Han Feizi said it was difficult

But the difficulty of lobbying is not that I have the wisdom to persuade the other party; it is not that my ability to discern and analyze things is difficult in indicating my intentions; nor is it that I have difficulty in saying all the things I know without scruples. But the difficulty of lobbying is to be able to understand the true thoughts of the person you are lobbying, and then use my words to fulfill his wishes.

The object of the lobbying pursues a noble reputation, but uses rich financial profits to lobby, it will be regarded by the other party as a person with low ambition and integrity, and then suffer humble and lowly treatment, and eventually will be abandoned far away. The object of the lobbying pursues rich profits, but uses a noble reputation to lobby, it will be considered by the other party as a person without a heart, doing things out of practical reason, and will certainly not accept your opinion. The person lobbying actually wants to pursue rich profits, but on the surface pretends to be pursuing a noble reputation, then if you lobby him with a noble reputation, then the other party will only accept your suggestions on the surface, but in fact alienate you; if you lobby the other party with rich profits, then the other party will secretly adopt your suggestions, but on the surface abandon you. These are all truths that cannot be understood.

Things often end up being kept secret in advance, and often fail because secrets are leaked. It is not necessarily that the lobbyists deliberately leak secrets, but because most of the things in the world are the same, when it comes to the same things, others will realize that things are leaked, and the lobbyists will be in danger. The monarch has made a mistake, but the lobbyist will also be in danger if he has to plainly quote some good ideas to deduce his fault. The favor that the monarch gives to the lobbyist is not rich enough, and the lobbyist says everything he knows, and if the lobbyist's proposal is adopted and implemented and bears fruit, then the monarch forgets his merits; if the lobbyist's claim is not adopted and ultimately fails, then the lobbyist is doubted and thus in danger. The monarch thought that his plan was successful and wanted to take it as his own credit, and the lobbyist knew in advance and told the monarch that he would also encounter danger. The monarch ostensibly does one thing, but in reality it is for another purpose, and the lobbyists know and participate in it in advance, which is also dangerous. Forcing the monarch to do what he must not want to do, trying to stop what the monarch will not give up, the lobbyists will be in danger. Therefore, if you talk to the monarch about the shortcomings of the minister, the monarch will think that you are mocking him; if you discuss with the monarch a lowly person, the monarch will think that you are deceiving power; if you talk about the monarch's love and favor, the monarch will think that you are climbing the mountain; if you talk about the monarch hating and hating people, the monarch will think that you are tempting him. If the rhetoric of lobbying is too direct and omitted, it will be dismissed as an unwise person; if it is excessive and lengthy, it will be regarded as a cumbersome and untrue person, and thus shelved for a long time. If you state according to the actual situation of the matter, you will be considered timid and cowardly and dare not speak freely; if the scope of thinking about things is too broad and arbitrary, it will be considered despicable and arrogant. These are all difficulties in lobbying, and we cannot fail to understand them in advance.

The key to lobbying the monarch is to know what the monarch respects, to embellish it with words, and to cover up what the monarch thinks is ugly. If the monarch knows that he has made a mistake, he should not take out his mistakes to the end; if the monarch thinks that his arbitrary decisions are a sign of courage and boldness, then do not provoke him with words that make him hostile; if the monarch shows off his infinite strength, then do not find anything that makes him difficult to embarrass him. To plan something else for the monarch, but just as the monarch thinks, praise the character of others, but just the same as the character of the monarch, and use words to beautify the thing, that person, and not slander it. If someone has committed the same transgression as a monarch, he should superficially glorify that person and say that he is not at fault. When the lobbyist's loyalty no longer makes the monarch feel disobedient and repulsive, and the rhetoric is not attacked and rejected, then it is time to exert its eloquence and wisdom. What is being said here is the difficulty of allowing the lobbyists to gain the closeness and trust of the monarch, not to allow themselves to be doubted, and to exert their wisdom to the fullest. If he can last a long time, and the grace obtained is very generous, the lobbyist's far-reaching schemes will not be suspected, and he will argue with the monarch without being blamed, then he can openly discuss the advantages and disadvantages with the monarch, to achieve merit, to directly point out the right and wrong of the monarch, so that he can correct his mistakes, and use this method to assist the monarch, which can be said to be the success of the lobbying.

Yi Yin had once been a cook, and Bai Li Dai had been a prisoner, so he sought the trust of the monarch. Therefore, these two people can be said to be saints, and they have to enslave themselves and experience such a filthy world, then this is not a matter of shame for the elite.

There was a rich man in the Song Kingdom who damaged the walls because of the rain. His son said that "if the wall is not repaired, there will be thieves", and his neighbor's father said the same, and at night, a lot of property was lost, and the family thought that the son was very smart, but suspected that the neighbor's father was a thief. In the past, Zheng Wugong wanted to fight against the State of Hu, so he married his daughter to the State of Hu. Taking the opportunity to ask the ministers, "I want to start a war, which country can I go against?" Guan Qisi said: "You can go on a crusade against the State of Hu." Zheng Wugong then killed Guan Qisi and declared to the outside world: "Hu Guo, the relationship with our country is like brotherhood, you said you want to fight against Hu Guo, because of what?" After hearing about this, the monarch of the Hu Kingdom regarded Zheng Guo as close to the country and no longer guarded against it. As a result, the Zheng people sneaked in and occupied the land of the Hu state. The lobbyists in both cases, their judgments made through their intellect, were correct, but the consequences were seriously killed, and the light ones were also suspected. This shows that it is not to understand how difficult things are, but how to deal with things that are already known.

In the past, Yako was favored by the Weiguo monarch. According to the laws of the Guardian State, those who secretly drive the king's carriage will be cut off. Not long after, Yazimi's mother fell ill, and someone heard the news and went to Yazimi in the night to tell him, and Yazimi falsely claimed that it was Wei Jun's order, and drove Wei Jun's carriage out of the palace. When Wei Jun heard this, he thought he was very virtuous and said, "It is really filial piety, because of visiting his mother, he is willing to commit the crime of cutting off his feet!" Visiting the orchard with Wei Jun, Yazi feng felt sweet and delicious when he ate the peach, so he did not eat it all and gave it to Wei Jun instead. Wei Jun said, "I really love and care for me, I forgot his mouth but just thought about me!" When Yako's flawed appearance was aging, the monarch's favor for him was also alienated, but he offended Wei jun. Wei Jun said, "He once drove my carriage under the order of the monarch and let me eat the peaches he leftover. Therefore, although Yako's character has not changed compared to the original, he was previously considered virtuous, but later he was convicted because of the change in Wei Jun's love and hatred. Therefore, when favored by the monarch, what is done is appropriate, and therefore close, and when the monarch is disgusted, the sin is also deserved, and therefore more distant. Therefore, the people who persuade and lobby cannot but carefully observe the monarch's likes, dislikes, loves and hatreds, and then lobby again.

As an animal, the dragon can be tamed, can play with it, and can ride. But it had reverse scales more than a foot long under its throat, and if a man reached out and touched it, the dragon would surely kill. The monarch also has reverse scales, and the lobbyists can do not touch the monarch's reverse scales, and they can almost be said to be good at lobbying.

This article is adapted from a translation of the history of Lao Tzu Han Feilie