Shortly after King Zhao of the State of Yan came to the throne, he went to visit Guo Kui, an able and virtuous scholar, and asked for his advice on how to govern the state and make it strong, and how to avenge his father and wipe off the shame of the state. Guo Kui told him the story of "Buying Bones with , Pieces of Gold".

In ancient times, there was a king very fond of horses that could cover , i a day. He sent many people, sought many means and spent lots of money to buy such horses. Yet three years had passed, and no such horses were available.

One day, a guard volunteered to help and said to the king: "I am willing to buy a thousand-li steed for Your Majesty."

The king was pleasantly surprised. He asked: "You? Can you make it?"

"Your Majesty, you can rest assured," replied the guard.

The king complied with his request and let him go on his mission.

The guard sought for the horse wholeheartedly. He spent three months, and after much effort found out the whereabouts of such a horse. But when he hastened there, the horse had already died. Without the least hesitation, he bought the bones of the horse with pieces of gold, and returned to report to the king.

On seeing the horse bones the guard had actually bought, the king flew into a rage. "You! What I want is a live horse, but you have bought the bones of a dead horse. What is the use? You have wasted pieces of gold. What punishment do you think you deserve?"

The guard replied calmly: "Your Majesty, this is to let the general public know that Your Majesty is willing to pay a high price for even a dead thousand-li horse, let alone a live one. All the people in the world will know that Your Majesty wishes to buy a thousand-li horse sincerely. Your Majesty, don't be angry. Just wait and the horse you want will come very soon."

As the guard had expected, the king bought three thousand-li horses within one year.

燕國國君燕昭王即位后不久，去拜訪賢士郭魄先生，向他請教如何治國圖強，為先王報仇，為國雪恥。郭魄給燕昭王講了一個“千金買骨”的故事。

古時候，有一位國君，他非常喜歡千里馬。他派了很多人，想了不少辦法，花了許多錢去買馬。可是，三年過去了，千里馬仍然沒有買到。

一天，一個衛士自告奮勇，對國君說:“我愿意為大王買馬。”

“你!”國君又驚又喜，“你能行嗎?”

“請大王放心!”

國君答應了他的請求，讓他去了。

衛士一心一意尋找千里馬，花了三個月的時間，好不容易打聽到了一匹千里馬的下落。但是，等他趕到那兒的時候，這匹千里馬已經死了。衛士毫不猶豫，花了五百金買下了這副千里馬的骨頭，回來報告國君。

國君一看買回來的竟是馬骨，氣得暴跳如雷，罵道：“你!我要的是活馬。可是，你買回來的卻是死馬骨頭，有什么用?白白糟蹋了五百金，該當何罪?”

衛士不慌不忙地回答說：“大王，我是為了讓老百姓知道，大王連死的千里馬也肯花大價錢買，何況活的千里馬呢?天下的人都會知道，大王是真心誠意要買千里馬。大王，您不要生氣，您等著吧!不久，您要的千里馬一定會來的。”

果然，不出衛士所料，一年不到，國君就買到了三匹千里馬。

Shortly after King Zhao of the State of Yan came to the throne, he went to visit Guo Kui, an able and virtuous scholar, and asked for his advice on how to govern the state and make it strong, and how to avenge his father and wipe off the shame of the state. Guo Kui told him the story of "Buying Bones with , Pieces of Gold".

In ancient times, there was a king very fond of horses that could cover , i a day. He sent many people, sought many means and spent lots of money to buy such horses. Yet three years had passed, and no such horses were available.

One day, a guard volunteered to help and said to the king: "I am willing to buy a thousand-li steed for Your Majesty."

The king was pleasantly surprised. He asked: "You? Can you make it?"

"Your Majesty, you can rest assured," replied the guard.

The king complied with his request and let him go on his mission.

The guard sought for the horse wholeheartedly. He spent three months, and after much effort found out the whereabouts of such a horse. But when he hastened there, the horse had already died. Without the least hesitation, he bought the bones of the horse with pieces of gold, and returned to report to the king.

On seeing the horse bones the guard had actually bought, the king flew into a rage. "You! What I want is a live horse, but you have bought the bones of a dead horse. What is the use? You have wasted pieces of gold. What punishment do you think you deserve?"

The guard replied calmly: "Your Majesty, this is to let the general public know that Your Majesty is willing to pay a high price for even a dead thousand-li horse, let alone a live one. All the people in the world will know that Your Majesty wishes to buy a thousand-li horse sincerely. Your Majesty, don't be angry. Just wait and the horse you want will come very soon."

As the guard had expected, the king bought three thousand-li horses within one year.

燕國國君燕昭王即位后不久，去拜訪賢士郭魄先生，向他請教如何治國圖強，為先王報仇，為國雪恥。郭魄給燕昭王講了一個“千金買骨”的故事。

古時候，有一位國君，他非常喜歡千里馬。他派了很多人，想了不少辦法，花了許多錢去買馬。可是，三年過去了，千里馬仍然沒有買到。

一天，一個衛士自告奮勇，對國君說:“我愿意為大王買馬。”

“你!”國君又驚又喜，“你能行嗎?”

“請大王放心!”

國君答應了他的請求，讓他去了。

衛士一心一意尋找千里馬，花了三個月的時間，好不容易打聽到了一匹千里馬的下落。但是，等他趕到那兒的時候，這匹千里馬已經死了。衛士毫不猶豫，花了五百金買下了這副千里馬的骨頭，回來報告國君。

國君一看買回來的竟是馬骨，氣得暴跳如雷，罵道：“你!我要的是活馬。可是，你買回來的卻是死馬骨頭，有什么用?白白糟蹋了五百金，該當何罪?”

衛士不慌不忙地回答說：“大王，我是為了讓老百姓知道，大王連死的千里馬也肯花大價錢買，何況活的千里馬呢?天下的人都會知道，大王是真心誠意要買千里馬。大王，您不要生氣，您等著吧!不久，您要的千里馬一定會來的。”

果然，不出衛士所料，一年不到，國君就買到了三匹千里馬。