After Liu Bei conquered Yizhou and established the Shu Han regime, his strategist Zhuge Liang was appointed as Chancellor.
Two years later, Liu Bei fell gravely ill and died at Baidi City. On his deathbed, he summoned Zhuge Liang and entrusted his son, Liu Shan, to his care, urging him to guide the young ruler with utmost dedication. Liu Bei then turned to his son and commanded, "You must treat Zhuge Liang as you would your own father."
After Liu Shan ascended the throne, Zhuge Liang effectively became the steward of the Shu Han regime, with the Chancellor's residence serving as the venue for political discussions. To encourage his subordinates to participate in governance, Zhuge Liang issued a proclamation titled "Instruction to Military Advisors, Chief Clerks, and Staff Officers," stating:
"I have summoned everyone to the Chancellor's residence to discuss affairs, so that we may pool our wisdom and benefit from diverse views. Pooling wisdom means gathering everyone's insights and opinions; benefiting from diverse views means widely listening to each person's useful suggestions, so as to better serve the court!"
Seeing that Zhuge Liang was genuinely sincere, his subordinates prioritized state affairs above all else. When they disagreed with him, they openly and honestly voiced their opinions, some even engaging in heated debates with the chancellor. Zhuge Liang greatly admired these outspoken officials, praising them as loyal patriots and promoting them to key positions.
Chief Clerk Yang Yong of the Chancellor's office had objections to Zhuge Liang's hands-on management style. He told Zhuge Liang, "Chancellor, in handling state and military affairs, there should be a division of labor between superiors and subordinates. You should focus on major issues and matters of overall importance, rather than concerning yourself with every trivial detail."
Though Zhuge Liang acknowledged that Yang Yong's advice was sound, he felt the weight of his immense responsibility and could not help but handle countless matters himself. When Yang Yong later died of illness, Zhuge Liang wept bitterly, lamenting the loss of yet another loyal and devoted advisor at his side.
Thanks to Zhuge Liang's ability to gather broad wisdom and benefit from all advice, during his administration the Shu Han kingdom grew powerful, repeatedly launching campaigns against Wei, pacifying Meng Huo in the south, and maintaining the Three Kingdoms stalemate for a long time.
Later, the idiom "Pooling Wisdom" came to describe gathering collective intelligence and widely listening to opinions to achieve better results.
Source: *Biography of Chancellor Zhuge*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "集思广益" came to describe gathering collective intelligence and widely listening to opinions to achieve better results.