King Jian of Qi set out to visit the King of Qin in the Qin court. Before his departure, the Commandant of Yongmen stopped him and asked, "Was it for the sake of the state and its altars that we enthroned you, or for your own sake?" The King of Qi replied, "For the sake of the state and its altars." The Commandant said, "If it was for the state and its altars that we made you king, then why do you now abandon the state and its altars to go to Qin?" The King of Qi asked, "What then should I do?" The Commandant said, "I beg you to remain and ponder this matter carefully." The King of Qi would not listen, and in the end went to Qin. The King of Qin sent Chen Chi to lure the King of Qi, promising him a fief of five hundred li. The King of Qi did not heed the counsel of the Grand Master of Jimo but instead trusted Chen Chi's words, and so entered Qin. The King of Qin placed him among the pines and cypresses at Gong, where the King of Qi ultimately died of hunger. Before this, the people of Qi had composed a song that went: "O pines! O cypresses! It was his guests who sent King Jian of Qi to starve at Gong!"
💡 商战启示录
King Jian of Qi, having trusted the promises of enemy states and abandoned his own territorial foundation, met his end with the fall of his kingdom—a revelation that carries a core business lesson: leaders of enterprises must never surrender their strategic stronghold before external temptations. In modern commerce, similar cases abound. For instance, the founder of a well-known smartphone brand once accepted a deceptive partnership invitation from a competitor, traveled overseas for negotiations, and during that time had his equity maliciously acquired through capital maneuvers, losing control of the company and eventually seeing the brand marginalized. In contrast, Ren Zhengfei of Huawei has steadfastly adhered to an independent development strategy of "no listing, no external financing," resisting the allure of outside capital, and treating core technology and the domestic market as his stronghold—only thus has the company stood unshaken amid sanctions. The downfall of King Jian of Qi further warns: when internal advisors (such as the Grand Officer of Jimo) offer frank counsel that grates upon the ear, leaders should establish multi-channel decision-making mechanisms rather than heed only the honeyed words of external "experts." In business negotiations, opponents often dangle long-term benefits akin to "five hundred li of land" as bait, yet their true aim is to dismantle your competitive barriers. An outstanding entrepreneur should, as Yongmen Sima admonished, periodically examine "why I fight," holding fast to mission and core markets, lest short-term allure bury long-term advantage.