On a summer night in 217 A.D., Cao Pi was entertaining guests, and when the wine was hot, he suddenly asked such a sentence:
The monarch's father has his own illness, and if he has a pill, he can save one person, and he should save the evil of the king, and the evil of the father? (Both the king and his father are seriously ill, and now there is only one pill to bring the dead back to life, will they save the king or their father?) ）
This is a dangerous and sensitive question, and its lethality is no less than that of today's classic question: when the mother and wife fall into the water, who will save them first?
The difference is that if the husband answers wrong, it is nothing more than kneeling on the washboard, while the courtiers here answer incorrectly, and if they don't get it right, they will lose their heads!
If it is placed in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the courtiers can only choose to save the king. But at that time, it was in the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the status of the princes of heaven and earth was not strict enough to make a mistake. Therefore, how to answer is a test of human nature.
Cao Pi was very cunning, and he set up this question for two direct purposes: one was to test the loyalty of his courtiers, and the other was to test the sincerity of his courtiers! If you answer to save you, you don't talk about human nature, and you are not sincere enough to Cao Pi; If you answer to save your father, then you are unfaithful.
Neither is true. Cao Pi's cunning can also be said to be the art of observing people. Therefore, he set up this question, which itself contains a third meaning, which tests the wisdom of his courtiers: to see who of the kings present can give an answer that is not offensive to him and is reasonable.
Unfortunately, the history books do not record who gave the best answer. It's just that a subordinate named Bing Yuan gave the answer: save the father. In this regard, Cao Pi's reaction was: Laughing and unspeakable.
"Laughing" is also known as "laughing", barely pretending to laugh. It means that Cao Pi smiled very reluctantly! This answer is not wrong, but it is obviously difficult to satisfy Cao Pi.
If you are in front of the screen, how will you answer?