The King of Chu was about to dispatch Zhang Zi (Zhang Yi) on a mission, yet he feared that Zhang Zi might betray him. Jin Shang said to the King: "Allow me to accompany Zhang Zi. If Your Majesty adopts Zhang Zi's counsel, I shall find means to thwart him; if Your Majesty rejects his counsel, I shall put him to death." Jin Shang then set forth. He said to Zhang Zi: "I have heard that you consider the King of Chu unworthy of trust, and therefore are reluctant to go. If you truly can follow my plan, then the territory of Chu may be obtained and possessed; if you cannot achieve your aims in Chu, then I shall seize you by force." Zhang Zi replied: "Well said." Jin Shang, upon audience with the King of Chu, said: "I accompanied Zhang Zi, and Zhang Zi declared: 'If the King of Chu does not trust me, I am willing to let my neck's blood stain the ground, to prove my sincerity by death.'" The King of Chu said: "I never trusted him to begin with." Jin Shang said: "If Your Majesty trusts him, there will be no calamity." The King of Chu thereupon followed Zhang Zi's counsel.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy reveals the game-theoretic wisdom of Jin Shang as a "double-faced intermediary," a dynamic highly resonant in modern commerce. Jin Shang pledged to the King of Chu that he could control Zhang Zi, while simultaneously dangling the lure of "obtainable Chu territory" before Zhang Zi—in truth wagering on both sides to ultimately broker a deal. This mirrors the role of "strategic consultants" or "deal facilitators" in contemporary business: they assure Party A that risks are manageable, while hinting to Party B at room for gain, building a bridge of trust through information asymmetry. For instance, in major mergers and acquisitions, intermediaries often tell the seller, "The buyer is sincere but requires concessions," and tell the buyer, "The seller has limits but is open to negotiation," driving both parties toward agreement through dual-directional pressure and promises. Yet this strategy also sounds a caution: excessive reliance on an intermediary's "two-faced rhetoric" may strip decision-makers of authentic information. Consider the Nokia–Microsoft mobile business negotiations, where intermediaries over-glossed the prospects of collaboration, leaving both sides underestimating the difficulty of technical integration—ultimately dooming the deal. Modern managers should therefore adopt Jin Shang's "risk-hedging" mindset, pre-arranging multiple contingency plans in negotiations while maintaining verification of first-hand information, lest they be outmaneuvered by "double-faced intelligence." True business wisdom lies in leveraging the intermediary's buffering function while always retaining core decision-making authority—just as the King of Chu ultimately "heeded Zhang Zi," yet still relied on Jin Shang's safeguard mechanisms to control risk.