The State of Yan was a vassal state in northern China during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods. King Kuai of Yan, its thirty-eighth ruler, made a shocking decision in the third year of his reign: he abdicated the throne to his prime minister, Zi Zhi, and recalled the official seals of key ministers, handing them over to Zi Zhi to appoint whomever he wished. This allowed Zi Zhi to seize military and political control of Yan, but the old nobility, including Crown Prince Ping, were deeply dissatisfied.
In 314 BC, General of the Yan State and Crown Prince Ping raised an army to attack Zi Zhi, plunging Yan into great turmoil. The Qi State took advantage of the chaos, invading Yan under the pretext of quelling its internal strife, killing King Kuai of Yan and Zi Zhi, and bringing Yan to the brink of annihilation. However, this move by Qi not only sparked resistance from the people of Yan but also provoked a united opposition from the various feudal states of the Central Plains. Forced by circumstances, Qi withdrew its troops from Yan, and Crown Prince Ping ascended the throne, becoming the renowned King Zhao of Yan.
After the restoration of the Yan state, its strength was greatly weakened by internal turmoil and attacks from the Qi state, leaving a scene of devastation: land lay barren, and the people struggled to survive in hunger and cold. King Zhao of Yan ascended the throne during Yan's most desolate period, determined to strive for strength and make Yan powerful, avenging the Qi state's destruction of Yan and the murder of his father. He deeply understood that Yan had many things to rebuild and that the most essential need for revitalization was talent. But how could he attract talented individuals to flock to him like rivers flowing into the sea? He was restless, unable to eat or sleep, pondering deeply. Later, someone suggested to King Zhao of Yan that Guo Wei, an experienced and insightful old minister, might be worth consulting for advice.
Therefore, King Zhao of Yan personally went to Guo Wei's home and sincerely sought his advice, saying, "The State of Qi took advantage of our internal turmoil to invade and defeat Yan. I am well aware that Yan is now too weak to seek revenge. However, if I could gather many wise and capable talents to assist me, we could revive Yan and avenge the humiliation of my late father. I humbly ask you, sir, what should I do?"
Guo Wei replied, "Treating the worthy as teachers can lead to imperial achievements; befriending the worthy can accomplish the way of true kingship; employing the worthy as ministers can make one a hegemon among the feudal lords; but reducing the worthy to servants is a sign of an impending downfall. If a ruler respects the wise and humbles himself to learn from them like a disciple, the worthy, seeing your eagerness for talent, will surely flock to you."
King Zhao of Yan asked, "How should I begin?" Guo Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Allow me to first tell a story. In ancient times, there was a ruler who was extremely fond of swift horses and would spare no expense to acquire them, yet after three years of searching, he still could not find one. A courtier heard that a true swift horse existed in a distant place, so he volunteered to take a thousand pieces of gold to buy it. The ruler gladly agreed. After three months of travel, the courtier arrived only to learn that the horse had already died. But having come so far, he did not want to return empty-handed, so he spent five hundred gold pieces to buy the horse's head and brought it back. The ruler flew into a rage upon seeing the head and scolded, 'I wanted a live horse, yet you bring me a dead horse's head and wasted five hundred gold!' The courtier calmly replied, 'When the world hears that you paid five hundred gold for a dead horse's head, won't they rush to bring you the finest live horses?' The ruler was skeptical but had nothing to say. Within a year, three swift horses were delivered to him."
After finishing his story, Guo Wei paused for a moment and continued, "If Your Majesty wishes to attract talented individuals, you might consider treating me as the head of a thousand-li horse. Once the world learns that even someone of my ordinary abilities is held in such high regard, will they not understand your eagerness for talent and come flocking to you?"
King Zhao of Yan was deeply inspired. Upon returning, he immediately ordered a house to be built for Guo Wei. After its completion, he held a grand ceremony to welcome Guo Wei into it. He also honored Guo Wei as his teacher, seeking his advice and treating him with great respect. Furthermore, King Zhao constructed a high platform, placing thousands of taels of gold on it as gifts for any worthy scholars who came to join him, thereby attracting talents from across the land. This became known as the famous "Golden Platform."
