During the final years of the Western Han Dynasty, after Wang Mang had usurped the throne, peasant uprisings erupted across the land. Liu Xiu, a member of the Han imperial family, seized the opportunity to raise an army, hoping to restore the Han dynasty. However, lacking sufficient troops, he had to pledge allegiance to Liu Xuan, another Han descendant who had already declared himself emperor. Because of his exceptional bravery in battle, Liu Xuan appointed Liu Xiu as the Prince of Xiao.
At that time, Liu Xuan had a general named Xie Gong, who knew Liu Xiu harbored great ambitions and was determined to eliminate him. However, because Liu Xiu commanded a sizable force with many loyal officers, Xie Gong dared not act rashly.
Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, was well aware that Xie Gong harbored treacherous intentions toward him, yet he feigned ignorance. To lull Xie Gong into a false sense of security, Liu Xiu deliberately praised him in front of the puppet emperor Liu Xuan, saying, "Xie Gong is a loyal and capable minister," thereby making Xie Gong drop his guard.
After Xie Gong's wife learned of this situation, she warned her husband, "You and Liu Xiu have never been on good terms. Liu Xiu is a very calculating man; if you do not take precautions, you will eventually fall victim to him."
Xie Gong dismissed his wife's warning. Soon after, Liu Xiu attacked another rebel army and ordered Xie Gong, stationed in Ye City, to send troops. Xie Gong left General Liu Qing and Ye's governor Chen Kang to guard the city while he led his forces. Unexpectedly, the rebels fought fiercely, crushing Xie Gong's army and killing thousands.
Seeing Xie Ju had left Ye City, Liu Xiu saw it as the perfect chance to eliminate a rival and dispatched his generals Wu Han and Cen Peng to attack the city.
The governor of Ye City surrendered without a fight, and when Xie Gong returned to Ye City after his defeat, he was captured and executed by Liu Bang.
Later, the idiom "ji bu xiang neng" came to describe a long-standing lack of closeness between two parties, indicating mutual discord over time.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, "Biography of Wu Han"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "积不相能" came to describe a long-standing lack of closeness between two parties, indicating mutual discord over time.