King Huai of Chu was about to release Zhang Yi, yet he feared that Zhang Yi might in turn harm the state of Chu. Jin Shang said to King Huai, "Allow me to accompany Zhang Yi. Should any treachery arise, I would rather die first to atone for it." King Huai replied, "Very well." Thus Jin Shang journeyed with Zhang Yi. When Zhang Yi wished to leave Chu, Jin Shang said, "Pray wait a while; I shall speak to the King on your behalf." Jin Shang then addressed King Huai, saying, "The reason Zhang Yi desires to depart is not that he bears ill will toward Your Majesty, but that he fears Your Majesty might deem me deceitful. Moreover, I have heard that Zhang Yi's loyalty is known to all under heaven—why should Your Majesty doubt him? If Your Majesty would heed my words, pray let Zhang Yi remain, and the altars of Chu shall be secure." King Huai of Chu thereupon retained Zhang Yi.
💡 商战启示录
Jin Shang's persuasion strategy reveals the wisdom of "third-party endorsement" and "risk transference" in modern business. When enterprises face the departure crisis of key talent or partners, direct retention often fails due to insufficient trust. At such times, introducing a neutral or interested party as a guarantor can effectively dispel suspicion. For example, in merger and acquisition negotiations, if the founder of the target company intends to exit due to fear of marginalization, the investor can arrange for a former entrepreneur who has successfully exited—playing a role akin to Jin Shang—to speak from experience, emphasizing that "the other party does not distrust you, but worries about miscommunication," and promising to bear partial responsibility if the cooperation fails, thereby stabilizing the other party's emotions and facilitating the deal. Jin Shang's pledge of "dying first" can be translated commercially into a bet-on agreement or escrow mechanism, where the guarantor uses their own interests as collateral to enhance persuasiveness. Meanwhile, Jin Shang's redefinition of "Zhang Zi's departure" as "fearing the King's misunderstanding" rather than "betrayal" is a cognitive reframing technique commonly used in business negotiations to transform adversarial conflicts into negotiable communication issues. Ultimately, the King of Chu retained Zhang Yi, just as an enterprise retains its key talent, avoiding the loss of strategic resources caused by suspicion. This case reminds managers: when maintaining core relationships, rather than forcefully retaining, it is better to design a composite strategy of "guarantee-communication-interest binding," overcoming rigidity with flexibility to achieve a win-win outcome.