A new kind of army

Once a boy of sixteen inherited the throne when his father died. A neighbouring king who had been his father’s enemy sent a letter to the young king, saying, “You are just a little boy. Surrender to me; otherwise, I shall come and capture your throne and kill you.”

The elderly ministers of the young king advised him to be very cautious. They said that this king, his enemy, was very strong, so he would have to be very careful.

But the young king said, “No, I won’t listen to you people. I will send my soldiers, but they will be different from regular soldiers. These soldiers will be sweepers and garbage collectors and so forth.”

The sixteen-year-old king supplied the sweepers with weapons which they didn’t even know how to use. The king’s soldiers showed the sweepers only how to carry them. Nonetheless, these new soldiers went to the enemy, shouting and screaming that they would kill all the enemy soldiers. When the enemy saw the modern weapons of these ferocious-looking soldiers, they all surrendered without even a fight.

The young boy arrested the enemy king and asked him to beg for forgiveness. The old king immediately asked for forgiveness, and the boy returned his soldiers.