Hi! I am Yan Yan!
Today, let’s talk about Mao Sui’s self-recommendation.
In January 259 BC, Wang Ling led the Qin army to attack Handan but was unsuccessful. The Qin state sent reinforcements to support Wang Ling in continuing the attack on Zhao, resulting in heavy losses for Wang Ling, who lost five battalions (each battalion has about 800 men, so five battalions amount to over 4,000 men).
At this time, Bai Qi had recovered from his illness, and King Zhao of Qin wanted to replace Wang Ling with Bai Qi.
Bai Qi refused, saying: “My king! Handan is truly difficult to conquer, and moreover, reinforcements from various feudal lords are on their way. The feudal states have held grudges against Qin for a long time. Although Qin won the Battle of Changping, nearly half of the soldiers died, and the country is already depleted. Now they are thousands of miles away attacking another state capital, with Zhao defending inside and the feudal lords attacking from outside, the Qin army will surely be defeated.”
King Qin personally went to invite Bai Qi, but Bai Qi refused to even give him face. He sent Ying Hou to invite him again, but it was in vain. In desperation, they replaced Wang Ling with Wang He.
“Bai Qi, the war situation is urgent, and I must trouble you to take action personally. I have come to invite you myself.”
“Please forgive me, my king, I am indeed suffering from a serious illness and fear I cannot bear this responsibility. I absolutely do not want to delay military affairs.”
King Qin, helpless, sent Ying Hou again to invite him: “Ying Hou, you go again, and be sure to invite General Bai Qi to come out of retirement.”
“General, the king’s intentions are sincere, and now is the time to use people. I hope the general will prioritize the state affairs and return to the camp with me.”
“Thank you for your kind intentions, Ying Hou, but my illness truly cannot withstand it, I am afraid I really cannot go.”
“Forget it! Since Bai Qi insists on not going, let Wang He replace Wang Ling!”
King Zhao of Zhao sent Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng to the State of Chu to seek reinforcements.
Zhao Sheng selected twenty capable men from his followers to accompany him, but he only chose nineteen.
Mao Sui self-recommended to Pingyuan Jun, who said: “A talented person in the world is like a needle in a bag; the tip will immediately poke out. But sir, you have been with me for three years, and no one has mentioned your abilities. I have almost forgotten your name—this shows you probably have no real skills. In my opinion, you should stay here.”
Mao Sui retorted: “What I am asking of you today is precisely to put me in this bag! If I had been put in earlier, I would not just be showing the tip; I would have long since revealed my full brilliance!”
So Pingyuan Jun agreed to take Mao Sui along, and the other nineteen mocked him.
Upon arriving in Chu, Pingyuan Jun discussed the pros and cons of forming an alliance against Qin with King Kao Lie of Chu, starting from sunrise until the sun was high in the sky, but there was still no conclusion.
Then Mao Sui, with his sword at his side, stepped up the stairs and said to Pingyuan Jun: “My lord, the pros and cons of this alliance can be summarized in two sentences. But now we have been talking from sunrise to noon without a decision; what is the reason for this?”
King Chu was furious and scolded: “Why don’t you retreat! I am discussing matters with your lord; how can it be your turn to interrupt?”
Unexpectedly, Mao Sui was not afraid and stepped forward: “Your Majesty, you scold me harshly; are you relying on Chu’s million soldiers? But look closely, I am only ten steps away from you, and even if your million troops are brave, they cannot intervene at this moment. To speak disrespectfully, your life is now in my hands. Moreover, why are you scolding me in front of my lord? What is the reasoning behind this?”
Furthermore, although I, Mao Sui, am not talented, I have heard of past events: back then, Shang Tang unified the world with only seventy miles of land; Zhou Wen Wang relied on a small country of a hundred miles to make the feudal lords submit to him. Did they rely on having many soldiers? Clearly not! They relied on being able to see the situation clearly, act according to circumstances, and have the courage to rise up.
Now look at Chu, with five thousand miles of land and a hundred thousand armed soldiers; this is the capital to achieve hegemony! With Chu’s strength, there is no one in the world who can resist. But think about it, that Bai Qi, just a young lad, dares to attack Chu with only a few thousand troops. In the first battle, he captured Yancheng, and even your capital Yingcheng was taken by him; in the second battle, he audaciously burned your ancestors’ graves; in the third battle, he even burned your ancestors’ mausoleum. What a deep humiliation, trampling on your ancestors!”
Such deep hatred, even we Zhao feel ashamed for Chu, yet you seem to care little? To be honest, today’s alliance against Qin is ultimately for Chu, not just for our Zhao! Now my lord is right here, yet you scold me like this; what is your intention?”
King Chu’s face turned red and white, with a hint of shame, and he clasped his hands and said: “Ah… what you just said truly awakened me! Every word is reasonable and hits the nail on the head. Chu is willing to prioritize the state and follow the alliance agreement, joining Zhao to resist Qin!”
Mao Sui fixed his sharp gaze on King Chu and solemnly asked: “Is this truly your heartfelt intention? The alliance against Qin is settled today?”
King Chu was taken aback by his gaze and immediately declared: “It is settled! I will keep my word; today we will establish the alliance agreement, and there will be no turning back!”
Only then did Mao Sui turn around and sternly say to the attendants beside King Chu: “Quickly bring the blood of chickens, dogs, and horses! Since it is a formal alliance, we must use blood to testify, announcing it to heaven and earth!”
The attendants did not dare to delay and hurriedly brought vessels filled with fresh blood to the hall. Mao Sui personally took the bronze plate, held it in his hands, and walked to King Chu, kneeling on one knee, raising the plate above his head, and said loudly: “Please, Your Majesty, proceed with the blood oath to testify the sincerity of the alliance!”
Seeing this, King Chu hesitated no longer, dipped his hand in the blood, and completed the blood oath ceremony according to the rites. Then, Mao Sui turned to Pingyuan Jun: “My lord, please take the blood oath.” Pingyuan Jun followed the rites and dipped his blood for the alliance. Finally, Mao Sui himself solemnly dipped his blood, completing the ceremony.
He stood up and handed the bronze plate to the attendants, keeping his left hand on the edge of the plate while raising his right hand towards the nineteen guests who had been shrinking in the corner, saying loudly: “You nineteen, come forward! Although there are no grand rites here, you should also take the blood oath to share in this alliance!”
The nineteen looked at each other, their faces flushed, and awkwardly walked forward to hastily dip their blood. Mao Sui looked at them with a hint of mockery but also a bit of openness: “You all often say you have abilities, yet at critical moments, you shrink back. Today, you did not contribute at all but can still share in the glory; this is what people often call ‘achieving success through others’! You are lucky, you did not come to Chu in vain.”
The nineteen were made to feel ashamed by his words and had no rebuttal, only silently retreating to the side.
After the alliance was established, Pingyuan Jun bid farewell to King Chu and returned to Zhao with everyone. Along the way, he looked at Mao Sui with a sense of admiration, and upon returning to Zhao, he sighed to those around him: “I, Pingyuan Jun, have seen countless people and thought my judgment was quite accurate, but today I realize I was far from it! Before this, Mao Sui had been under my command for three years, and I had never noticed he had such courage and eloquence. From now on, I will no longer dare to say ‘I have seen through someone’!”
From then on, Pingyuan Jun respected Mao Sui as a distinguished guest, often consulting him on matters, and the story of “Mao Sui’s self-recommendation” gradually spread across the states.
The story of Mao Sui’s self-recommendation is a classic example of “actively demonstrating value” in Chinese history, with significance far exceeding the event itself.
From a personal perspective, Mao Sui broke the passive predicament of “being talented but not recognized.” After three years under Pingyuan Jun without being recognized, he did not sink into complaints but seized the critical opportunity of forming an alliance against Qin, using the metaphor of “a needle in a bag, its tip will be seen immediately” to actively seek recognition, demonstrating a clear understanding of his abilities and the courage to seize opportunities.
From the perspective of achieving results, his self-recommendation was not mere talk. Faced with King Chu’s hesitation and scolding, he used his courage to intimidate the other party and analyzed the pros and cons with reason, ultimately facilitating the Zhao-Chu alliance, proving the value of “self-recommendation”—not recklessness, but an active responsibility based on strength.
This story still holds inspiration today: in the face of opportunities, daring to speak up and actively proving oneself is often the key step to breaking the deadlock and realizing value.
Alright, that’s all for today’s story. If you liked this story, don’t forget to give me a【like】, a【recommendation】, and then【share】 it with your friends. We’ll continue with other historical stories next time! Bye-bye!