The Zhan Guo Ce is excellent procrastination

[ximen]

notes:
-Han, a warring state. It used to be part of the powerful state Jin, which later broke into three.
-Zhao, another warring state that was once part of Jin.
-Wei, the third warring state that was once part of Jin. Because these states used to be part of Jin, their leaders were called "hou" instead of the higher "gong," or even higher "wang." After a few generations they start going by wang anyway.
-Lord Wen of Wei (Wei Wen Hou), the ruler of Wei, all-around great guy.

Han and Zhao were causing problems for each other. Han sought troops from Wei, saying, "I wish we could borrow your army to strike at Zhao." Lord Wen of Wei said, "Zhao is like Our brother. We do not dare accede to your request." Zhao also sought troops, to strike at Han. Lord Wen said, "Han is like Our brother. We do not dare accede to your request." The two countries could not obtain troops, so they were angry but returned home. When it was over, they then realized that Lord Wen had done this to reconcile them. They both paid their respects at the court of Wei.

Comments

[satyreyes.livejournal.com]

Ha ha! This would make a great episode in the thus far nonexistent anime 中国の天を追った戦国. (My bad Japanese is on full display here; supposed to mean something like "the Chinese Warring States that pursued heaven," but there's some structural ambiguity surrounding the word "Chinese," which you can't omit because 戦国 means something different in Japan; 煩いね。) All the rulers are so focused and intense. They're just like Hikaru no Go characters, except their gambits take place on a larger game board. This particular story would be a filler episode because there are no battles, but it would be really good filler.