Head Borrowing(曹操借头)

After a month's siege around a city, Cao Cao's army faced dwindling supplies, grain was getting shorter and shorter. When the usual distribution became impossible, the Controller of the Granaries sought Cao Cao privately and asked him, "How are we going to deal with this situation?" Cao thought for a while and answered curtly, "Serve out with a smaller measure!" "What if the soldiers murmur?" "I'll deal with that."

As ordered the controller issued grain in a short measure. Cao Cao sent secretly to find out how the army took this, and when he found that complaints were general and the soldiers were accusing him of fooling them, he sent a secret summons to the controller.

When the officer came, Cao Cao said, "I want to ask you to lend me something to pacify the soldiers with. You must not refuse."

"What do I have of use to Your Excellency？"

"I want to borrow your head to show the soldiers."

"But I have done nothing wrong!" exclaimed the unhappy man.

"I know that, but if I do not put you to death, there will be a mutiny soon. After you are gone, I'll take care of your wife and children well. So you need not grieve on their account."

Before the officer could say more, the executioners were already pushing him out. They beheaded him and hung it on a pole with a signboard reading, "In accordance with military law, he had been put to death for stealing from the granary and the use of a short measure in issuing grain.”

This appeased the discontent and improved the troops' morale.

（太祖）常讨贼，廪谷不足，私谓主者曰：“如何？”主者曰：“可以小斛以足之。”太祖曰：“善”。

后军中言太祖欺众，太祖谓主者曰：“特当借君死以厌众，不然事不解。”乃斩之，取首题徇曰：“行小斛，盗官谷，斩之军门。”