Two Peaches and Three Warriors
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 1
- 2
- 1
- 2
- 1
- 2
- 1
- 2
There were three brave warriors in Qi: Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang and Gu Yezi. They were arrogant and overbearing in the court. Ministers found them hard to get along with and Duke Jing was irritated by their rudeness. When Prime Minister Yan Ying greeted them, they did not bother to acknowledge him. Yan Ying decided to get rid of them.
“Your Highness,” he said to the duke. “The three brave men are getting too proud of themselves. They should be respectful of their ruler and other officials, but their behavior is setting a bad example to their juniors. Such soldiers cannot be relied on to fight for the country. Sooner or later, they’ll get out of control.”
“But what can we do? They are strong and skilled in fighting. You have no way to get rid of them. Shoot, you will miss. Fight, you will lose.”
“They’ve only got physical strength. That’s all.”
One day, Duke Zhao, the ruler of Lu, visited Qi. Duke Jing gave a banquet in his honor. After the main course, peaches were served. Peaches were a rare delicacy in Qi. But there were only five on the table. One went to Duke Zhao of Lu, one to Duke Jing who gave the third one to Yan Ying.
Duke Jing let Yan Ying decide who among the three warriors, who were also attending the banquet, would get the remaining two peaches.
“I’ll give this peach to one of you who has the greatest merits,” Yan Ying said, gazing at the three brave men. “Please tell me who deserves it.”
“I deserve it,” said Gongsun Jie. “I saved the duke’s life when he was attacked by a boar during hunting.”
Yan Ying promptly awarded him a peach along with a glass of wine.
Gu Yezi rose to his feet. “I am also entitled to one. Once I escorted the duke crossing a river. Suddenly a giant turtle sprang from under the water. Our boat was almost capsized. I jumped into the water, fought the animal and killed it. I nearly got drowned saving the duke’s life.”
Yan Ying awarded him a peach and a glass of wine.
Now the last one of the three warriors, Tian Kaijiang, stood up. “I saved the duke’s life twice with my sword when he was attacked by the enemy in battle. Do you remember?”
“Yes, I do,” said Yan Ying. “Your merits certainly top theirs, but you spoke too late. I can only offer you some wine now. But you’ll be awarded a peach next year.”
Tian Kaijiang was angry. “Killing a boar or a turtle is fine. But I fought the enemy to save the duke. Now I can’t even have a peach, I’ll be a laughing stock.”
He drew out his sword and killed himself.
Gu Yezi was stunned. “I’m not as good as Tian Kaijiang. Now he is dead because I took the peach that really belongs to him. I hate myself. I would be a coward not to die.”
Thus saying, he fell on his own sword.
Gongsun Jie looked on in consternation. “The three of us are always together. Now two are dead, what face have I got to live on?”
So he, too, cut his own throat.
Next Story
Jade Sculpture
Last Story
Two Pursuits
Wise Proverbs
- A wise man never wants a weapon.
- 智者从来不需要武器。
- To fight a hundred battles and win a hundred is not supreme excellence; what would be more supreme is breaking the enemy's resistance wothout fighting.
- 百战百胜，非善之善也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
- A profound understanding of commomplace affairs is genuine knowledge; a mastery of wordly wisdom is true learning.
- 世事洞明皆学问，人情练达即文章。
Editor Says:
A man of more muscle than brains invariably loses out to a man of more brains than muscle.