Chen Cui brokered an alliance between Qi and Yan, proposing that the King of Yan's younger brother be sent to Qi as a hostage. The King of Yan agreed. When the Queen Dowager heard of this, she flew into a rage and said, "If Chen Cui cannot render service to the state, so be it—but how dare he tear apart a mother and her son? I, an old woman, fail to see what is so brilliant about his scheme." Chen Cui sought an audience with the Queen Dowager, but the King of Yan said, "The Queen Dowager is furious with you. You had best wait." Chen Cui replied, "It matters not." