"Repairing the dead sheep" means that if the sheep are lost, they will quickly repair the sheep pen, and it is not too late. Describe correcting mistakes in a timely manner to avoid damage escalation.
Many of us have heard of this fable about a man who found himself in a hole in his sheepfold and was indifferent, and that night the wolf went in and took the sheep, and the neighbor advised him to quickly repair the hole in the sheepfold. But this man looked indifferent and retorted: The sheep are lost, and what is the sheep pen doing? As a result, the next day, another wolf went through the hole and bit several sheep, and this person regretted it, repaired the sheep pen, and never lost the sheep again.
In fact, this story should be interpreted by later generations, and the "dead sheep to make up for the prison" was first from the "Warring States Policy Chu Ce IV", which is about the matter of King Xiang of Chu.
The State of Chu in the Warring States seven Xiongli has the largest territory and strong strength, but it lacks a long-term stable foreign policy, fights with everyone, chases small profits, and after many years of operation, it shows a downward trend and becomes a fat sheep.
King Xiang of Chu was already close to the late Chu period during his reign, and his ascension to the throne was quite legendary in itself. This brother's name was Xiong Heng, and his father was the King of Chu Huai. In the early days, Chu Qin repaired, Xiong Heng as the crown prince was forced to go to the Qin State as a hostage, this brother was not a fuel saving lamp, and had a dispute with an official of the Qin State, killed the Qin people, and secretly fled back to the Chu State in fear of crime. As a result, the State of Qin later attacked the State of Chu and defeated the Chu army, and King Huai of Chu did not see it well, and quickly took the crown prince Xiong Heng to the State of Qi as a hostage, and reconciled with the State of Qi to ease the pressure on the State of Qin.
Later, King Huai of Chu was fooled by King Qin Zhao, and in order to quell the war with the Qin state as soon as possible, he went to Qin to negotiate peace, and was detained until his death.
Xiong Heng was almost detained by the monarch of the State of Qi to threaten the State of Chu into taking land in exchange. After returning to the Chu state by chance, Xiong Heng succeeded to the throne of the Chu state by virtue of his concubine status.
Xiong Heng, who walked through his youth in such turmoil, easily became the king of Chu, and it was not surprising that he indulged in pleasure. Moreover, in the early days of his reign, he reconciled with the Qin state through his in-laws, and the crisis was alleviated to a certain extent. It was only later that the foreign policy swayed, and it provoked the Qin state, and something was not good. He had a minister, Zhuang Xin, who was very worried about seeing the country being invaded by the Qin state again, and advised the king of Chu not to always mix with people who coveted pleasure, not to govern the country well, and to immediately destroy the country.
King Xiang of Chu was not impressed, believing that Zhuang Xin was old and confused. Zhuang Xin saw that the advice was useless, so he told him to take refuge in the Zhao kingdom, and the king of Chu agreed.
Five months after Zhuang Xin arrived at the State of Zhao, the State of Qin began to beat the State of Chu again, this time directly occupying the capital of the State of Chu, and King Xiang of Chu fled in vain. Remembering Zhuang Xin's advice, he quickly invited the old minister back and asked him what way to survive the disaster.
When Zhuang Xin gave his solution, he used two metaphors, one was to see the rabbit and then release the hound, and the other was to lose the sheep before going to mend the sheep pen, both of which were still too late. Now King Chu, you still have such a large area of land, as long as you cheer up, you will definitely be able to restore your national strength.
King Xiang of Chu was very impressed, and made Zhuang Xin the Prince of Yangling, appointed him Taiyin, and with his assistance gathered troops to recover the fifteen yi lands along the Yangtze River taken by the Qin state to the west. After making peace with the State of Qin, he sent the prince to the State of Qin as a hostage, maintaining the peace of his reign for more than ten years.
Of course, these remedies did not bring substantial changes to the State of Chu, and after the death of King Xiang of Chu, the State of Chu was only destroyed for 40 years. The act of making amends may not be so important, but it is the real point to learn from this matter and continue to correct the attitude.