Turn the Guest into the Host

Dōnghàn mònián, tiānxià dàluàn, qúnxióng-bìngqǐ, Yuán Shào shìlì shàng ruò, jíxū yí kuài fùshù de gēnjùdì.

In the late Eastern Han dynasty, the realm was in chaos and warlords rose on every side; Yuan Shao's power was still modest, and he urgently needed a rich base of his own.

Dāngshí de Jìzhōu mù Hán Fù zuòyōng Jìzhōu, dìguǎng-liángduō、bīngqiáng-mǎzhuàng, shì běifāng zuì fùshù de yì fāng zhūhóu.

At that time Han Fu, governor of Ji Province, held the province with its vast lands, abundant grain, and strong troops—the wealthiest lord in the north.

Yuán Shào bīng duō liáng shǎo, Hán Fù bīng liáng chōngzú què dǎnxiǎo pà shì, èr rén qiáng ruò fēnmíng.

Yuan Shao had many men but little grain; Han Fu had ample men and grain but was timid and faint-hearted—the two were clearly mismatched in strength.

Yuán Shào ànzhōng móuhuà, juédìng yí bù bù “fǎn-kè-wéi-zhǔ”, bǎ Jìzhōu cóng Hán Fù shǒu lǐ duó guòlái.

Yuan Shao plotted in secret to “turn the guest into the host” step by step, and wrest Ji Province from Han Fu's hands.

Tā xiān yǔ běifāng de Gōngsūn Zàn ànzhōng liánluò, yuē tā yìtóng nánxià, jiǎyí yào guāfēn Jìzhōu.

First he secretly got in touch with Gongsun Zan in the north and proposed they march south together, pretending they meant to carve up Ji Province between them.

Hán Fù tīngshuō Gōngsūn Zàn xīngbīng lái gōng, xiàde liùshén-wúzhǔ, liánmáng qǐng Yuán Shào rù Jìzhōu bāngmáng dǐyù.

When Han Fu heard that Gongsun Zan was marching to attack, he panicked and hastily invited Yuan Shao into Ji Province to help defend it.

Yuán Shào qiúzhī-bùdé, lìjí shuàijūn kāijìn Jìzhōu, ānchā qīnxīn, jiēguǎn yàozhí, xùnsù kòngzhìle gè chù yàohài.

Yuan Shao could not have asked for more; he marched his army straight into Ji Province, installed his own loyalists in key posts, and swiftly seized control of every strategic point.

Děng Hán Fù huíguò shén lái, zìjǐ yǐ chéngle kōngké yí ge, wénwǔ guānyuán dōu zhǐ tīng Yuán Shào de hàolìng.

By the time Han Fu came to his senses, he was a hollow shell; every civil and military official now took orders only from Yuan Shao.

Zǒutóu-wúlù zhī xià, Hán Fù zhǐhǎo qì jiā chūtáo, bǎ zhěnggè Jìzhōu gǒngshǒu ràng gěile yuánběn zhǐ shì “kèren” de Yuán Shào.

With no way out, Han Fu had no choice but to flee his home and hand all of Ji Province over to Yuan Shao, who had entered as merely a “guest.”

Jiù zhèyàng, Yuán Shào yóu ruò biàn qiáng、yóu kè wéi zhǔ —— zhè biàn shì “fǎn-kè-wéi-zhǔ”, bǎ bèidòng yí bù bù niǔ chéng zhǔdòng.

And so Yuan Shao grew from weak to strong, from guest to master—this is “turning the guest into the host”: twisting a passive position, step by step, into an active one.

Bǐrú gāng jìn gōngsī de xīnrén, zhǔdòng tiāoqǐ zuì shóushǒu de xiàngmù, jiànjiàn bèi dàjiā yīlài, zuìzhōng chéngwéi tuánduì de héxīn.

For example, a newcomer who joins a company and takes the initiative on the thorniest projects is gradually relied upon by everyone, until at last he becomes the core of the team.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: kànqīng júshì、bùbù-wéiyíng, yuánběn bèidòng de yì fāng yě néng zhúbù zhǎngwò zhǔdǎoquán, niǔzhuǎn zhěnggè júmiàn.

Its wisdom lies here: read the situation clearly, move step by step, and even the side that began as passive can gradually seize the initiative and turn the whole situation around.