唇亡齒寒

Once, the State of Jin intended to invade the State of Guo and had to seek for permission to go by way of the State of Yu. The King of Jin was worried that the State of Yu would refuse to consent.

Xun Xi, a high official of the State of Jin, offered his scheme to the King. He said: "If you offer that piece of round jade and that fine steed as gifts to the King of Yu to ask his permission, he is sure to give his consent."

The King of Jin said: "The round jade from Chuiji is an heirloom from my ancestors. The fine steed from Qudi is a great favorite of mine. If the King of Yu accepted our gifts, yet would not give us permission, what shall we do then?"

Xun Xi replied: "That is not likely. If the King of Yu does not consent to give us permission, he certainly dares not accept our gifts. If he accepts our gifts and gives us permission, that will be like moving the round jade from the storehouse inside to the storehouse outside, and the fine horse from the stable inside to the stable outside. Why should you worry?"

Sure enough, the King of Yu, coveting the round jade and the fine horse, was ready to give permission.

At this moment, his high official Gong Ziqi quickly stepped forward to dissuade him, saying: "You shouldn't give your consent! The State of Guo is our neighbour. Its relation with us is just like that of the lips with the teeth. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If we give permission to let the State of Jin invade the State of Guo, then when the latter is subjugated, will our state still be safe? That absolutely won't do!"

The King of Yu did not listen to Gong Ziqi's advice and consented to the request of the State of Jin.

Soon, Xun Xi led his forces and conquered the State of Guo. Three years later, the State of Jin conquered the State of Yu, too. Carrying the round jade and leading the fme horse, Xun Xi returned in triumph and gave them back to the King of Jin.

Immensely pleased, the King of Jin smiled and said: "The round jade remains the same; only the fine steed has aged a bit."

晉國(guó)和擄國(guó)的中間，隔著一個(gè)虞國(guó)。

有一次，晉國(guó)要去進(jìn)攻擄國(guó)，得向虞國(guó)借路，國(guó)王擔(dān)心虞國(guó)不答應(yīng)。

晉國(guó)的大臣荀息向國(guó)王獻(xiàn)計(jì)，說(shuō)：“如果您把那塊璧玉和那匹良馬送給虞公，向他借路，那么他一定會(huì)答應(yīng)的。”

晉王說(shuō)：“垂棘的璧玉是我祖先的傳家寶;屈地的良馬是我最喜歡的駿馬。如果虞王接受了我們的禮物，卻又不肯借路，那怎么辦呢?”

荀息回答說(shuō)：“不會(huì)。如果虞王不答應(yīng)借路，必然不敢接受我們的禮物;如果他接受了禮物，把路借給我們，就好像將璧玉從里邊的倉(cāng)庫(kù)放到外邊的倉(cāng)庫(kù)，把良馬從里邊的馬廄拴到外邊的馬廄里一樣，您何必?fù)?dān)心呢!”

虞王果然貪圖璧玉良馬，想答應(yīng)借路。

這時(shí)候，他的大臣宮子奇急忙上前勸阻，說(shuō)：“不能答應(yīng)!擄國(guó)是我們的鄰邦，跟我們的關(guān)系，就像嘴唇和牙齒一樣。唇亡齒寒，如果借路給晉國(guó)去進(jìn)攻擄國(guó)，擄國(guó)被滅亡了，我們虞國(guó)還會(huì)安全嗎?萬(wàn)萬(wàn)不能答應(yīng)!”

虞王沒(méi)有聽宮子奇的話，還是答應(yīng)了晉國(guó)的要求。

不久，荀息帶領(lǐng)兵馬，滅了擄國(guó)。三年后，晉國(guó)又滅了虞國(guó)。荀息捧著璧玉，牽著駿馬，凱旋而歸，把這兩件國(guó)寶奉還給了晉王。

晉王得意地笑著說(shuō)：“璧玉依舊，只是駿馬老了點(diǎn)兒!”