During the Warring States period, the state of Qi took advantage of internal chaos in Yan to launch a devastating invasion. After the war, Crown Prince Ji Ping ascended the throne, known to history as King Zhao of Yan.
Facing such a mess, King Zhao of Yan felt completely at a loss, unsure how to govern in order to enrich the people, strengthen the state, and avenge past humiliations.
One day, he heard that Guo Wei was good at offering ideas and full of stratagems. So he quickly sent someone to invite Guo Wei and said to him, "Can you find a capable person for me to help strengthen the state and take revenge?"
Guo Wei said, "As long as you widely select capable people and personally visit them, then all the capable people in the world will flock to the State of Yan." "Then whom should I go and visit first?"
Guo Wei replied, "First, put me, a person of ordinary ability, in an important position! When those of great talent see that even someone like me is valued by you, they will surely come to you, regardless of the distance."
King Zhao of Yan immediately honored Guo Wei as his teacher and built a magnificent mansion for him.
When word spread, talented individuals like Yue Yi, Zou Yan, and Ju Xin flocked from Wei, Qi, and Zhao to serve King Zhao of Yan. Overjoyed, the king appointed each to important posts and showed them genuine care—personally attending every wedding and funeral in their families.
For twenty-eight years, he shared both joy and hardship with the people, finally governing the state of Yan into prosperity and strength, earning the unwavering support of the entire nation.
Seeing that the time for revenge had come, King Zhao of Yan appointed General Yue Yi as supreme commander, uniting forces with Qin, Chu, Han, Wei, and Zhao to launch a joint attack on the state of Qi.
After a crushing defeat, King Min of Qi was forced to flee his capital. The Yan army stormed Linzi, seizing all treasures, burning palaces and ancestral temples, finally avenging their past humiliation at Qi's hands.
Later, the idiom "sharing sweetness and bitterness" came to mean enjoying blessings together and sharing hardships.
Source: *Strategies of the Warring States*, Chapter "Strategies of Yan"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "同甘共苦" came to describe enjoying blessings together and sharing hardships.