The Case of Xun Wu of Jin Besieging Gu and Refusing the Offer of Betrayal

During the Spring and Autumn period, the Jin general Xun Wu laid siege to the city of the State of Gu. A man from Gu secretly offered to betray the city and open the gates for the Jin army. Xun Wu firmly refused, stating that accepting such treachery would reward disloyalty and undermine the moral order. He waited until the city's provisions were exhausted and its people genuinely surrendered due to hardship, not betrayal, thereby upholding the virtue of loyalty. Xun Wu then captured the city without slaughtering its inhabitants and captured the ruler, Gu Zi Yuan. The case is recorded in the Zuo Tradition under the fifth year of Duke Zhao's reign.

Xun Wu rejected the offer of betrayal, waited for the city to run out of supplies, and then captured it through a legitimate siege, taking the ruler of Gu captive without indiscriminate killing.

Whether accepting a traitor's offer to capture an enemy city was a legitimate military strategy or an immoral act that would corrupt public morals and reward disloyalty, thus undermining the ethical foundations of governance and military conduct.

The incident became a classic moral parable in Chinese history, exemplifying the Confucian principle of prioritizing righteousness over expediency in warfare and statecraft. It was cited in later historiography and legal thought to emphasize that maintaining loyalty and public morality is more critical than short-term military gains, influencing the ethical standards for generals and rulers.