi and became prime minister. Bao is willing to be Guan Zhong's assistant. With the joint efforts of Guan Zhong and Bao, Qi became the most powerful country among the vassal states and the first overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.
After Bao died, Guan Zhong wept bitterly at the grave. Thinking of Bao's understanding and support, he sighed: "The palace I assisted failed for a long time, and other ministers swore allegiance to the death, but I was willing to go to prison. Bao Shuya didn't laugh at my dishonesty. He knows that I don't care about my reputation for a while in order to plot great things. It was my parents who gave birth to me, but it was Bao Shu Ya who really understood me! "
Everyone wants to be recognized by others, but as the saying goes, "There is always a swift horse, but Bole may not have it", and many people are not appreciated. However, one can live without self-knowledge, but one cannot live without self-knowledge. No "self-knowledge" is a "human suffering" since ancient times, and a man must overcome this suffering. The most important thing in life is to be able to evaluate yourself correctly and position yourself accurately according to the changes of different periods, stages and identities, and truly be "self-aware".