Don’t Use Small People for Big Tasks: What’s Behind the 3-Year Victory in the Nine in the Third Place Line of After Completion Hexagram

You’ve got a big project on your hands — maybe a startup plan, a business expansion, or a long-term goal that requires sustained investment. You know it matters, but you also know it’s hard. How hard? Hard enough that you’re not sure you can pull it off even in three years.

This is exactly the scenario described by the Nine in the Third Place of the *After Completion* Hexagram (水火既濟).

The Line Text (爻辭) reads:

「高宗伐鬼方，三年克之，小人勿用。」

"Gaozong" refers to Wu Ding, the ruler who revived the Shang dynasty — one of the most famous wise sovereigns in Chinese history. "Guifang" was a powerful hostile tribe to the north at the time. Wu Ding fought for three years before claiming victory, and after the war, he laid down a firm rule: *do not employ petty people*.

Wen Laoshi says these thirteen characters boil down to two truths: great undertakings demand patience, and having the right people matters more than having talented people.

1. The Position of the Nine in the Third Place

The Nine in the Third Place sits at the top of the lower trigram of the *After Completion* Hexagram. As a Yang Line (陽爻) in a yang position, it is in proper place (當位). But its position is delicate: it has reached the peak of the lower trigram, and is on the verge of entering the perilous Kan / The Abysmal (坎) of the upper trigram.

This line marks a critical juncture in the process of getting things done — the project is more than halfway complete, but not yet fully finished. It’s just like Wu Ding’s campaign against Guifang: after two years of countless battles and massive resource consumption, the final victory only came in the third year.

What’s the biggest risk at this stage? Rushing, swapping out key people, and cutting corners.

2. "Overcoming It in Three Years" — Great Things Cannot Be Rushed

Wu Ding was one of the most capable kings of the Shang dynasty, yet it took him three years to subdue a northern tribe. You might think: *He’s the ruler of an entire kingdom — why would it take three years to defeat one tribe?*

But that’s the reality: truly great things never happen overnight. Look at every ruler who revived a declining dynasty in history — none of them turned the tide with lightning-fast campaigns. Qin Shi Huang took ten years to unify the six states; Liu Bang spent four years defeating Xiang Yu; Zhuge Liang’s northern expeditions stretched on for more than a decade.

Wen Laoshi says the biggest misconception modern people have is obsessing over speed. Founders think their direction is wrong if their startup isn’t profitable in three years; content creators want to switch niches if they don’t go viral in six months; people give up on learning a craft after three months if they don’t see progress. It’s not that you lack ability — it’s that you’re not giving it enough time.

"Overcoming it in three years" tells you this: if your direction is right, your resources are sufficient, and your team is reliable — give it time. Three years is not a long time.

3. "Do Not Employ Petty People" — The Four Most Taboo Words for Great Undertakings

Wu Ding fought for three years and won. After the victory, he summed up his experience with one line: do not employ petty people.

What are "petty people"? It doesn’t just mean people with bad character — it means people who can’t hold up under the pressure of great undertakings, who waver easily, and who drop the ball at critical moments.

When you’re running a long-term project, you’ll have all kinds of people on your team. Some are highly capable but restless — after six months they get bored and want to jump ship. Some are smooth talkers but unreliable — they make big promises but are nowhere to be found when it counts. Some are very smart but overly calculating — they feel cheated if they have to do even a little extra work.

These are all "petty people" — it’s not that they’re bad people, it’s that they can’t be counted on in a long, drawn-out battle like the "three-year campaign to overcome Guifang".

Wen Laoshi says when hiring for great undertakings, the first thing to look for is endurance — can this person stick it out with you for three years? The second is stability — will they quit over a trivial issue in the sixth month? The third is values — do they actually believe this project can succeed?

Skills can be trained, resources can be found, but "unstable commitment" is a problem you can’t fix. That’s why the Nine in the Third Place says "do not employ petty people" — it’s not about looking down on them, it’s that you can’t afford to have them on your team.

4. What Is Your "Campaign Against Guifang" Right Now?

Go back to that big project you’re working on. Evaluate it against the standard of the Nine in the Third Place:

Have you given yourself enough time? Or are you constantly chasing "quick results"?

Are there any "petty people" on your team? Have you identified the people who can’t survive a long-term battle?

Is your current strategy "overcoming it in three years" or "settling it in three months"?

Wen Laoshi says the Nine in the Third Place of the *After Completion* Hexagram isn’t meant to make you afraid of big undertakings — it’s meant to help you have the right expectations for them. Great things are about trading time for room to grow, patience for results, and the right people for the right outcome.

Put simply, a war that takes three years to win doesn’t depend on luck — it depends on hiring the right people, making the right calls, and holding back your impatience in year one, year two, and year three.