A Repeated Slander Makes Others Believe
Once, the king of Wei sent Pang Cong to accompany the crown prince to the state of Zhao as a hostage. Before he left, Pang Cong went to see the king of Wei and said, "Now someone says that there is an old tiger in the market. Do you believe it?" The king of Wei laughed and said, "This is impossible!" Pang Cong then asked, "Two people said that there was an old tiger in the market. Do you believe it?" "This...... I'm still a little skeptical." The king of Wei hesitated. "Three people said there were old tigers in the fair. Do you believe them?" The king of Wei was surprised, but still said, "I believe it!"
Pang Cong sighed and said, "Surely there won't be a tiger in the market, but to hear three people say there is a tiger, it seems that there really is a tiger! Now I am going to the state of Zhao. Handan is far away from the fair, and there must be far more than three people who have spoken ill of me. I hope that when you hear those words, you will be able to tell the truth from the lies and not be confused by them." The king of Wei said, "I understand. Don't worry about going to the State of Zhao."
As expected, after Pang Cong left, slandering words against him kept coming to the king of Wei, and the king finally believed them. When Pang Cong returned to the state of Wei, he was left out in the cold. The king of Wei refused to summon him any more.
To judge whether a thing is true or false, we must go through multiple investigations and careful thinking, and make a correct judgment based on facts.
三人成虎
有一次，魏王派庞葱陪同太子到赵国做人质。临行前，庞葱去拜见魏王，并说：“现在有一个人说集市上有老虎，您相信吗？” 魏王哈哈大笑：“这是不可能的！” 庞葱接着问：“有两个人说集市上有老虎，大王相信吗？” “这……我还是有点儿怀疑。” 魏王犹豫了。“有三个人说集市上有老虎，您相信吗？” 魏王很吃惊，但还是说：“我相信了！”
庞葱叹了口气，说：“集市上是一定不会有老虎的，可是听到三个人说有老虎，就好像真的有老虎了！我现在要到赵国去了，赵国的邯郸比集市远多了，说我坏话的人也一定远远超过三个啊！我希望大王在听到那些话的时候，能够辨别真假，不被谎言迷惑。” 魏王说：“我明白了，你放心到赵国去吧。”
果然，庞葱离开以后，诽谤他的话不停地传到魏王那里，魏王最终还是相信了这些话。庞葱回到魏国就受到冷落，魏王再也不肯召见他了。
判断一件事情是真是假，必须经过多方面考察和仔细思考，并以事实为依据做出正确的判断。
