King Xuan of Qi was fond of archery and enjoyed hearing others flatter his ability to draw powerful bows.
The tensile strength of his bows was only three shi. However, whenever he asked his attendants to try them, they would only pull the bows halfway and pretend they could draw no further. In unison, they would declare that no one with less than nine shi of strength could possibly draw it fully, and that only His Majesty, in all his might, was capable of such a feat.
King Xuan never doubted their words until the day he died.