困兽犹斗 — “To fight desperately when cornered or in a hopeless situation”

During the Spring and Autumn period, the State of Jin dispatched troops to rescue the State of Zheng, which was under attack by Chu. However, they arrived too late; Zheng had already surrendered to Chu. At this juncture, Xun Linfu, the commander of the Jin army, advocated for withdrawal, but his deputy disagreed. Ultimately, due to their conflicting opinions, the Jin army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Chu army.

When Duke Jing of Jin received this news, he was furious. Upon the return of the Jin generals, Duke Jing immediately summoned the defeated commanders to the palace, where he loudly reprimanded them and demanded accountability. Seeing the duke's rage, the generals knelt silently, not daring to speak. After a while, Xun Linfu, recognizing his responsibility as commander-in-chief for the major defeat, stepped forward and knelt, stating, "Your humble servant deserves ten thousand deaths and now requests to die."

In his fury, Duke Jing waved his sleeve, signaling the guards to bind Xun Linfu. At this moment, Grand Master Shi Zhenzi stepped forward to intervene. Calmly, he addressed Duke Jing, saying, "More than thirty years ago, our late Duke Wen achieved a great victory in the Battle of Chengpu against Chu. The entire state of Jin rejoiced, yet Duke Wen showed no happiness. His attendants, puzzled, asked him, 'Since we have defeated a powerful enemy, why do you appear troubled?' Duke Wen replied, 'In this battle, by employing correct strategic principles, we broke through the left and right wings of the Chu army, pushing the central commander, Ziyu, into a completely passive and irrecoverable position, forcing him to retreat. However, although the Chu army was defeated, its commander Ziyu was still alive. How could we relax? Even a cornered beast will fight, let alone Ziyu, who is a prime minister of a state? What do we have to be happy about? He will surely seek revenge!' It was not until the King of Chu later executed Ziyu that Duke Wen finally expressed joy. The King of Chu killing Ziyu was a favor to our state of Jin. If Chu's defeat by our former king was one failure for them, then killing Ziyu was a second failure. Now you intend to kill Xun Linfu..."

Upon hearing Shi Zhenzi's words, Duke Jing suddenly understood and said with a smile, "Grand Master, say no more, I comprehend. If I kill Xun Linfu, wouldn't I be assisting the State of Chu? In that case, wouldn't we also suffer defeat after defeat?" Consequently, Duke Jing immediately pardoned Xun Linfu and the other generals on the spot.