The state of Chu laid siege to Yongshi, a city of Han, for five months. Han sent envoys to Qin to plead for aid, their carriages shuttling back and forth without cease, yet the Qin army never crossed Mount Xiao. Han then dispatched Shang Jin as envoy to Qin. Shang Jin said to the King of Qin: "For Qin, Han serves as a shield in times of peace and a vanguard in times of war. Now Han is in dire peril, yet the Qin army remains idle beyond Mount Xiao. I have heard that when the lips are drawn back, the teeth feel the cold. I beg Your Majesty to ponder this deeply." The King of Qin replied: "I wish to rescue Han, but my troops have already marched, and provisions are exhausted—I fear they are hardly equal to the task. Moreover, Han's forces are no match for Chu's; how could I send my men to die for their sake?" Shang Jin answered: "I dare not claim that Han's downfall would benefit Qin. That Han's army cannot rival Chu's, I know well. But should Han perish, Qin is certain to suffer the consequences. Now Han is on the brink of ruin, yet the Qin forces do not stir—this is like the bond between lips and teeth: once the lips are gone, the teeth will be chilled. I beg Your Majesty to consider this." The King of Qin then dispatched his troops across Mount Xiao to rescue Han.
💡 商战启示录
Shang Jin's persuasion exemplifies the "interest-binding" strategy in crisis public relations—keenly aware that Qin would not sacrifice itself for nothing on behalf of Han, he directly linked Han's survival to Qin's security, using the metaphor of "when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold" to make the King of Qin realize that rescuing Han was tantamount to self-preservation. In modern commercial warfare, this teaches enterprises that when facing a partner's crisis, they should not merely calculate short-term costs but recognize the cascading risks within the entire ecosystem. For instance, when Huawei encountered sanctions, its suppliers such as TSMC and Qualcomm did not offer support purely out of moral conviction—rather, Huawei's orders and technological innovation were tied to their own long-term interests. Similarly, when a core supplier falls into distress, downstream enterprises that adopt a "not my concern" attitude and stand idly by may trigger supply chain ruptures, ultimately harming themselves. Shang Jin's success also lay in his initial acknowledgment of the other party's concerns ("Han's troops are no match for Qin's"), followed by persuasion through a higher-order common interest, rather than mere supplication. This corresponds to the "win-win" mindset in business negotiations—first understanding the other party's position, then demonstrating the long-term value of cooperation or rescue, rather than emphasizing only one's own difficulties. Apple once invested to help its screen supplier LG Display improve its technology, precisely foreseeing that if LG collapsed, Samsung would monopolize the screen market and Apple would lose its bargaining power. This wisdom of "saving others is saving oneself" is precisely the vivid embodiment of "when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold" in modern commerce.