Somebody told Lin about what Lian Bo had said. Lin was not willing to fight with Lian and took great caution to avoid meeting him. Whenever there was a possibility that he would come across Lian, Lin would not go. Every morning he would say he was sick in order not to go to the palace to see Zhao Wang, just to avoid bumping into Lian.
One day Lin was on the way somewhere, but, seeing Lian in the distance, he hurriedly detoured onto another road. Lin’s attendants and staff were unhappy and felt Lin was unworthy.
They went to see Lin and asked leave not to work with him anymore since they thought Lin was a coward. Lin asked them to stay and questioned them: “My people, who do you think is more powerful and more frightening, Qin Wang or General Lian Bo?”
They replied, of course there is no doubt that Qin Wang is much more powerful.
“Please think, powerful as Qin Wang is, the whole world afraid of him, yet I dared to scold him to his face and insulted his ministers. How could I be afraid of General Lian?
“But what I keep in mind is our country’s safety and interest. Why, even though Qin is so strong and powerful, does it dare not bully Zhao, such a small country?
“Only because there are we two here. In the military, there is General Lian who is a world-class warrior, brave and always victorious. In politics, I am capable, able to handle affairs with wisdom and always victorious, too.
“But if we two fight against each other, there is an old saying. If two tigers fight each other, at least one of them must be wounded or killed. Then who do you think will be happy? Qin would take the advantage and opportunity to attack us, and then our country and people will suffer.
“I would rather be humble and yield to General Lian and only think of the whole situation for the country’s interest.”
Lin’s staffers and attendants were so deeply moved that they learned from Lin and yielded to and were humble before Lian Bo’s men whenever they bumped into them.
Later, when Lian Bo heard what Lin said, Lian was deeply moved and also felt ashamed. He took off his top, tied a stick from the vitex shrub on his back and asked someone to lead him to Lin’s home, where he begged Lin for pardon.
He said, “I am humble and lack knowledge. I am sorry for my bad behavior. I didn’t know the minister was so generous and forgiving of me.”
Lin saw Lian’s true heart, personally untied the stick from Lian’s back, asked him to take a seat, and the two had a heart to heart talk. Ever since then, Lin and Lian became such close friends that they swore that they would die the same day.
Lin was very famous in Chinese history. He was so wise, brave, and smart, and could handle different unexpected situations very well, preserving his country’s interests—few people can accomplish such things. His story in Chinese is called Wan Bi Gui Zhao, which means the whole jade is returned to Zhao without damage.
The story of Lin Xiangru returning the jade intact has been told in China for generation after generation up until today. While Lin was very clever, he was most admired for the way he did not boast, nor was he proud of himself, even though he did a great job for his country. Because he always put the interests of his country first, he could bear insults from others for the sake of the country and its people. This virtue of Lin’s moved General Lian Bo to want to make peace with him.
The He Shi Be jade would become the seal of the Chinese Emperor, passed down from dynasty to dynasty, until it was lost between the Tang and Ming dynasties.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
