狐假虎威 — “To intimidate others by flaunting someone else's power or influence”

During the Warring States period, when the State of Chu was at its most powerful, King Xuan of Chu was puzzled by the fear his general Zhaoxi Xu instilled in the northern states. He asked his ministers why this was. A minister named Jiang Yi then recounted the following story:

Once upon a time, in a certain mountain cave, there lived a tiger. Feeling hungry, it ventured out to search for food. As it walked through a dense forest, it suddenly spotted a fox strolling ahead. Thinking this was a golden opportunity, the tiger pounced and easily captured the fox.

But just as it opened its mouth to devour the fox, the cunning fox spoke up: "Hmph! Don't assume that just because you are the king of beasts, you can devour me. You should know that Heaven has commanded me to be the king of kings, and anyone who eats me will suffer severe punishment from Heaven!"

The tiger listened to the fox's words, half-doubting, half-believing. However, when it tilted its head and saw the fox's arrogant and composed demeanor, it was startled. Its previous arrogance and domineering attitude had mysteriously dissipated significantly. Still, it pondered: "I am the king of beasts, so all animals under heaven fear me. Yet, this fox claims to be appointed by the Heavenly Emperor to rule us!"

At this point, seeing the tiger hesitate to eat it, the fox knew its words had gained some credibility. It puffed out its chest even more proudly and pointed at the tiger's nose, saying, "What? Don't you believe what I said? Then follow me now, walk behind me, and see if all the wild animals don't flee in terror at the sight of me."

The tiger thought this was a good idea and did as it was told. So, the fox swaggered in front, leading the way, while the tiger cautiously followed behind. Not long after, they vaguely saw many small animals foraging in the depths of the forest. But when these animals spotted the tiger following the fox, they were greatly alarmed, scattering and fleeing in all directions. At this, the fox proudly turned its head to look at the tiger.

Witnessing the scene, the tiger was also a bit startled and frightened, but it didn't realize the wild animals were actually afraid of itself; it genuinely believed they were terrified of the fox! The cunning fox's scheme had succeeded, but its authority was entirely borrowed from the tiger. It was only by exploiting a temporary advantageous situation that it could threaten the other beasts. And the poor tiger, fooled without even realizing it!

Therefore, the reason the northern people feared Zhaoxi Xu was entirely because the King's army was under his control. In other words, what they truly feared was the King's power! From this story, we can understand that anyone who bullies others by relying on authority or abuses their official power can be described as 'the fox who borrows the tiger's might'.