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During the Warring States period, the states of Qin and Jin were at war. Xian Zhen, the military advisor of Jin, captured Meng Ming, the commander of the Qin army.
Duke Xiang of Jin intended to execute him as a sacrifice to the ancestral temple, but his mother, Lady Ying, pleaded for Meng Ming's release. Considering the friendly relations between the two states, Duke Xiang released Meng Ming.
Xian Zhen was furious and exclaimed, "Our soldiers endured innumerable hardships to capture him, yet you let the tiger return to the mountains!"