1. Fan Li returned home with great deeds and caution

At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Fan Li served as a senior official of the Yue State, assisting King Gou Jian of Yue. He served loyally and diligently. He planned for the King of Yue for 20 years and helped Gou Jian to work hard. In order to become strong, after ten years of gathering and ten years of lessons, the country of Yue has become increasingly powerful.

In 482 BC, taking advantage of the opportunity of Wu King Fu Chai to gather the princes in Huangchi, he suggested that Gou Jian send troops to attack Wu, won a great victory, captured Wu Prince Friend, and destroyed Wu a few years later, forcing Fu Chai to commit suicide. Snow washed away the shame of the Yue Kingdom being destroyed by Wu. Then he assisted Gou Jian in his northern expedition, directly assisted Qi and Lu, and dominated the Central Plains.

At this time, Fan Li felt that the danger was right in front of him. His great achievements shocked his master. The monarch could only resist adversity, but could not share wealth and honor. There were many examples in history of "rabbits die and dogs cook". So he packed up his belongings, took his family and left quietly, changed his name to Tao Zhugong, went into seclusion to do business, and became a well-known wealthy businessman.

2. Empress Changsun respected her position and was cautious

Empress Changsun and her brother Sun Wuji helped Li Shimin, the prefect of the Tang Dynasty, complete his great cause and establish great achievements. Taizong wanted to make Changsun Wuji prime minister. After hearing the news, Queen Changsun stepped in to stop him.

She said to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty: "I am grateful for the divine grace. I have become the queen, and the eldest grandson's family can no longer reward me. The lessons of the Han Dynasty were too profound. When Empress Lu was favored by the emperor, The entire dynasty was composed of members of the Lu family, but they planned to rebel and were destroyed, causing great harm to the country and the people. Changsun Wuji was unable to serve as prime minister and asked the emperor to find another candidate."

Li Shimin refused to accept the queen's request. The eldest son Wuji was granted the title of prime minister.

Queen Changsun's request to the emperor was rejected, so she went to find her brother Sun Wuji and explained the interests to him. She asked him to stay away from nepotism and not to covet the glory and wealth in front of him and cause catastrophe. Wuji was finally persuaded by the queen and resigned from the post of prime minister to the emperor.

3. In the Song Dynasty, there was a very learned man named Jia Huangzhong. He started studying with his father when he was five years old. Due to his father's strict requirements, Jia Huangzhong passed the Jinshi examination at the age of fifteen and became a school secretary. Jia Huangzhong was an honest and upright official. When he was the Grand Shou of Xuanzhou, there was a famine one year and many people starved to death. Jia Huangzhong used his own rice to cook and saved thousands of people.

Jia Huangzhong is overly conscientious and cautious in his work, and often fails to make prompt decisions when encountering major issues. Later, he was sent to serve in other places. When he bid farewell to Taizong, Taizong warned him: "Be respectful and cautious in doing things. This should be done by both a king and a minister. But if you go too far, you will lose your ability." When Jia Huangzhong died, his family was very poor. The emperor specially gave his old mother three hundred thousand taels of silver in recognition of his integrity and selflessness as an official. Mothers teach their children well.

4. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu and Yue had been enemies for generations. Once the Yue army was defeated, King Gou Jian of Yue sued for peace and agreed to King Wu's harsh request: He asked the King of Yue to go to Wu to serve the King of Wu. Gou Jian came to Wu and served the King of Wu cautiously, and was released three years later. Return home.

In order to avenge this great hatred, he worked hard to train himself and his fighting spirit. He slept on firewood, tasted gall before meals and before going to bed, and formulated a series of plans for the restoration of the country. Within ten years, the Yue State finally became powerful and destroyed the Wu State in one fell swoop.

5. There was a great writer in the Tang Dynasty named Zhang Shuo, whose courtesy name was Daoji and he was from Luoyang. During the time of Wu Zetian, he responded to the imperial edict and received the second grade, and was awarded the title of Prince Collector. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, he served as the minister of Huangmen. During Ruizong's reign, he did some things under Zhongshu's family. During the Xuanzong Dynasty, he was appointed Zhongshu Ling, and was later named Duke of Yan.

Zhang Shuo is an upright and humble man. He is well aware of the principle of fullness causing losses and humility benefiting, and he is very strict with himself. I usually pay great attention to my words and deeds, and never become complacent or complacent. Emperor Xuanzong believed that Zhang Shuo was knowledgeable and prudent, so he decided to grant him the title of bachelor.

After hearing this, Zhang said to the emperor: "The position of bachelor originally did not have the word 'big'. It was Emperor Zhongzong who added this word to express his respect for the minister. I am educated and educated." It's superficial, and I really don't dare to ask for this title." Although he knew that being awarded this position was a special honor, he still resolutely resigned because he felt that it was too much.

Because of his prudence, he later achieved high success as an official.