In the late Warring States period, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sent his general Wang Ji with a massive army to besiege the Zhao capital, Handan, but after 17 months of fierce resistance from Zhao's soldiers and civilians, the city still held firm.
At this point, Wang Ji's advisor Zhuang suggested to him, "The reason we haven't captured Handan for so long is mainly due to low morale among our troops. General, why not reward the soldiers to boost their spirits and raise their fighting will?"
Wang Ji replied arrogantly, "I only know to carry out the king's orders; I don't need you to boss me around. Now that our army has besieged the city for so long without capturing it, I will not reward them—I will punish them instead!"
Zhuang advised, "General, though you now enjoy the emperor's favor, your arrogance and disregard for your officers will eventually cause trouble. I've heard that if three people claim to see a tiger on the street, it becomes believable; if ten people work together to bend a wooden rod, it's easy. When countless voices spread a rumor, it flies without wings. The power of public opinion is immense. If you set yourself against your own men, you'll be the one to suffer in the end."
However, Wang Ji paid no attention to Zhuang's warnings. Soon, his soldiers, fed up with his misconduct, rebelled. King Zhao of Qin, furious, ordered Wang Ji executed for his crimes.
Later, the idiom "vanished without wings" came to describe something that spreads rapidly without promotion, or something that disappears inexplicably.
Source: *Strategies of the Warring States*, "Strategies of Qin"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "不翼而飞" came to describe how something that spreads rapidly without promotion, or something that disappears inexplicably.