既濟 → 井

Commentary

Water sits above fire, but the autumn wind summons invaders, calling in bandits from beyond the border. Spies respond from within, and together they attack. The treasury is emptied of its precious stores; the master of the house cannot prevail. The verse describes a coordinated inside-outside assault: external raiders exploit internal collaborators, and the household is looted. From After Completion to the Well, fire-and-water balance yields to water drawn up through wood — the Well's mechanism of communal sustenance. Yet the verse inverts the Well: instead of nourishing the community, the infrastructure is exploited by enemies who drain it dry. The completed order's own channels of supply become conduits for plunder when loyalty fails.