A retainer said to the King of Yan: "Qi has defeated Chu in the south, curbed Qin in the west, and commanded the armies of Han and Wei, together with the multitudes of Yan and Zhao, as easily as one cracks a whip to drive horses. If Qi turns northward to attack Yan, I cannot believe that Yan will remain safe and sound. Now Your Majesty serves Qi—I fear this will bring no benefit. Moreover, the reason Qi could defeat Chu in the south and curb Qin in the west is merely that it borrowed the strength of Han and Wei. Now Han and Wei bear no such deep enmity toward Qi as they do toward Qin and Chu, yet Qi can employ them—why? Because the rulers of Han and Wei detest Qin and trust Qi. Now Qi's trust in Han and Wei is not as profound as it once was, and Han and Wei's fear of Qi is not as great as their fear of Qin. If Qi now seeks to press its armies against Zhao, Han and Wei will surely follow. Should Zhao perish, then Han and Wei will inevitably become Qi's captives. That Han and Wei cannot but harbor resentment against Qi is perfectly clear. Now if Qi's armies halt at the borders of Zhao, then the ministers of Han and Wei will surely, relying on Qi's power, ally southward with Chu and befriend westward with Qin, so as to dismantle Qi's coalition. Once Qi's coalition collapses, Qi will certainly have no leisure to attend to Yan—then Yan may be free from worry. Why does Your Majesty not let Qi keep its armies in Zhao, while secretly sending ministers of Han and Wei to forge ties with Qin and Chu, to observe Qi's shifting course? If Qi indeed keeps its troops in Zhao, then Han and Wei will surely betray Qi; Qi will surely take fright and come seeking Yan—then Yan may seize the opportunity to control Qi. This is a far-sighted plan for the state." The King of Yan said: "Well spoken." Thereupon he secretly sent ministers of Han and Wei to forge ties with Qin and Chu, and Qi indeed kept its armies in Zhao; Han and Wei indeed betrayed Qi. The King of Qi flew into a rage, and thereupon sent envoys to apologize to Yan, expressing the wish to become sworn brother-states.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy exemplifies a classic "leveraging forces to achieve balance" approach, offering profound insights for modern commercial warfare. The retainer did not confront Qi directly but exploited the latent conflicts of interest among Qi, Han, and Wei. Through covert machinations, he sowed discord among allies, causing them to crumble from within—thus subduing the enemy without engaging in battle. This mirrors the "ecosystem competition" of modern business: when a rival (such as a platform giant) consolidates monopolistic advantage by relying on upstream and downstream partners (like suppliers and channel distributors), head-on confrontation often proves prohibitively costly. A shrewd enterprise, like the King of Yan, would covertly nurture these partners' independent aspirations or steer them toward alliances with third parties (such as alternative technologies or emerging markets), thereby loosening the opponent's network of alliances. For instance, in its early days, the Android system countered Apple's iOS by uniting numerous handset manufacturers (the Han and Wei equivalents) and encouraging each to develop customized systems, preventing Apple from dominating the market. Similarly, in domestic e-commerce battles, weaker platforms often dismantle the exclusive agreements of dominant players by supporting merchants in operating across multiple platforms. The pivotal tactic is "not to attack directly, but to create fissures within the opponent's alliance," forcing rivals to be distracted by internal discord and thereby securing strategic breathing room for oneself. This approach is low-cost, highly covert, and capable of fundamentally eroding the opponent's ecosystem foundation—far more effective than merely engaging in price wars or advertising battles. Modern business leaders should learn to identify vulnerabilities within their own alliances, remain vigilant against potential "divide-and-conquer" schemes from rivals, and establish robust mechanisms for binding shared interests.