Chapter 105
— The Lord of Wuxiang Leaves A Plan In The Silken Bag; The Ruler of Wei Removes The Bronze Statue With The Dew Bowl.
Wei's Minister of Works, and his memorial is the chapter's first protest against Cao Rui's building mania. Argues that the officers being made 'to carry timber and bear earth, to sweat and soil their feet' destroys the glory of the state for a useless edifice, cites Confucius on princes treating ministers with polite consideration, and signs off expecting to die for it: 'I recognize that these words of mine mean death, but I am of no value, a mere bullock's hair… Thy servant has eight sons, who will be a burden to Your Majesty after his death.' Cao Rui — 'Has the man no fear of death?' — is talked out of executing him and degrades him instead, adding a standing warning to kill anyone else who remonstrates.