a net open on three sides -- purposely leave loopholes for an escape from the law

a net open on three sides -- purposely leave loopholes for an escape from the law

It's a Chinese idiom. The Pinyin is w à NGK à is à NMI à n, which means to remove the net from three sides. It means to take a lenient attitude and give people a way out. It's from records of the historian Yin Benji.

Idiom story

Shangtang once went hunting. He saw his subordinates spread their nets around and prayed that all the animals and animals in the four directions would enter the nets. Tang ordered to go to three sides and leave only one side. He prayed, beasts, those who want to flee will flee, and those who don't want to flee will enter my net. When the news of Shangtang spread to the princes, they all praised Tang's benevolence, which can be given to animals, but will be given to the princes, so they joined in one after another. Compared with the powerful Xia Dynasty, Shang was just a small country. Xia Jie had a strong army, and had accumulated wealth and political influence from Yu, which were not possessed by Shang Tang. However, Shangtang is meticulously weaving a big net to capture Xia, one of which is political measures, the other is a powerful army. First of all, the political measures of Shangtang were to implement benevolent government. Chang FA in the book of songs praises him for his "reverence to the sun, and delay in showing off the false", which means "reverence to the sun, progress, and never stop praying.". He also praised him for his "excellent administration, and Bailu is Qiu", which means "the wide application of government decrees is very lenient and peaceful, and the good fortune of the people is gathered together.". At the same time, Shangtang made laws and established a new order. His tribe is prosperous and the people live and work in peace and contentment. In the relationship with Xia Dynasty, Shangtang adopted the strategy of "not rigid, not soft" and "not shaking, not moving". He did not fight, not anxious, not timid, not afraid, not only to win the support of small countries, but also not to intensify the contradiction with Xia Jie. However, political measures alone are not enough to destroy Xia and capture the cruel Xia Jie like a beast. If politics is the warp of this big net, a powerful army is the weft of this big net. Shangtang established an elite division composed of 70 well-equipped chariots and 6000 brave men, forming the main force of Shangtang army. His chariot and dragon flag were flying, and the warriors were holding bronze axes. When the army moves like a raging fire, the enemy is afraid to stop it. Although Shangtang promised the princes, those who are willing to follow will follow and those who are willing to go will go. But for those who disobey, Shangtang will surely use the big net he weaves to capture those princes who dare to disobey. The first prey captured was Ge state, which is located in Ningling County in the eastern Henan Plain. The reason for this war sounds high sounding. It is to accuse the king of Ge of not offering sacrifices to heaven and disrespect for heaven. The weak state of Ge was quickly conquered, and then a series of small states were conquered. For Shang Tang's military activities, Mencius wrote a thousand years later: "Tang Shizheng, since Gezai, 11 Zheng and invincible in the world." Although Shangtang is known as opening up all aspects of the net, his purpose is to break it down one by one, and finally all things in the world belong to him. Sadly, Xia Jie, the biggest prey Shangtang decided to hunt, still indulged in the dream of life and death. He did not know that the hunter had opened an airtight net. Jie built a luxurious palace in the valley of Luoyang, named Changye palace. It was a mixture of men and women, and did not go out to listen to the government for ten days. He did not follow the Xia Dynasty's "50 and tribute", that is, the 2% tax rate system, overcharged and recruited people to do all kinds of labor for many years. He appointed a group of flatterers such as Gan Xin to kill Zhongliang. He said absurdly that "I have people, just as there is a day in heaven. If the day falls, I will die.". The end of Xia Dynasty is just around the corner.

Idiom usage

In those days, such as Deng Zhilong, Guo Po and so on, they brought this group of bandits and made a lot of trouble. The 21st chapter of biography of children heroes by Wen Kang in Qing Dynasty