挟天子以令天下

xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng tiān xià

(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control the whole country

xié

(bound form) to clasp under the arm

tiān

day

son

abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]

lìng

to order

tiān

day

xià

down