At first, Su Li, the younger brother of Su Qin, sought an audience with the King of Qi through the good offices of the Yan state's hostage. The King of Qi, bearing a grudge against Su Qin, wished to imprison Su Li. Through the Yan hostage, Su Li apologized to the King, saying: "I have heard that he who secretly accumulates virtue will be blessed by Heaven, and he who secretly commits evil will be visited by Heaven's calamity. Now, though my father and elder brother have been disloyal to Qi, my younger kinsmen and I desire to serve Your Majesty with loyalty. Yet if Your Majesty does not perceive this clearly, I fear that the governance of Qi may fall into error." The King of Qi said, "Well said." Thereupon he pardoned Su Li and made him a minister of Qi. Taking advantage of this, Su Li advised the King: "I have heard that the wealth of Qi does not lie in stored grain, yet its people are well-provisioned; nor does it lie in a mighty army, yet its enemies stand in awe. Why is this so? I have heard that under a kingly ruler, the people need not fight to make enemy forces yield; under a hegemonic ruler, the people must fight to make enemy forces yield. Now, if Your Majesty wishes to achieve hegemony, then choose your generals; if you wish to attain kingly rule, then choose your chancellor. I beg to select a chancellor for Your Majesty." The King of Qi said, "Well said." Thereupon he appointed Su Li as chancellor. Su Li then caused Su Dai, another brother of Su Qin, and the rest of the Su clan to rise to prominence in the state of Qi.
💡 商战启示录
Su Li's wisdom lies in crisis public relations and leveraging momentum for transformation. Facing King Qi's wrath, he did not defend himself directly but first shifted the focus with the philosophy of "hidden virtue and hidden calamity," elevating personal grievances to national interest and thereby averting mortal danger. This teaches modern business leaders: when an enterprise or individual encounters a crisis of trust, one must never confront head-on but instead reconstruct the narrative from a higher dimension—such as industry ecology or social value—transforming negative associations into an opportunity to showcase vision. Su Li then seized the moment to raise the议题 of "selecting generals" and "selecting ministers," which in reality was a maneuver to secure the premiership for himself—a classic case of "turning passivity into initiative, and crisis into opportunity." In modern parallels, when a tech company was accused of plagiarism, its CEO publicly announced increased R&D investment and open-sourced patents, thereby reversing public opinion and even attracting investment; similarly, a brand facing a quality crisis launched a "transparent supply chain" initiative, which paradoxically enhanced brand loyalty. Su Li's strategy also embodies "borrowing force to strike"—using the Yan hostage as a buffer and messenger to avoid direct confrontation, akin to introducing a third-party authority or mediator in business negotiations to reduce adversarial tension. In the end, he not only preserved himself but also elevated his family, achieving "when one man attains the Way, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," corresponding to how a corporate leader, through one successful crisis resolution, consolidates the internal team and expands influence. The core insight: a crisis is not an endpoint, but the starting point for redefining the rules of the game.