Story：The two kings
【明報專訊】IN a deserted plain, there were one emperor, who ruled the central region, and two kings, who respectively ruled the North and the South. The South provided economic assistance and financial support to the emperor, while the North fought for the emperor to maintain border security.
At first, the emperor was very grateful for the support, and rewarded the kings with many treasures. Gradually the central area was stronger and stronger, and news that it wanted to attack the North and the South had been spread from time to time. The North and the South did not believe it, but there were too many rumours. They decided to share power with the central area, asking it to sign a treaty and vow to never attack them. In fact the central government wanted to destroy the two. It refused to sign the treaty. Years on the military and finances of the central region were already greater than those of the kings combined.
The kings were unwilling to co-operate and they tried to contain each other's development. This allowed the emperor to drive a wedge between them.
The emperor used huge funds to bribe the generals in the North, because they only knew how to fight but knew nothing about money. He also provided military assistance to the merchants in the South, because they only knew how to do business and did not understand any military knowledge.
Just as the North and the South increasingly relied on the support of the emperor, the emperor took the opportunity to propose that if the two regions dissolved their alliance, he will continue to support them. The two kings agreed.
In the winter of one year, the emperor cut off the food supply in the North and ordered the army corps stationed in the South to capture its capital. The soldiers in the North were too hungry and could not fight, and the merchants in the South did not have their own military and succumbed to the emperor soon. The emperor quickly sent officials to take over them and unified this tiny world.
(by Ian Lam)
◆Food for thought
Co-operation is crucial when it comes to handling something beyond your reach. Don't be lured by short-term, petty favours and abandon your friends. Otherwise, when a crisis erupts, you'll have nothing to rely on.
■Gear up
Circle the correct answers after reading the above story.
(1) The North has fewer financial resources than the South.(True/False/Not given)
(2)The emperor is a friend of the two kings. (True/False/Not given)
(3) The two kingdoms want to conquer the central region together.
(True/False/Not given)
■Glossary
assistance (n) 援助
rumour (n) 謠言
drive a wedge between (idiom) 離間
succumb to (v phr) 屈服於
[Smarties' Power English 第307期]
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