The Spring and Autumn Period : give repeated orders 三令五申

Sun Wu once came to the state of Wu and presented his art of war to the king of Wu. After reading it, the king of Wu said, "I have read all your art of war, but can you practise it for me? Sun Wu replied confidently, "Of course I can". The King of Wu thought to himself: "Seeing that you are so confident, let me see how capable you are! So he deliberately said, "Can I use the courtesans to rehearse? Sun Wu replied, "Of course!" So the King of Wu gathered all the courtesans in the palace and asked Sun Wu to instruct them.