During the reign of Duke Wen of Yan, King Hui of Qin gave his daughter in marriage to the Crown Prince of Yan. After Duke Wen passed away, King Yi of Yan ascended the throne. King Xuan of Qi, seizing the opportunity of Yan's mourning period, launched an invasion and captured ten cities. Su Qin, the Lord of Wu'an, went on behalf of Yan to persuade the King of Qi. He first bowed twice in congratulations, then raised his head and expressed condolences. The King of Qi, pressing on his halberd, stepped back and said, "Why do congratulations and condolences follow so swiftly one after another?" Su Qin replied, "When a man is hungry, he does not eat aconite, for though it may temporarily fill his stomach, it brings the same calamity as death. Now Yan, though weak, is the son-in-law of mighty Qin. Your Majesty, coveting the profit of ten cities, has incurred deep enmity with powerful Qin. If the weak Yan leads the vanguard and mighty Qin follows in pursuit, thereby summoning the elite troops of the world, this is like eating aconite to satisfy hunger." The King of Qi said, "If this is so, what should be done?" Su Qin said, "The sage, in handling affairs, can turn calamity into blessing and transform failure into success. Thus Duke Huan of Qi, though bearing the name of lust, gained even greater renown; Han Xianzi, though offending others, strengthened his alliances. These are examples of turning calamity into blessing and failure into success. If Your Majesty would heed my counsel, it would be better to return the ten cities to Yan and offer humble apologies to Qin. When Qin knows that Your Majesty returned the cities for its sake, it will surely be grateful. When Yan receives the ten cities without cause, it too will be grateful. This is what is called casting away a formidable enemy and gaining moral strength for oneself." The King of Qi said, "Well said." Thereupon he returned the ten cities to Yan.
💡 商战启示录
Su Qin's art of persuasion stands as a classic model of crisis management and strategic negotiation. He first offered congratulations, then delivered condolences—a stark contrast that seized King Qi's attention, much like the modern business tactic of presenting an enticing partnership proposal before unveiling latent, formidable risks, compelling the counterpart to reassess the situation. Su Qin's core strategy was to "turn calamity into fortune," redefining Qi's short-term gain (the ten cities) as a long-term risk of enmity with powerful Qin, drawing an analogy to "consuming aconite"—just as modern enterprises face high-profit yet high-compliance-risk ventures, such as certain gray-area financial products, where short-term windfalls may invite regulatory penalties and brand collapse. He guided King Qi to shift from "possession" to "relinquishment," returning the cities to secure trust from both Qin and Yan—akin to how, in corporate mergers and acquisitions, proactively divesting non-core or high-conflict assets secures a more stable ecosystem of collaboration, as when a tech giant abandons its short-term plan for in-house chip development to invest in ecosystem partners, thereby consolidating its market position. Su Qin's "humble words to appease Qin" exemplifies posture management in negotiation, corresponding to the strategy of voluntary concession to build long-term mutual trust. Ultimately, he led King Qi to realize that strategic "retreat" serves a greater "advance"—this wisdom of advancing by retreating and turning adversaries into allies remains the core decision-making logic when navigating zero-sum games versus win-win choices in today's competitive business landscape.