Opening the gate

When Qin besieged Zhao, Zhao asked Wei for help. Wei sent troops but then stopped them at the border, because Qin threatened war. The king's instruction was to wait.

Lord Xinling of Wei had an elder sister in Zhao. He'd also given his word to the ambassador. He tried arguments and they failed.

Then he told his household to prepare to go and die alongside the Zhao army, with his own hundred chariots, because he'd given his word and he couldn't get the army.

On his way out he saw Hou Ying, the old gatekeeper, who told him he was walking into certain death and it was pointless, and he should instead go to the royal concubine who could steal the king's half-tally, and take the army. Then he told him to take Zhu Hai, a butcher with a heavy iron hammer, in case the general refused.

Lord Xinling did it. He took command of the army with a forged order, and went to Zhao, and saved it. The general never forgave him. The king never forgave him. Ten years later he died still exiled from the court.

The story doesn't end well in the way people hope. That's precisely what makes it worth reading.

He did the thing he judged right, and it cost him the rest of his life in Wei. He didn't get credit as a hero and forgiveness later.

Most ethical advice assumes a good outcome. This one is honest: some right actions will cost you your standing, permanently.

MOJOWAY asks clients what they would do if nobody would ever know they did it, which usually gets closer to the real answer.