Spare no effort (不遺餘力)
A small piece of land(彈丸之地)
261 BC. The army of the Qin Kingdom
besieged the capital of the Zhao Kingdom.
In 259 BC, military aid from the Kingdoms
of Chu and Wei arrived, and the crisis that the capital of the Zhao Kingdom was
overrun was relieved.
The king of the Zhao Kingdom was very
afraid that the Qin Kingdom would attack him again after the reinforcements
from the two kingdoms left, so he wanted to cede six cities to him.
At an important meeting, the king of the
Zhao Kingdom asked two important ministers for their opinions.
One of these two ministers is (Yu Qing) and
the other is (Zhao Hao).
(Yu Qing) told him.
Do you think the Qin Kingdom's army will
retreat this time, because they no longer have enough soldiers and rations to
launch the offensive, or they have enough force to attack, but they pity us so
they withdraw?
The king of the Zhao Kingdom replied.
I think they have gone all out to attack us
this time, and they have spared no effort.
I think they're pulling out because they
don't have enough power to go on the offensive.
(Yu Qing) said.
My opinion is the same as yours.
So I suggest that you should not cede these
six cities to the Qin Kingdom. Your ceding six cities to the Qin Kingdom will
only make them stronger.
At this time (Zhao Hao) expressed his
opinion.
(Zhao Hao) said.
I do not agree with (Yu Qing)'s judgment.
I don't think we can be sure whether the
Qin Kingdom withdrew its troops because they didn't have enough soldiers and
rations to launch the offensive.
We should cede six cities to him. These six
cities account for a very small proportion of our entire country. If such a
small area can be exchanged for the guarantee of peace, I think it is
worthwhile.
(Yu Qing) refuted (Zhao Hao)'s point of
view.
(Yu Qing) said.
We traded these six cities for the promise
of peace, but how long do you think this peace deal can last? If they attack
again next year, do we have to cede other cities to them in exchange for peace
next year?
If we cede these six cities to the Qin
Kingdom because of fear of war, the result will be that they will become
stronger and we will become weaker and weaker.
Our land is limited and their desires are
unlimited.
Rather than ceding our six cities to the
Qin Kingdom, it would be better for us to cede these six cities to other
kingdoms, and then form an alliance with other kingdoms to fight against the
Qin Kingdom, which is more beneficial to us.
The king of Zhao Kingdom finally adopted
(Yu Qing)'s suggestion,
This idiom is used to describe a person who
goes all out without reservation. This idiom means to spare no effort.
This idiom is used to describe a small
piece of land.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
If you were the king, whose advice would
you take most? Have you ever made an irrational decision out of fear?
I hope this story will give you something
new to gain.
不遺餘力(Spare no effort)
彈丸之地(A small piece of land)
西元前261年。秦王國的軍隊圍攻趙王國的首都。
西元前259年，楚王國與魏王國的軍事援助到達，趙王國的首都被攻破的危機解除。
趙王國的國王很害怕秦王國會在兩個王國的援兵離開後再度攻打自已，所以他想要割讓六座城市給他。
趙王國的國王在一場重要的會議上，詢問兩個重要的大臣的意見。
這兩個大臣一個是(虞卿)，另一個是(趙郝)。
(虞卿)對他說。
你認為這一次秦王國的軍隊會撤退，是因為他們已經沒有足夠的士兵與軍糧發動攻勢，還是他們有足夠的武力能夠進攻，但是他們憐憫我們所以撤軍?
趙王國的國王回答。
我認為他們這次傾全國之力對我們發動攻擊，他們已經不遺餘力。
我認為他們會撤軍是因為他們已經沒有足夠戰力再發動攻勢。
(虞卿)說。
我的看法與你的看法相同。
所以我建議你，不應該把這六座城市割讓給秦王國。你把六座城市割讓給秦王國只會讓他們變得更加壯大。
這時候(趙郝)發表他的意見。
(趙郝)說。
我不認同(虞卿)的判斷。
我認為我們無法確定秦王國是否是因為已經沒有足夠的士兵與軍糧發動攻勢所以才撤軍。
我們應該割讓六座城市給他，這六座城市占我們整個國土的比例非常小，如果可以用那麼小範圍的地方去換取和平的保證，我認為這是值得的。
(虞卿)反駁(趙郝)的觀點。
(虞卿)說。
我們用這六座城市換取和平的保證，但你認為這份和平協議可以持續多久呢?如果明年他們再度發動進攻，我們明年難道還要再割讓其他城市給他們以換取和平嗎?
我們如果因為恐懼戰爭而把這六座城市割讓給秦王國，其結果就是會使得他們愈來愈強大，我們愈來愈弱小。
我們的土地有限而他們的慾望是無限的。
我們的這六座城市與其割讓給秦王國，不如割讓給其他王國，然後與其他王國組成聯盟對抗秦王國，這樣對我們還比較有利。
趙王國的國王最後採納(虞卿)的建議，
這句成語被用來形容一個人毫不保留的使出全力，這句成語的意思是不遺餘力。
這句成語被用來形容一塊很小的土地。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你如果是國王你最採納誰的建議呢?你是否曾經因為恐懼而做出不理智的決定呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-平原君虞卿列傳