After King Kuai of Yan died, King Xuan of Qi attacked Yan and captured ten of its cities. Su Qin was in Yan at the time and advised the King of Yan, saying: "I have heard that an enlightened ruler does not detest earnest remonstrance in order to broaden his vision, and a loyal minister does not fear heavy punishment in order to speak frankly. Now Your Majesty wishes to attack Qi—allow me to explain the reasons. Qi's attack on Yan is not because it truly wishes to occupy Yan, but because it wishes to threaten Yan into ceding territory. Yan is weak and Qi is strong; even if Yan were to prevail, it would still fear that it could not escape misfortune—how much less so if it cannot prevail? Now it would be better for Your Majesty to exchange cities for Qi's goodwill. Qi will surely be pleased, Yan will be spared the calamity of war, and Qi will have no pretext before the other feudal lords. Moreover, the reason Qi attacked Yan is that there was discord within Yan. Now if Your Majesty apologizes to Qi, leaving Qi without pretext, Qi will surely withdraw. Yan will preserve itself without battle—this is the superior strategy." The King of Yan did not listen, and so attacked Qi, suffering a great defeat, whereupon Qi took advantage of the moment to seize ten cities of Yan. Su Qin again spoke to the King of Yan, saying: "I have heard that the wise do not defy the opportune moment and abandon advantage, and the brave do not fear death and destroy their reputation. Now Your Majesty did not heed my counsel, and thus lost ten cities. Allow me to plead on Your Majesty's behalf before Qi, to have the ten cities of Yan returned." The King of Yan said: "Very well." Su Qin then had an audience with the King of Qi. First he bowed in congratulation, then immediately lifted his head in mourning. The King of Qi said: "Why do congratulation and mourning follow one another so swiftly?" Su Qin said: "I have heard that a starving man, though hungry, will not eat aconite, because though it may temporarily fill his belly, it brings the same calamity as death by starvation. Now Yan, though weak, is nonetheless the young son-in-law of the King of Qin. Your Majesty covets ten cities, yet nurses a lasting enmity with powerful Qin. Now if you make weak Yan the vanguard, while strong Qin controls from behind, to summon the finest troops of the realm—this is precisely the matter of eating aconite." The King of Qi said: "If this is so, then what should be done?" Su Qin said: "I have heard that those in antiquity who were skilled in handling affairs could turn calamity into fortune, and achieve success through failure. If Your Majesty could truly follow my counsel, then return the ten cities to Yan. Yan, having gained ten cities for no reason, will surely rejoice; and the King of Qin, knowing that it was on his account that the ten cities were returned to Yan, will also surely rejoice. This is what is called casting away an enemy and gaining a friend as firm as stone. If both Yan and Qin serve Qi, then Your Majesty's commands to the realm will meet with no one daring to disobey. This is Your Majesty using empty words to attach Qin, and using ten cities to win the realm. This is the achievement of a hegemon-king." The King of Qi said: "Very well." And so he returned the ten cities to Yan.
💡 商战启示录
This historical episode showcases Su Qin's mastery of crisis management and strategic maneuvering, offering profound lessons for modern commercial warfare. First, after King Yan's reckless campaign ended in failure, Su Qin did not dwell on cutting losses but swiftly pivoted to "turning misfortune into fortune"—a principle that mirrors "crisis management" in business: when an enterprise finds itself mired in difficulty due to a strategic misstep, its leaders should promptly stem the losses and seek opportunities to transform adversity into advantage. For instance, when a tech company faced a massive product recall due to defects and its stock price plummeted, it regained market trust through candid apologies, complimentary upgrade services, and leveraging the incident to broadcast its customer-first ethos—ultimately recovering market share. Second, Su Qin's persuasion of King Qi employed the tactics of "interest linkage" and "risk amplification." He pointed out that Qi's occupation of Yan territory would incur the wrath of powerful Qin, likening it to "eating aconite"—a short-term gain concealing lethal peril. This reminds businesses that in mergers or competition, they must not focus solely on immediate returns but must assess their long-term ecological position. For example, a corporate giant that acquired small enterprises at low prices to seize market share later triggered antitrust investigations, damaging its brand. Finally, Su Qin's proposal to "return cities in exchange for the world" embodies a "retreat to advance" co-opetition strategy, akin to modern enterprises yielding profits to partners in exchange for a broader ecosystem alliance—such as a platform voluntarily lowering its commission rates to attract merchants, ultimately creating network effects and dominating industry standards. In sum, Su Qin's wisdom lies in this: when faced with defeat, do not clash head-on; instead, redefine the problem and use diplomatic means to restructure the landscape of interests. This is precisely the "judo strategy" that business leaders must possess in complex games of strategy.