When Gongzhong of Han presided over the government of his state, he maintained close ties with both Qi and Chu. Qin desired to attack Han but feared that Han and Chu would unite in resistance. King Zhao of Qin, troubled by this, said to his minister Fan Ju: "Han is allied with Chu. I wish to attack it, but I fear it cannot be done. What shall I do?" Fan Ju replied: "Your Majesty need not worry. I can surely cause them to break their alliance." Thereupon he dispatched an envoy to Gongzhong of Han, saying: "The friendship between Qin and Han is not of a single day's standing. Now Qin wishes to attack Chu. If Your Excellency will assist Qin, Qin shall bestow riches upon Han, and Han may sever its ties with Chu. Should Han break with Chu, Chu will certainly attack Han. When Han is in peril, Qin will come to its rescue. Thus Han, united with Qin, need not fear Chu's aggression. If Han truly allies itself with Qin, Qin will regard Han as a companion as close as lips and teeth, and the altars of Han shall be preserved." Gongzhong of Han replied: "Well said." Thereupon he allied with Qin and broke with Chu. The King of Chu, enraged, raised an army and attacked Han. Han appealed to Qin for aid, but Qin sent no troops. Gongzhong of Han, stricken with anxiety, said to Chen Zhen: "Qin has long desired to attack Chu. Now I have not aided Qin, yet I have broken with Chu—this is to bring calamity upon myself. I repent of it." Chen Zhen said: "Your Excellency need not worry. Allow me to go and persuade Qin on your behalf." So he went to Qin and said to the King of Qin: "Han's alliance with Qin was not made for Qin's sake in breaking with Chu, but rather in the hope of using Qin to attack Chu. Now if Qin does not rescue Han, Han will surely turn and submit to Chu. Should Han submit to Chu, then Chu and Han will unite to attack Qin, and Qin will certainly be in danger. It would be better to rescue Han and thereby secure its loyalty. Han will surely be grateful to Qin, and thus the alliance between Qin and Chu may be dissolved." The King of Qin replied: "Well said." Thereupon he sent troops to rescue Han. The Chu army then withdrew.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy exemplifies the art of shifting alliances and betrayals in geopolitical maneuvering, mirroring the dynamics of coopetition in modern business ecosystems. Lord Han Gongzhong, having rashly severed ties with Chu upon the empty assurances of a Qin envoy, found himself isolated—much like an enterprise that, lured by short-term gains such as subsidies or exclusive agreements, severs long-standing partnerships only to face supply-chain ruptures or market ostracism. Qin's "promissory note" and its subsequent indifference to Han's plight serve as a cautionary tale: no enterprise should rely on unilateral commitments without assessing the counterpart's capacity and strategic intent to deliver. Chen Zhen's persuasion, meanwhile, embodies the strategy of "interest restructuring": Qin's rescue of Han was not born of righteousness but of a calculated move to dismantle the Chu-Han axis and forestall a rival coalition. In modern commerce, firms often exploit third-party frictions, offering timely aid to forge strategic bonds—as when tech giants invest in startups to counter shared competitors. Furthermore, this case underscores the imperative of "loss containment" and "rebalancing": Lord Han's swift diplomatic recovery after his misstep parallels corporate crisis management's "strategic correction"—witness a smartphone maker, cut off from chip supplies, pivoting to in-house R&D or alternative partners to rebuild its ecosystem. The core lesson: in dynamic games, decisions must rest on multidimensional interest models, not linear trust; alliances are fundamentally exchanges of value, demanding built-in exit flexibility and hedges against risk.