Sleeping on Brushwood and Tasting Gall

Plot Synopsis

In 496 BC, the young and weak State of Yue, under the leadership of Goujian, defeated the State of Wu that had been oppressing them. The aged King of Wu died of serious wounds, and Fuchai succeeded to the throne. Disregarding the advice of important ministers such as Fan Li, Goujian continued to expand. After the war between the two sides, Yue was defeated and Wu was victorious. To save Goujian's life, Fan Li devised a plan for Goujian to abandon his dignity and win Fuchai's pity. Three years after becoming a slave, when Fuchai fell ill, Goujian tasted Fuchai's feces to find the cause of the disease, completely moving Fuchai. After returning to the State of Yue, Goujian moved to live in the stable. He hung a rope from the roof beam, with a gallbladder tied to one end of the rope. Every day when he woke up, Goujian would first taste the extremely bitter gallbladder. In 473 BC, Goujian launched an army and besieged the city of Gusu all at once. Fuchai wanted to imitate Goujian's plea for peace twenty years ag