During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a stalwart man named Zhang He from Mao County in Hejian enlisted in the army under Han Fu's command to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
After Han Fu's defeat, Zhang He led part of his troops to surrender to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao appointed Zhang He as a colonel and sent him to fight Gongsun Zan. In a single battle, Zhang He crushed Gongsun Zan's forces. He continued to rack up military achievements, steadily rising through the ranks until he became the General of Ningguo.
When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were locked in stalemate at Guandu, Zhang He advised Yuan Shao, "Though you have won many battles, you should not engage Cao Cao directly. Instead, send light cavalry to cut off his southern supply route, and his army will collapse without a fight."
Yuan Shao dismissed Zhang He as nothing more than a crude soldier who knew nothing of strategy, and so he completely ignored his advice.
Later, Yuan Shao sent his general Chunyu Qiong to oversee grain supplies, stockpiling them at Wuchao. When Cao Cao learned of this, he personally led a large force and raced to attack Wuchao at breakneck speed.
Zhang He advised Yuan Shao, "Cao Cao's troops are elite; if they reach Wuchao, they will surely defeat Chunyu Qiong. Once Chunyu Qiong falls, your cause will be lost. You should quickly lead troops to rescue them."
Yuan Shao's other subordinate Guo Tu said, "Zhang He's plan makes no sense. It's better to directly attack Cao Cao's main camp; then Cao's army will surely withdraw. This way, we can relieve the siege of Wuchao without having to rescue it."
Zhang He countered, "Cao's camp is extremely fortified; attacking it will surely fail. If Chunyu Qiong and the others are captured, then all of us will be taken by Cao's army."
Yuan Shao, known for his chronic indecisiveness, split his forces into two columns: one light cavalry unit to rescue Chunyu Qiong, and a heavy infantry division to assault Cao Cao's main camp.
The result was that Cao Cao's main camp remained under siege for a long time, while Chunyu Qiong and his forces were utterly defeated by Cao's army, leading to Yuan Shao's troops completely collapsing.
Guo Tu felt ashamed and, fearing Yuan Shao would hold him accountable, further slandered Zhang He before Yuan Shao, saying, "Zhang He is delighted by our defeat; his words are insolent and utterly outrageous."
Zhang He was terrified and fled to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was overjoyed, comparing him to "Weizi leaving Yin" and "Han Xin returning to Han," and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Duting. Later, the idiom "speaking insolently" came to refer to arrogant and rude speech.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, Book of Wei, "Biography of Zhang He"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "出言不逊" came to describe arrogant and rude speech.