When the news spread, talented individuals from all over, believing that King Zhao of Yan genuinely sought worthy advisors, flocked to the State of Yan to seek an audience, including the military general Ju Xin, strategists Zou Yan, Yue Yi, and Qu Yong—in a short time, Yan was crowded with gathered talent. Zou Yan, a renowned Yin-Yang and Five Elements philosopher of the time, was treated with great respect wherever he traveled. When King Zhao of Yan welcomed him, he wrapped a broom in his own sleeve, stepped backward, and swept the path ahead. As Zou Yan took his seat, the king voluntarily sat in the position of a disciple, showing that he honored him as a teacher.
In this way, King Zhao of Yan's reputation for cherishing and respecting talent spread even further, prompting more people to rush to Yan without hesitation. Opening the kingdom's doors, King Zhao recruited talents without restriction, accepting not only the virtuous and capable but also many who bore grudges against Qi, or who were familiar with Qi's terrain and internal affairs, as well as those skilled in commanding troops. King Zhao treated all of them with courtesy and bestowed generous rewards, thereby building up strength for a future campaign against Qi.
Among the many talented individuals who flocked to the State of Yan, the most outstanding and the one who contributed the most was Yue Yi. Yue Yi was a descendant of the famous general Yue Yang, deeply versed in the art of warfare, widely read and knowledgeable, and exceptionally talented. He once served as an official in the State of Zhao but later moved to the State of Wei to escape internal turmoil there. Hearing that King Zhao of Yan was recruiting wise men far and wide, he conceived the idea of joining Yan. Coincidentally, Yue Yi was sent as an envoy from Wei to Yan, where King Zhao received him with great respect and courtesy. Deeply moved by this, Yue Yi decided to stay and serve Yan. King Zhao of Yan appointed him as Deputy Prime Minister, placing him in charge of Yan's military and political affairs.
Yue Yi reformed internal governance, reorganized the military, and spared no effort in assisting King Zhao in governing the state of Yan. At the same time, the king mourned the dead, comforted the living, sent envoys to congratulate couples expecting children, and shared hardships with the common people. The entire state of Yan united as one, shared a common hatred for the enemy, and was determined to take revenge on the state of Qi. With the help of Yue Yi and others, King Zhao led the people of Yan through twenty-eight years of diligent effort, gradually making Yan prosperous and wealthy, accumulating considerable strength, and fostering a spirit of hard work and determination among the people. Yan's national power grew day by day, while Qi, on the other hand, imposed heavy taxes internally and engaged in aggressive military campaigns externally, facing numerous internal and external troubles. King Zhao of Yan felt that Yan was now capable of attacking Qi and that the timing was ripe, so he decided to launch a campaign against Qi.
In 284 BC, King Zhao of Yan appointed Yue Yi as supreme general and allied with Qin, Chu, Han, Zhao, and Wei to attack the state of Qi. King Min of Qi hastily mobilized his entire army to resist, but due to years of continuous warfare, the Qi troops were demoralized and unable to withstand the formidable allied forces. Qi suffered a devastating defeat, and King Min fled in disgrace with his remaining troops. The Yan army pressed their advantage, single-handedly routing the defeated Qi forces, capturing over seventy cities in succession, including the Qi capital Linzi, where they burned the Qi palaces and ancestral temples. In the end, only the cities of Ju and Jimo remained under Qi control. The Yan army achieved a great victory, and King Zhao was overjoyed. He personally visited the battlefield to reward the soldiers and enfeoffed Yue Yi as the Lord of Changguo.
The Yan state defeated the Qi state, and then King Zhao sent the Yan general Qin Kai to attack the Donghu tribes in the northeast, forcing them to retreat over a thousand li, expanding Yan's territory northeastward to the Liaodong region. At the same time, Yan also advanced southward, seizing much land from the Zhongshan state. Under King Zhao's governance, Yan finally rose to become one of the powerful states, entering its golden age.