He balances his sins with his merits(以功贖罪)
During the Three Kingdoms period in China,
there was a famous general in the Dongwu Kingdom. His name was (Ling Tong).
History books tell a story about him.
His father was also a general in the Dongwu
Kingdom. His father was a very brave man. Every time he fought, his father
served as the vanguard.
He was only 15 years old when his father
died in a battle against the Shu Han Kingdom.
He respected his father very much, so when
he grew up, he also joined the army of the Dongwu Kingdom.
On one occasion, he was involved in a
battle, and on the eve of the attack, he had dinner with other officers.
Among them, an officer with a higher rank
than him drank a lot of alcohol. After drinking, the officer became very rude
in his speech and behaviour. The military general used unreasonable reasons to
force the lower-ranking officer to drink.
He is a man with a great sense of justice,
he said to the superior officer.
It's not right for you to do this, you
should stop your rude words and actions.
The senior officer, who felt ashamed when
he heard what he had said, spoke out angrily.
You are younger than me, you are not
qualified to tell me what to do. Even if your father were still alive, he would
not dare to contradict me so directly.
After hearing these words, he shed tears
and remained silent.
The atmosphere at the scene became very
awkward, so the dinner ended early.
After the dinner ended early, the group
left the restaurant and went back to their units.
The officer, who was senior to him,
continued to drink as he walked along the road, and then loudly scolded him and
his father.
The more he listened, the more angry he
became, and he couldn't control his anger. He pulled out the knife he was
carrying, ran up to the officer, who was senior to him, and slashed him.
After this incident, the commander of the
army said to him
I will let you take part in the battle
tomorrow. Our common goal now is to win this war.
Tomorrow, after the war is over, we will
try you for your crimes.
The next day, on his way to the
battlefield, he spoke to the soldiers with him.
I have committed a mortal sin, I hope to
die on the battlefield, I hope my death can wash away my sins.
He took the lead in rushing towards the
enemy to fight them. His actions boosted the morale of the soldiers of the Dongwu
Kingdom. The war ended and the Dongwu Kingdom was victorious.
When the war was over, they returned to the
capital of the Dongwu Kingdom.
The officer he had slashed died of his
injuries.
He openly accepted the trial.
The king of the Dongwu Kingdom was
particularly concerned about this case, so the king of the Dongwu Kingdom
personally acted as the judge.
After hearing the whole story, the King of Dongwu
made a judgement.
Said the King of Dongwu Kingdom.
The reason you killed someone was because
that person insulted you and your father.
You fought bravely against the enemy in
that battle and led us to a great victory.
I think your merits are enough to make up
for your sins, so I acquit you.
This idiom means that a person's merits can
offset his or her guilt.
Dear friend, what kind of inspiration or
thought do you have after hearing this story?
Have you ever committed such an irreparable
wrong? If you were a king, what sentence would you pass?
I hope this story can give you a new
harvest.
以功贖罪(He balances his sins with his merits)
中國的三國時代，咚吳王國的有一個著名的將軍，這個將軍的名字叫做(凌统)。
歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他的父親也是一個東吳王國的將軍，他的父親是一個很勇敢的人，每次打仗他的父親都是擔任先鋒。
他的父親死在一場與蜀漢王國的戰役中，他的父親死的時候他只有15歲。
他很尊敬他的父親，所以他長大後他也加入了東吳王國的軍隊。
有一次，他參與一場戰爭，在這場戰爭進攻的前夕，他與其他的軍官一起吃晚餐。
其中有一個官階比他高的軍官喝了很多酒，這個軍官喝酒之後言語與行為都變得非常的粗魯，這個軍事將領用不合理的理由強迫官階比他低的軍官喝酒。
他是一個很有正義感的人他對這個官階比他高的軍官說。
你這樣做是不對的，你應該停止你這些粗魯的言語與行為。
這個官階比他高的軍官聽到他說的話後感覺羞愧因此生氣地大聲說。
你比我年輕，你沒有資格教導我該怎樣做。就算是你的父親還活著，你的父親也不敢這樣直接頂撞我。
他聽到這些話後，他流下了眼淚，他保持沉默。
現場的氣氛變得很尷尬，因此這場晚餐就提早結束。
這場晚餐提早結束後，一行人離開餐廳然後各自走回自己的部隊。
這一個官階比他高的軍官在路上一邊走，一邊繼續喝酒，然後又一邊大聲罵他與他的父親。
他愈聽愈生氣，他克制不住自己的怒氣，他抽出了自己隨身佩戴的刀子，他衝到那個官階比他高的軍官面前然後砍了這個軍官一刀。
這件事情發生後，軍隊的指揮官對他說。
我依舊會讓你參加明天的對戰，我們現在的共同目標是要贏得這場戰爭的勝利。
明天的戰爭結束後、我們再針對你的罪行審判你。
隔天，他在前往戰場的時候，他對與他在一起的士兵說。
我已經犯下了必死的罪，我希望我死在戰場，我希望我的死可以洗去我的罪過。
他率先衝向敵人與敵人對戰，他的行為帶動了東吳王國的士兵們的士氣，這場戰爭結束，東吳王國贏得了勝利。
當這場戰爭結束後，他們回到東吳王國的首都。
這個被他砍了一刀的軍官因為傷勢太重所以死了。
他坦然的接受審判。
東吳王國的國王特別關切這一個案件，所以東吳王國的國王親自擔任審判官。
東吳王國的國王在查明了事情的始末之後做出了判決。
東吳王國的國王說。
你殺人的原因是因為這個人侮辱了你與你的父親。
你在這場戰役中，奮勇殺敵，你帶領我們贏得了巨大的勝利。
我認為你的功績足夠抵銷你的罪孽，因此我判你無罪釋放。
這句成語的意思是指一個人的功勞可以抵銷他的罪責。
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。
你是否曾經犯過那種無法彌補的過錯呢?你如果是國王，你會做出怎樣的判決呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為三國志卷55-吳書-凌統傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E4%B8%89%E5%9C%8B%E5%BF%97/%E5%8D%B755