未可厚非 — “To be understandable or pardonable”

Wang Mang, the nephew of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, seized the throne through cunning schemes and established the Xin Dynasty. After becoming emperor, Wang Mang arbitrarily altered the border policies of the Western Han Dynasty, leading to the deceitful execution of Wang Han, the King of Juding. In response, many tribal leaders in Yizhou Prefecture rose in rebellion against the imperial court.

Upon learning of the unrest in Yizhou, Wang Mang dispatched a general to recruit soldiers and imposed heavy taxes on the populace to finance the military campaign against Juding. The war lasted for nearly three years, consuming immense wealth, yet the rebellion remained unresolved. Seeing that the general was unable to control the situation, Wang Mang recalled him to the capital and had him executed.

Simultaneously, he appointed another general and mobilized an army of 200,000 to attack Juding. The massive provisions and rations for this army were to be supplied by the prefectures and counties along the route. Feng Ying, a prefect in one such locality, believed this would inflict new suffering upon an already tormented populace. Therefore, he refused to provide the supplies and submitted a memorial to Wang Mang, requesting to cease the deployment of troops and end the campaign.

Wang Mang was furious and immediately issued an imperial edict to dismiss Feng Ying from his post. However, he later reconsidered, thinking that such an act would displease the local people. So, he hypocritically told those around him, "What Feng Ying did is actually not entirely inexcusable." Thus, Feng Ying's official position was eventually retained, though he was reassigned to another post as a prefect.