Gong Zhong of Han said to the Duke of Han, "The resentment of fine delicacies is less than the gratitude of common folk. Moreover, Your Majesty once held a mere hundred li of land, yet was coerced by the world, and none of the feudal lords came to your rescue. Now Your Majesty ought to emulate Qin and Chu, but the might of Qin and Chu is not something Han can withstand. I have heard it said: better to be the beak of a chicken than the anus of an ox. Now to bow westward in service to Qin—how is that different from being the anus of an ox? With Your Majesty's wisdom and the strength of Han's armies, to fall into the reputation of 'ox's tail'—I privately feel shame on Your Majesty's behalf." The Duke of Han flushed with rage, pressed his sword, and looked skyward, saying, "Even if I die, I will never serve Qin." Gong Zhong said, "That is not what I meant. Qin has long desired to attack Chu. Your Majesty would do better to make peace with Qin through Zhang Yi, offering a famous city, and join it in attacking Chu—this is a plan to trade one loss for two gains." The Duke of Han said, "Well said." Thereupon he sent envoys to Chu (implying an alliance with Qin), and the King of Chu, indeed enraged, raised troops to attack Han. Han joined forces with Qin, and Chu suffered a great defeat.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy demonstrates a two-step game of strategic wisdom. In the first step, Gongzhong invoked the maxim "Better to be the beak of a rooster than the rump of an ox" to stir the King of Han's pride, refusing to bow to the might of Qin—much as a modern enterprise refuses to become a mere processing subsidiary of an industry giant, insisting instead on its own brand, much like Huawei in its early days rejecting acquisition to pursue independent research and development. In the second step, Gongzhong did not recklessly clash head-on, but deftly exploited the contradiction between Qin and Chu, offering "a single renowned city" as the price to secure a temporary alliance with powerful Qin, jointly striking at Chu, thereby achieving "one loss, two gains"—sacrificing a minor interest while simultaneously weakening a formidable foe and deflecting the threat. This corresponds to the business strategy of "co-opetition": when one's own resources are insufficient, one does not confront the giant directly, but seeks common ground of interest to forge a phased alliance, as seen in Didi's merger with Kuaidi to counter Uber, or JD.com's introduction of Tencent investment to rival Alibaba. The key insight: strategic decisions must be staged—first establish authority (asserting an independent stance), then employ wisdom (leveraging circumstances to break the deadlock), avoiding emotional confrontation while rationally calculating the exchange of interests, converting short-term losses into long-term competitive advantage. The King of Han, though ultimately "indignant," nonetheless adopted the counsel, revealing that a leader must transform emotion into impetus for action, not a basis for decision.