Someone spoke ill of Su Qin to the King of Yan, saying: "The Lord of Wu'an, Su Qin, is the most untrustworthy man in the world. Your Majesty has treated him with the rites due to a sovereign of ten thousand chariots and honored him at court—this is to show the world that you consort with a petty man." The King of Yan said to Su Qin, "Lord of Wu'an, I have summoned you." Su Qin replied, "I was but a lowly man from the Eastern Zhou. Your Majesty did not despise me for my humble origin, but received me with the courtesy of an honored guest. I have always been willing to offer my foolish loyalty. Yet I have heard: loyalty and trustworthiness serve to preserve oneself, not to please others. Moreover, my trustworthiness is hardly sufficient to set an example for the world. In the past, when Zeng Shen was said to have killed a man, someone told his mother, 'Zeng Shen has killed a man.' The mother did not believe it and continued weaving. After a while, another person came to report the same, and still she kept weaving. After yet another while, a third person came to report it, and the mother threw down her shuttle, climbed over the wall, and fled. With Zeng Shen's virtue and his mother's confidence in him, yet when three people doubted him, even a loving mother could no longer believe. Now my worth is less than Zeng Shen's, and Your Majesty's trust in me is less than that mother's trust in her son. Those who doubt me number more than three—I fear that Your Majesty may cast away your shuttle because of me." The King of Yan said, "I will not heed slander. Let a carriage be prepared for you." Su Qin said, "I have heard that there are cases where loyalty and trustworthiness bring offense to one's sovereign. Let me give an example. In former times, Wu Zixu was loyal and trustworthy, yet was put to death by the King of Wu; Bi Gan was loyal and trustworthy, yet his heart was torn out by the King of Yin. Now I have been sent on a distant mission, and the King of Qi has first tasted my loyalty and trustworthiness—this is how my loyalty and trustworthiness have offended my sovereign." The King of Yan said, "Well said. Please resume your former office." Su Qin said, "I have heard that an enlightened ruler treats his ministers in such a way that he neither lets them suffer slander nor lets them bask in praise, but rather lets them exert themselves on their own. Now I bear the name of loyalty and trustworthiness, and yet you entrust me with affairs of state—this means my loyalty and trustworthiness serve only myself, not others." The King of Yan said, "Well said. Go and do your utmost."
💡 商战启示录
When faced with King Yan's suspicion, Su Qin did not rush to defend himself. Instead, he invoked the parable of Zeng Shen and murder, illuminating the communicative principle behind "three men make a tiger"—when negative information recurs, even the most trusting heart begins to waver. This teaches modern entrepreneurs that when caught in rumors or a crisis of public opinion, one must first understand the frailty of human nature and never naively assume that "the innocent will naturally be vindicated." More crucially, Su Qin did not stop at proving his own innocence; he elevated the discourse to the philosophical height of "the loyal and faithful are self-sufficient," subtly reminding King Yan: if you tear down your own Great Wall over slander, the loss falls upon your own strategic interests. This mirrors today's business arena, where an accomplished professional manager facing defamation from competitors should not become entangled in petty details, but rather remind the board: "If core talent is lost to rumor, the company's long-term value is what suffers." In the end, Su Qin drew upon the tales of Wu Zixu and Bi Gan, transforming the issue into the structural paradox of "loyal ministers suffering calamity precisely for their loyalty," compelling King Yan to reflect on whether he was repeating the mistakes of benighted rulers. In modern commerce, when Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple, he did not strike back publicly; instead, he reshaped his personal brand with "Think Different," ultimately leading the board to recognize his irreplaceability. True business wisdom lies not in proving rumors false, but in making decision-makers realize that the cost of losing you far outweighs the cost of believing the rumor.