What to Do When Facing Difficulties? See How Li Chunfeng Breaks Through Workplace Deadlocks with High Emotional Intelligence

During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin had been tossing and turning, unable to eat or sleep well. The Venus (Taibai Jinxing) kept appearing repeatedly in broad daylight—a phenomenon called "Taibai昼见" (Venus visible at daytime) in ancient times, which was definitely an abnormal celestial omen. Li Shimin hurriedly summoned Li Chunfeng and said, "Examine this carefully for me—what on earth does this star sign mean?"

Li Chunfeng calculated with his fingers for a long while, then slowly uttered three words: "A female ruler will prosper." He added, "A woman will rise to rule the empire."

Li Shimin's face turned green on the spot. How could a woman take over the Li family's empire? He slammed the dragon throne and said, "Who is this person? Where is she hiding? Can't I just find her and kill her?"

An ordinary person would either kowtow in terror at this moment or hastily point fingers at random to please the emperor, but Li Chunfeng did neither. He was perfectly clear in his heart: if he revealed everything, where would the emperor's face be? But if he said nothing, he would be guilty of deceiving the emperor. What to do when faced with a dilemma? Li Chunfeng's solution was to stick to principles while leaving a way out for both sides.

He cupped his hands in a salute and spoke a famous quote that was recorded in both the *Old Book of Tang* and the *New Book of Tang*: "What is ordained by heaven cannot be eliminated. The one destined to rule cannot die; killing wantonly will only claim innocent lives." He meant that this was the will of heaven—even if the emperor forced the issue, he could not kill her, and would only harm a crowd of innocent people instead. Seeing Li Shimin's expression soften a little, he continued to persuade: this person was a close associate of the emperor. Thirty years later, when she grew older, her heart would naturally soften. Although the empire would temporarily change its surname, she would ultimately not cut off the roots of the Tang imperial family. If she were killed now, she would reincarnate to take revenge, and then the emperor's descendants would truly be in danger.

His words were reasonable and well-founded: he neither revealed who the person was, nor clearly laid out the pros and cons for the emperor. Li Shimin pondered for a long time and finally put down his butcher's knife. You see, how do you handle a difficult problem? Sometimes going head-to-head only leads to mutual destruction, but following the natural order can instead minimize losses.

On another occasion, Li Shimin asked Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang to deduce the fate of the nation together. The two of them got so engrossed in their calculations that they deduced all the way from the Tang Dynasty far into the future, almost reaching a thousand years later. Yuan Tiangang reacted quickly and pushed Li Chunfeng hard on the back: "We must not reveal any more heavenly secrets. Let's rest." The two of them knelt down with a thud at the same time and said in unison: "Your subjects dare not speak any more." This book of deductions is the later *Tui Bei Tu* (Back-Pushing Diagram), whose name comes from this very push.

In fact, how could Li Chunfeng really dare not speak? He just knew when to stop. How do you see the situation clearly? It is never about knowing as much as possible, but about knowing when to keep silent at the right time. In front of the emperor, speaking only seventy percent of what you know and holding back thirty percent not only fulfills your duties but also avoids bringing trouble upon yourself—that is the mark of a truly wise person.

Many people think Li Chunfeng relied on his skill in deducing celestial phenomena, but what he was truly good at was the wisdom of pretending to be ignorant while knowing full well the truth. He stopped at the right moment for what needed to be said, and never uttered a single extra word for what should not be said. Even today, this is a perfect model for workplace survival.