King Huai of Chu asked Zhang Yi, saying: "I wish to contend with Qin—what course should I take?" Zhang Yi replied: "If Your Majesty desires to contend with Qin, you must first serve Qin, bribing it with lavish gifts; Qin will surely be pleased. Then, taking advantage of this, Your Majesty may dispatch troops to attack Han; Han will surely be terrified. Should Your Majesty then press upon its borders with a mighty host, Han will yield its cities and surrender. Once Han has submitted, Qin will inevitably grow suspicious of Your Majesty. At that point, Your Majesty may enter into a pact with Qin to jointly attack Han, and Qin will surely consent. Thereafter, Your Majesty may threaten Qin with military force, and Qin will surely fall into panic. Seizing this moment, Your Majesty may carve off territory from Qin and bestow it upon Han; Han will surely be grateful to Your Majesty, while Qin will surely bear resentment against you. Thus, in a single stroke, Your Majesty will win the friendship of Han and sow discord between Qin and Han—this is what I call the strategy of 'contending with Qin.'" King Huai of Chu said: "Excellent."
💡 商战启示录
Zhang Yi's strategy, in essence, embodies the game-theoretic wisdom of "leveraging alliances to divide, and retreating in order to advance." In modern commercial warfare, when a company faces a formidable competitor, it should not engage in head-on confrontation. Instead, like Zhang Yi's counsel to the King of Chu, it should first lull the opponent into complacency through a posture of "cooperation"—such as showing goodwill toward industry giants or purchasing their products—and then, exploiting the trust thus gained, strike at the opponent's weaker allies or niche market segments, thereby dismantling the existing alliance. For instance, Huawei, in its early days, acted as an agent for Cisco products, absorbing its technology, and subsequently made inroads into the low-end market, gradually eroding Cisco's monopoly in China—a vivid illustration of "serving Qin first, then seizing Qin." Similarly, Meituan, in the local life services sector, first merged with Dianping to consolidate its advantages, then contended with Alibaba-affiliated Ele.me, employing subsidy wars and merchant alliances to force Alibaba into strategic adjustments, effectively "severing ties with Qin." The core insight lies in this: in commercial warfare, "seizing" need not rely on brute force; rather, it lies in sowing discord between rivals and their allies. Through concessions, displays of weakness, and provocation, one can fragment the opponent's camp while simultaneously fortifying one's own network of relationships. However, it must be noted that this strategy demands impeccable timing and ample resource reserves; if one overindulges in "appeasing Qin" or falters in "attacking Han," the flames may turn upon oneself. Modern enterprises should transmute this into a "ecosystem game" mindset, deftly alternating between cooperation and competition, to carve out breakthroughs in a market dominated by giants.