One day, King Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty, saw a man setting up a net on all sides and praying to a deity: "May all creatures that fly from the sky, emerge from the ground, or come running from every direction be caught in my net!"
Tang remarked, "This would catch everything at once!"
He then stepped forward and removed the net on three sides, leaving only one. He instructed the man, "Now, pray again. Say this: 'In the past, spiders spun webs. Now, humans have learned to make nets. You birds and beasts, those who wish to go left may turn left; those who wish to go right may turn right; those who wish to fly may soar; those who wish to enter burrows may do so. I will only catch those whose fate is doomed.'"
The story of King Tang leaving the net open on three sides spread far and wide. When the people of the states south of the Han River heard it, they said, "King Tang of Shang bestows kindness even upon birds and animals. He is so lenient and truly a benevolent man."
Consequently, all forty small states of the time felt a heartfelt admiration for Tang and pledged their allegiance to the Shang Dynasty.