The folks in East Zhou wanted to grow rice, but West Zhou wouldn’t release the water they needed. East Zhou was in a bind. Su, a clever advisor, said to the lord of East Zhou, “Let me convince West Zhou to let the water flow. Sound good?” Then he went to the lord of West Zhou and said, “You’re missing a trick here, my lord. By holding back the water, you’re actually helping East Zhou get richer. Their farmers are all growing wheat now, nothing else. If you really want to mess with them, release the water. It’ll ruin their wheat crops. They’ll have to switch back to rice. And when they do, you can cut the water again. Keep them on their toes, and soon East Zhou’s people will be eating out of your hand, doing whatever you say.” The lord of West Zhou grinned and said, “Brilliant.” So he let the water flow. And Su? He walked away with bags of gold from both sides.