集思广益 — “To draw on collective wisdom and absorb all useful ideas”

During the Three Kingdoms period, after Liu Bei's death, Liu Shan ascended the throne. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang managed and decided all major and minor affairs of the Shu Kingdom, becoming the de facto leader. He held high prestige among the people, but he never grew arrogant because of his achievements, always paying attention to listening to his subordinates' opinions.

Yang Yi was then the Chief Clerk responsible for documents in the Prime Minister's office. He offered advice regarding Zhuge Liang's practice of personally overseeing every matter. He said, "When handling national military and political affairs, the division of labor between superiors and subordinates should be different." He even cited famous historical examples, which embodied the meaning of "pooling ideas and broadening benefits." He advised Zhuge Liang not to personally handle all documents and to intervene less in trivial matters, suggesting that subordinates should be delegated duties, while Zhuge Liang himself should focus on major military and political affairs.

Zhuge Liang was very grateful for Yang Yi's advice and concern, but fearing he might fail Liu Bei's trust, he continued to personally handle all affairs, big and small. Later, when Yang Yi fell ill and died, Zhuge Liang was deeply saddened and mourned him.

To encourage his subordinates to actively participate in state affairs, Zhuge Liang specially wrote a proclamation, calling on all civil and military officials, both inside and outside the court, to proactively express their political views and engage in repeated discussions. This proclamation was titled "Instructions to the Army Advisor, Chief Clerk, and Attendants." In it, he wrote: "The purpose of having everyone in the Prime Minister's office participate in discussing national affairs is to concentrate the wisdom and opinions of the multitude, widely listen to beneficial suggestions from all sides, and thereby achieve better results."