不入虎穴，焉得虎子 Pu-ju hu-hsueh yen-te hu-tzu (How you can catch the tiger's cub without venturing into the den?)
Western equivalent - Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Pan Chao was a general of Emperor Ming in the Later Han dynasty. In 73 A.D., he was sent to the Western Region (now Sinkiang) to fight the Huns. For his victory, the emperor appointed him special emissary to the state of Shanshan in the West.
For the first few months, the king of Shanshan seemed to regard Pan Chao as his defender. Then the king suddenly became indifferent. Pan Chao guessed that the king had accepted an envoy from the Huns and decided on a fence-sitting policy. This was confirmed by a servant of the king. To arouse the feelings of his subordinates, Pan Chao said:
"What we are here for? For fame and wealth. Now the king of Shanshan is conspiring with the Hun's envoy to take us prisoners. What shall we do now?"
"We will obey your command," the subordinates responded with one voice.
"Without venturing into a tiger's den, how can you get his cub," Pan Chao said. "We have only 36 comrades here. I think the best tactic is to attack the Huns' camp in the night. If we defeat them, the Shanshans will not compromise us again."
That night Pan Chao sent 10 men to beat drums behind the enemy's camp. The rest were stationed on the two flanks. Pan Chao set fire to the enemy's tents. The drums beat loudly and the forces attacked on the flanks. About 30 Huns were killed and more than 100 burned to death.
The next morning, Pan Chao presented the head of the Hun envoy to the king of Shanshan. After that Shanshan was loyal to the Han court.