Get an Inch and Take a Mile 得陇望蜀

The Chinese idiom 得陇望蜀 (de2 long3 wang4 shu3) literally means covet Sichuan after capturing Gansu. Sichuan and Gansu are two neighbouring provinces in China. The idiom comes from a story about a war decree issued by Emperor Guangwu during the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).

Emperor Guangwu personally led a large army to attach eastern Gansu (then called Longxi) which was under the control of opposition forces. The royal army surrounded two strategic towns, but failed to capture them because they were reinforced with troops from Sichuan. After several months of stand-off, the emperor became impatient and decided to return to the capital, leaving his general in charge. Before departing, Emperor Guangwu issued a war decree calling on the royal troops to invade Sichuan after siezing the two towns. The emperor said in the decree:

A man's desire is very hard to satisfy. Hence, after capturing Gansu it is logical that one would wish to take Sichuan.

The two strategic towns proved to be hard nuts to crack. The battle over the two towns ebbed and flowed for the next four years. Then opposition forces then surrendered. The emperor's general siezed the opportunity to capture the two troublesome towns and then he proceeded to conquer Sichuan.

Today, the Chinese idiom 得陇望蜀 (de2 long3 wang4 shu3) has derogatory connotations and is often used to describe people who are greedy and have insatiable ambitions. English speakers might describe these people as getting an inch and then taking a mile.