After Qi conquered Yan, the feudal lords began plotting to rescue Yan. Alarmed, King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius,
“Many states are now scheming to attack me – what should I do?”
Mencius replied:
“I have heard of Tang, who ruled all under Heaven from a domain of only seventy li – but never of a ruler with a thousand li who lived in fear of others! The Book of Documents says: ‘Tang’s first campaign began with the state of Ge.’ The whole world trusted him. When he marched east, western tribes complained; when he went south, northern peoples grumbled, ‘Why are we last?’ The people longed for him as in a great drought they long for clouds and rainbows.
Wherever Tang’s army went, merchants kept trading in the markets, farmers continued tilling their fields. He punished only the tyrant and consoled the people – like timely rain descending, bringing universal joy. As the Documents say: ‘We await our lord; when he comes, we shall revive.’
At first, Yan’s ruler oppressed his people, so when Your Majesty marched against him, the Yan people believed you had come to rescue them from fire and water. That’s why they welcomed your troops with baskets of rice and flasks of wine.
But now? You’ve killed their fathers and brothers, bound their sons and younger siblings, destroyed their ancestral temples, and carted off their sacred vessels. How can this be justified? The world already fears Qi’s might. Now that you’ve doubled your territory yet refuse to practice benevolent governance, you’re inviting the armies of all under Heaven to rise against you!
Act quickly, Your Majesty: issue an order to return the elderly and children you’ve taken captive, stop seizing Yan’s ritual treasures, consult the Yan people, help them install a new ruler, and then withdraw. Only then may you still avert disaster.”
齊人伐燕，取之。諸侯將謀救燕。宣王曰：「諸侯多謀伐寡人者，何以待之？」
孟子對曰：「臣聞七十里為政於天下者，湯是也。未聞以千里畏人者也。《書》曰：『湯一征，自葛始。』天下信之。『東面而征，西夷怨；南面而征，北狄怨。曰，奚為後我？』民望之，若大旱之望雲霓也。歸市者不止，耕者不變。誅其君而弔其民，若時雨降，民大悅。《書》曰：『徯我后，后來其蘇。』
「今燕虐其民，王往而征之。民以為將拯己於水火之中也，簞食壺漿，以迎王師。若殺其父兄，係累其子弟，毀其宗廟，遷其重器，如之何其可也？天下固畏齊之彊也。今又倍地而不行仁政，是動天下之兵也。王速出令，反其旄倪，止其重器，謀於燕眾，置君而後去之，則猶可及止也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: King Hui of Liang II (c. 314 BCE) is a masterclass in moral statecraft. Mencius insists that true power lies not in conquest, but in legitimacy earned through compassion and restraint. History proved him right: Qi’s brutal occupation sparked rebellion and coalition opposition, forcing its retreat within two years. His warning remains timeless:
Empires built on force without justice collapse under their own weight.
Faced with the crisis of a coalition of feudal lords preparing to attack, King Xuan of Qi was only thinking about “how to defend himself.” Mencius, however, went straight to the heart of the matter: the real problem was not the scale of the military threat, but the profound loss of moral legitimacy.
The “Tang-Wu Revolution” as a Mirror: True Kingship vs. Hegemonic Expansion
Mencius cited the story of Tang’s campaign against Ge to highlight three defining traits of a true “kingly army”:
- Punishing tyrants without harming the people;
- Being enthusiastically welcomed by the populace;
- Leaving social order intact – markets and farms undisturbed.
In stark contrast, Qi’s troops in Yan engaged in burning, killing, looting, destroying ancestral temples, and seizing ritual vessels (symbols of state legitimacy). This flagrantly violated the Confucian principle of “punishing the wicked ruler while consoling the people”, turning what could have been a righteous intervention into outright aggression. Through this, Mencius drew a clear line between the “Way of the True King” and the “Way of Hegemony”: coercion through force is not true strength; only moral virtue earns genuine authority.
“The Will of the People is Heaven’s Mandate”: A Practical Logic
Mencius was not indulging in abstract morality. He observed that the people of Yan initially welcomed Qi’s army because they saw it as their savior. But once they realized Qi’s rule was even more brutal than their own king’s – “the water grew deeper, the fire hotter” – public sentiment swiftly reversed. This confirmed his doctrine in Mencius: Li Lou I: “He who wins the hearts of the common people becomes Son of Heaven.” In other words, the survival of any regime hinges on the support of ordinary citizens.
History proved Mencius right: during Qi’s two-year occupation of Yan, uprisings erupted everywhere. States like Zhao and Qin seized the opportunity to apply pressure, ultimately forcing Qi to withdraw in 312 BCE. Had Mencius not issued this warning early, Qi might have faced a multi-front war far sooner.
The Wisdom of Damage control and Strategic retreat
Mencius did not stop at criticism – he offered pragmatic political advice and concrete remedies:
- Return captured civilians (especially the elderly and children);
- Cease looting Yan’s sacred treasures;
- Respect the Yan people’s right to choose their own ruler.
This reflects the Confucian principle of balancing jing (constant moral norms) with quan (contextual flexibility). While upholding the core value of benevolent governance, one must also adopt practical measures to avert greater disaster. This “advance through retreat” strategy echoes Confucius’s teaching:
“If distant peoples are not submissive, cultivate virtue and culture to attract them.”
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