Someone threatened Confucius by having the tree pulled down

Later Confucius went from the State of Cao to the State of Song, but before long he offended Huan Tui, the minister of war of Song. Huan Tui had ordered a stone coffin to be made for himself, but the work was not finished after three years. Confucius felt intense loathing for this luxurious deed that violated rituals. He said, “It would be better to have the corpse rot quickly than to seek after luxuries like that.” Huan Tui fumed with rage at the reproach. One day when Confucius and his disciples were practicing rituals under a big tree, Huan sent men to cut down the tree, to make a show of severity to Confucius. Frightened, Confucius' disciples hastened to tell their teacher to flee, but Confucius said calmly, “Heaven has handed me virtue. What could Huan Tui do to me?" In spite of his determination, Confucius eventually had to escape to the State of Zheng.