During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ling of Chen, along with his ministers Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu, all had secret affairs with the beautiful Xia Ji.
One day, they were drinking at Xia Ji's house and made jokes about her son Xia Zhengshu. Duke Ling said to Yi Xingfu, "Zhengshu looks like you!" Yi Xingfu replied, "He also looks like you, my lord!"
Xia Zhengshu, burning with rage, shot and killed Duke Ling of Chen with an arrow from the stable as the duke was leaving his home. Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu fled in panic to the state of Chu.
King Zhuang of Chu attacked the state of Chen because the Xia clan had murdered its ruler. He told the people of Chen, "Do not be alarmed! I am here to punish Xia Zhengshu."
The Chu army raced forward without resistance, entered the state of Chen, executed Xia Zhengshu, and had his corpse torn apart by chariots at the Chestnut Gate. King Zhuang then annexed Chen as a county of Chu, and the army returned in triumph.
When Shen Shushi, a senior official of Chu, returned from his mission to Qi and silently withdrew after reporting to King Zhuang of Chu, the king sent someone to rebuke him, saying:
“Xia Zhengshu killed his lord, and I led the feudal lords to punish and execute him. All the lords and county officials came to congratulate me, but only you did not. Why?” Shen Shushi asked, “May I state my reasons?” King Zhuang of Chu said, “Speak!”
Shen Shushi said, "Xia Zhengshu murdered his ruler, a grave crime indeed. Your Majesty punished him justly. Yet some say: if a man's ox tramples your field, you may seize the ox, but to take the entire field as punishment is too harsh. The lords followed you to punish a criminal, but now you annex Chen as a county of Chu—this is greed. To rally allies under justice and end in avarice—would that not be unwise?"
King Zhuang of Chu clapped his hands in approval and said, "Well said! I have never heard such a profound argument. Now, shall we restore the state of Chen?" Shen Shushi replied, "Excellent! This is what we commoners call taking something from someone's arms and then giving it back."
Thus, King Zhuang of Chu reestablished the state of Chen. He took one person from each village back to Chu, settled them in one place called "Xiazhou," to commemorate this military achievement. The idiom "Plowing Fields and Seizing Oxen" is used to describe excessive punishment.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, "Duke Xuan's Eleventh Year"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "蹊田夺牛" came to describe how excessive punishment is too harsh.