🍵 Story 29: Plum Tree and Saliva!

Cao Cao told Liu Bei his story. Cao Cao said, "Just now, I saw plum trees with green plums on the branches, and it suddenly reminded me of last year when we were campaigning against Zhang Xiu. We were halfway there and couldn't find water. The soldiers were very thirsty. 

At that moment, I had an idea. I used my horsewhip to point ahead and said, 'There's a plum grove ahead. It bears sweet and sour fruit; eating it will quench your thirst.' Upon hearing this, the soldiers all thought of the sweet and sour taste of plums, and their mouths watered, thus quenching their thirst. 

Seeing such plums today, I can't help but admire them. The wine I've brewed is also ready, which is why I invited you (Liu Bei) to this pavilion for a gathering." Liu Bei, who had previously thought Cao Cao had discovered his secret and wanted to kill him, finally calmed down (because he had been very worried about Cao Cao's intentions) and followed Cao Cao to the pavilion. 

A feast had been prepared in the pavilion: wine cups and vessels were set out, green plums were placed on plates, and a pot of wine was being boiled in a separate vessel. The two men sat facing each other, drinking and chatting heartily.

Addendum: Cao Cao used this to relieve his troops from the predicament of having no water. Later, this story was condensed into "Quenching Thirst by Looking at Plums," used as a metaphor for comforting oneself with an imagined scenario.

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Cao Cao led his army out on a journey, but there was no water to drink, and all the soldiers and generals were very thirsty. Cao Cao deliberately said: "There are many plum trees ahead with plums to eat." The soldiers, thinking of plums, salivated. Because of this saliva, their thirst wasn't so severe. This is the origin of the idiom "to quench thirst by looking at plums." Because of the anticipation, the sadness wasn't felt immediately.