We cannot focus on immediate interests without considering the dangers behind us.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, King Wu wanted to raise an army against the State of Chu, and the ministers advised King Wu not to rush to send troops, but King Wu did not listen. The war was about to begin, and the people were anxious.
King Wu had a garden with many exotic flowers and plants. One day, King Wu was admiring the flowers in the garden when he found a guard circling around a tree.
King Wu was curious and asked what the guard was doing.
The guardian said, "King Qi, I found a tree a few days ago, and it was lying in the top of the tree, drinking the sap from the tree and singing.
I was just about to catch this Zhi, when I suddenly found a green praying mantis, standing behind Zhi with a large knife, preparing to eat it.
I was about to take Zhizhi away with the praying mantis when a yellow finch flew over and landed behind the praying mantis. So I waited on the sidelines.
After a while, Zhizhi was full and was singing triumphantly, and the praying mantis crunched and ate Zhizhi into his stomach. The praying mantis was preparing to rest after eating, and the yellow finch flew over with a thud and took the mantis away.
The yellow finches ate the praying mantis, stood on the tree and sang, the louder the singing became, and I saw that the time had come, picked up the slingshot, aimed at the yellow finch, and knocked it down from the tree.
Today I just want to see if I can knock down another yellow finch. ”
King Wu listened to the guards, pondered for a long time, and finally canceled his plan to attack the Chu state.