Mo Zhong Yi Shi

This proverb came from Volume III of the Tong Shi， a historical novel about the collapse of Southern Song Empire written by Wu Jianren， a scholar of late Qing Dynasty.

During the late Southern Song Dynasty， Mongolian waged a war against the empire. When Mongol invaders attacked army garrison towns of Xiangyang and Fancheng， which today is Xiangfan City of Hubei Province， army generals in towns were divided on how to deal with the inva- sion.

Some generals said they should stand their ground， waiting for backup， and some wanted to fight against the invaders， while others proposed to dispatch a courier to Linan City， the capital of the empire， asking the imperial court to send more forces to the towns.

There were so many opinions that army generals failed to reach a uniform conclusion. In the end， the invaders conquered the towns.