A word can be saved, a word can be lost, and it must not be ignored.
The state of Chu crusaded against the state of Wu, and the state of Wu sent the frustrated guards and the Rong to the army. The general of Chu said: "Tie them up and kill the sacrificial drums." And asked Fu Wei and Ji Rong: "Did you divinate when you came?" The envoy of Wu replied, "I have divined." The Chu people asked, "Is it a good omen?" "It's a good omen," the people of Chu said, "Now our general wants to take you to sacrifice drums, what's the matter?" The envoy replied, "This is the reason why divination is an auspicious sign." The State of Wu sent us to see your generals to be angry. If the general is angry, our Wu State will be a deep ditch and a high base, and we will treat it strictly; If your general is not angry, our Wu army will be slack and have no intention of responding to the enemy. Now that your general wants to kill us, then Wu will definitely increase his vigilance and strengthen his defense. And our divination in Wu is not for one person. Isn't it a good sign to kill a man and save a nation now? The dead are unconscious, and there is no benefit in using our sacrificial drums; "If the dead are sentient, when the two countries of Wu and Chu go to war, we will definitely silence the war drums of the Chu State. Therefore, the Chu people did not kill the two envoys of Wu.
Another short story also highlights the linguistic wisdom of the ancients.
Empress Dowager Qin Xuan was seriously ill and knew that her time was short, so she issued an edict: "After I die, I must be martyred by Wei Choufu." Wei Choufu is the empress dowager's favorite male favorite, and when he heard that the empress dowager was going to let him be martyred, he panicked. After being instructed, he asked Yongrui to save his life with a heavy gift.
Yong Rui was a minister of Qin, witty and cautious, and won the trust of Empress Dowager Xuan. He agreed to Wei Choufu's request and entered the palace to ask the Empress Dowager Xuan for peace. Yong Rui asked, "Do you think that after people die, they can still be aware of the things in the world?" Empress Dowager Xuan replied: "Of course, if a person dies, he will not know anything." So Yong Rui said: "Queen Mother, a reasonable person like you, you know that people will not have any consciousness when they die, why do you send your loved ones to death for no reason?" If the dead can still feel it, then the first king has long hated the queen mother, and the queen mother has not had time to atone for her sins, so how can she have a personal relationship with Wei Choufu? Empress Dowager Xuan felt that Yong Rui was reasonable, so she gave up the idea of letting Wei Choufu be buried for herself.
Superb language wisdom, the lower can survive, and the upper can settle the country. If the wisdom of the ancients is like this, it should be with it!