[Explanation]: And: to. The original meaning was that although the whip was long, it could not hit the horse's belly. The parables are too far apart for the power to reach.

【Idiom Story】:

The meaning of the idiom "the whip is too long" is that although the whip is long, it cannot hit the horse's belly, and even if it has strength, it cannot be used where it should not be used. Later, although the parable was willing to do it, the power could not reach it.

This idiom comes from the "Left Biography. In the fifteenth year of Xuangong, the Song people made Le Ying Qi anxious to Jin. The Marquis of Jin wanted to save him, but Bozong said: "No." The ancients said, 'Although the whip is long, it is not as long as the belly of a horse.' 'Heaven bestows Chu, there is no way to fight, although Jin is strong, it can go against heaven! ”

In the fourteenth year of Lu Xuangong (595 BC), the king of Chuzhuang sent Shenzhou to envoy to the state of Qi. On the way to the envoy, he had to pass through the Song State, and the king of Chuzhuang relied on the strength of the country to ask Shenzhou not to borrow the road from the Song State. Shen Zhou said: "If I don't borrow the way, the Song people will kill me." ”

"If Song kills you, I will send troops to attack them." King Chuzhuang said.

Sure enough, the practice of not borrowing from Song Guo angered Song Guo. The monarchs and ministers of the Song State thought that this was a great insult to their country, so they killed Shen Zhou. When the king of Chuzhuang heard the news, he was so angry that he immediately sent troops to attack the Song State, and immediately surrounded the capital of the Song State.

The two sides held each other for several months, but the Chu army still did not win. In the spring of the following year, the Song State sent the doctor Le Yingqi to the Jin State to ask the Jin State to send troops to rescue. Jin Jinggong wanted to send troops to save the Song Dynasty, but the great doctor Bozong said: "King, we can't send troops, the ancients have a saying: 'Although the whip is long, it can't hit the horse's belly.'" 'Now that the state of Chu is strong and prosperous, it is being blessed by heaven, and we cannot compete with Chu. Although the Jin Kingdom is powerful, can it violate the will of heaven? As the saying goes: 'high and low, all in the heart', rivers and lakes contain sludge and muddy water, poisonous insects and beasts are hidden in the mountains, forests and grasses, and there are marks hidden in the white jade, and it is normal for the Jin Kingdom to endure a little shame. You'd better bear with me. ”

After listening to Bozong's words, Jing Gong stopped sending troops and sent a doctor to Xie Yang to the Song State, telling the Song State not to surrender, and said that the reinforcements had already set off and would arrive soon.

The Song people held out in the city extremely hard for several months, and the Chu army could not attack, and finally agreed to the Song state to sue for peace, and took the Song state doctor Hua Yuan as a hostage.

The phrase "although the whip is long, it is not as long as the horse's belly" was later shortened to the idiom "the whip is long and laid", and the metaphorical power cannot be reached.