In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.B., the qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever.
The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak ofresistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the offinials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain.
However Su Dai, a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away.
