English Original
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the famous strategist Sun Wu (Sun Zi) presented his work The Art of War to the King of Wu. He offered to strengthen the state by training its army.
The king was skeptical. "Can you demonstrate your method on a small group?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Sun Wu.
"Even on women?"
"Certainly."
The king summoned 180 palace maids for Sun Wu to train. Sun Wu divided them into two teams, appointing two of the king's favorite concubines as leaders. Each woman was given a weapon and stood in formation.
Sun Wu asked, "Do you know the commands for marching forward, backward, left, and right?"
"Yes," they answered.
Despite this, Sun Wu explained the commands in detail and repeatedly emphasized the importance of obeying orders.
He beat the drum and ordered a right march. The untrained women giggled instead of complying. Sun Wu said solemnly, "If orders are not clear, the fault lies with the general." He patiently repeated the instructions.
He beat the drum again, ordering a left march. Again, the women giggled. Sun Wu declared, "Now the orders are clear. Disobedience is the fault of the leaders." He ordered the two concubine leaders to be executed.
The watching king was horrified and sent a plea for mercy, but Sun Wu refused. On his insistence, the leaders were beheaded. He appointed new leaders and resumed training. From then on, everyone followed orders perfectly, behaving like disciplined soldiers.
Under Sun Wu's training, the Wu army grew powerful. This story is the origin of the idiom "Repeating an order time and again."
中文翻译
春秋时期（公元前770-476年），著名军事家孙武（孙子）携其著作《孙子兵法》觐见吴王。他提出通过训练军队来增强吴国的实力。
吴王心存疑虑，问道：“你能在一小队人身上演示你的方法吗？”
“可以。”孙武回答。
“甚至在宫女身上也行？”
“当然。”
吴王召来一百八十名宫女让孙武训练。孙武将她们分成两队，并指定吴王的两名宠妃担任队长。每人分发武器，列队站好。
孙武问道：“你们知道前进、后退、向左、向右的命令吗？”
“知道。”她们回答。
尽管如此，孙武还是详细解释了命令，并屡次强调服从命令的重要性。
他击鼓下令向右行进。未经训练的宫女们没有听从命令，反而嬉笑起来。孙武严肃地说：“如果命令不清楚，是将领的过错。”他耐心地重复了指令。
他再次击鼓，下令向左行进。宫女们依旧嬉笑。孙武宣布：“现在命令已经明确。不服从命令是队长的过错。”他下令将两名妃子队长处斩。
一直在观看训练的吴王大惊，立即派人求情，但孙武拒绝了。在他的坚持下，两位队长被斩首。他任命了新队长，继续训练。从此，所有人都完美地服从命令，行为如同纪律严明的士兵。
在孙武的训练下，吴军变得日益强大。这个故事便是成语“三令五申”的由来。