| During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), the
State of Yan was defeated by the State of Qi. When King
Zhao was crowned as the king of Yan, he was determined
to make his state strong to remove the humiliation. Yet
he complained that he did not have real talents to assist
him.
One day, he said to Guo Wei, a minister, "Can
you tell me how I can get great talents?" Guo Wei
replied by telling a story.
"Once there was a king who offered hundreds of
ounces of gold for a winged steed, a horse which can
run 500 kilometers a day. He sent one of his men to
search through the country but the man only brought
back a pile of bones of a dead steed for half of the
gold. The king got outraged. But the man said, 'When
people learn that you have paid so much for a dead horse,
they will certainly offer to sell you a steed if anyone
has got one.' As was expected, the king got three steeds
in less than a year. If you are sincerely seeking top
talents, why don't you treat me as a dead horse of that
sort now?"
King Zhao did build Guo Wei a very expensive villa
and regarded him as a teacher. Also he built a platform
on which he placed a lot of presents for guests from
different parts. Soon his sincerity was spread to every
corner of the land. In a couple of years, great talents
such as Ju Xin, Su Dai, Zou Yan, Le Yi all came from
different states to gather around King Zhao. Very soon,
with the assistance of them, Yan became a powerful state
and defeated Qi. King Zhao accomplished his dream of
revenge.
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