Yan Ying saw a man resting with a bundle of firewood beside by the road. But that man did not look like other common laborer.
Yan asked, “What’s your name and what you do?”
That man replied, “I am Yue Shifu, an indentured slave.”
Yan paid his master and redeemed him. Yan invited the man to ride home with him.
But after arriving home, Yan went straight in without a word, leaving Yue at the gate for very long time. When Yan returned back to him, Yue expressed his dis dissatisfaction to Yan.
Yan was upset, “I have just met you and redeemed you. Is not that good enough for you?”
Yue said, “I have been working as a slave for three years. I do not care about that nobody know me or care for me because they do not understand me. I thought you know me as you saved me from being a slave. But you did not treat me as a gentleman. When we were riding, you were not courteous. Also it is not polite to keep one waiting that long outside your house without proper reasons. I’d rather be someone’s slave than be treated like a slave by someone whom i take him as friend.”
Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty received a confidential report about some officials use their power in hand to obtain private interests, they smuggling use their positions in the state owned shipping agency. The Emperor talked to his prime minister,
“People always do such things, it’s impossible to stop all of them, just like one cann’t fill up all the holes in the wall that rats live inside. As long as the cargo can be delivered successfully, I will allow small smuggling, only those most serious offenders will be punished. What’s your opinion?”
The prime minister agreed,
“If the water is too clean, there will be no fish. Since we know what they are doing we can afford to tolerate them to some extent so that they will not make trouble elsewhere.”
Lv Mengzheng was a famous poltician of Song dynasty. One day at he was just appointed as deputy prime minister, some one made a sarcasm on him,
“Is that greenhorn the new deputy prime minister?”
Lv’s associate got very angry and wanted to knwo who was that man. But Lv stopped them.
“Better not to know. If I do, I may never forget, If I don’t, I have nothing to vex my mind”
