Idiom Explanation:
Holding the emperor hostage and giving orders in the name of the emperor. Now the metaphor is to use the name of the leader to direct others according to one’s own wishes.
Pronunciation:
挟天子以令诸侯
xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng zhū hóu
Origin:
《左传》：春，齐侯以诸侯之师侵蔡，蔡溃，遂伐楚。楚子使与师言日：“君处北海，寡人处南海，唯是风马牛不相及也。不虞君之涉吾地也，何故？”管仲对曰：“昔召康公命我先君太公曰：’吾侯九伯，女实征之，以夹辅周室。’ 。
Story:
During the Warring States period in China, the state of Qin grew strong as a result of a series of reforms, and began to seek to expand its territory. In the ninth year of King Hui of Qin (318 BC), ministers Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi had a debate in front of King Hui of Qin about which country to attack first.
Zhang Yi said, “We will first make good relations with Wei and Chu, then send our troops to Sanchuan to block the stronghold of Korea, then let Wei and Chu cooperate with us, we can capture Xincheng and Yiyang, approach the outskirts of the cities of the Eastern and Western Zhou, and crush the king of Zhou. Knowing that no one can save him, the king of Zhou will surely offer the Nine Cauldrons, a symbol of the kingship of the world. With the Nine Cauldrons in hand, the map and the household register in our hands, we can hold the Son of Heaven hostage and give orders to all the vassals. That little Shu is just a remote land, where the barbarians live. As the saying goes, ‘the competition for fame is in the dynasty, the competition for profit is in the market’, and the three rivers and the Zhou dynasty are the ‘dynasty’ and ‘market’ of the world. If we don’t go to such a good place, but we have to mobilize our troops and people to occupy the poor and remote land of Shu, isn’t it farther and farther from the king’s hegemony?”
Sima wrong just a faint smile, shook his head and said, “Things will not be as simple as you say.” Saying that, he turned his face to King Hui, stretched out three fingers and said, “Your Majesty, I have heard that in order to achieve hegemony, you must have three conditions: one is a rich country, two is a strong army, and three is to have the world respond. To enrich the country, we must find ways to expand the territory; to strengthen the army, we must make the people well-fed; to make the world respond, we must give a wide range of virtuous governance. When these three conditions are met, the king’s unification of the world will be complete. Now you have a small area and a small population, so I think you should start from an easy place. The country of Shu is a remote area, a country of the Rong Di, with a tyrannical leader and chaos in the country. Once our Qin troops arrive, it will be like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, and we can take over Shu without much effort. We will have the land there and expand our territory, and the wealth we get from there will make our people’s life better. Our army will not be lost, the people of Shu will not be harmed, and we have gained a good reputation for getting rid of violence and peace; is it not a double gain of fame and profit?”
Sima wrong said here, turned to Zhang Yi and said, “You said to attack Han and hijack the Son of Heaven. Although the power of the Son of Heaven is weak, but the vassals still have to respect him on the surface, we simply do not need to bear such a bad reputation. The other six countries are connected geographically, and once they see what is at stake, they are bound to join forces against Qin. With our present power, we will not have a problem in destroying Shu, but I am afraid that we will not be able to defeat the allied army of the six states, so why should we ask for trouble?”
King Hui of Qin finally decided to adopt Sima Cuo’s idea and immediately raised an army to invade Shu. After Shu was conquered, Qin became even richer and stronger, and the vassal states became even weaker in comparison.
Similar Idioms:
- 狐假虎威
