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During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Xiao of Qi harbored ambitions of becoming a hegemon. He seized an opportunity when the State of Lu was suffering from a famine and launched an attack.
Duke Xi of Lu dispatched his minister, Zhan Xi, to the border to persuade Duke Xiao to withdraw.
Duke Xiao of Qi scoffed, "Your houses are utterly bare, your fields have no green grass. What do you rely on not to be afraid?"
Zhan Xi, with both reason and emotion, replied, "We rely on the mandate of our former kings." He hoped Duke Xiao would retreat.
Realizing he was in the wrong, Duke Xiao of Qi eventually withdrew his troops.

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Open the tool →室如悬罄 (shì rú xuán qìng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be utterly destitute”.
室如悬罄 is pronounced shì rú xuán qìng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 室如悬罄 means “house as if utterly empty”. It is used to mean “to be utterly destitute”.
室如悬罄 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
指室中空无所有。比喻一贫如洗。同“室如县罄”。