Borrow the Road to Attack Guo

Borrow a Passage to Conquer Guo When a small state situated between two major powers is coerced by the enemy and submits to it, our side should immediately seize the occasion, under the name of assistance, to infiltrate its influence. For a party in distress, empty words without practical aid cannot win its trust. Allusion:During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Xian of Jin wanted to attack the State of Guo, but the State of Yu lay in between. Xun Xi, a grand officer of Jin, devised a plan: bribe the Duke of Yu with the fine horses of Qu and the jade disk of Chuiji, and request passage through Yu to attack Guo. Gong Zhiqi, a grand officer of Yu, forcefully remonstrated with the saying “when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold,” pointing out that Guo was Yu’s outer perimeter and that once Guo perished, Yu would inevitably fall with it. But the Duke of Yu, greedy for the treasures, did not heed him and granted the passage. After the Jin army passed through Yu and destroyed Guo, on its return it suddenly attacked Yu and annexed it as well. Borrowing the road was......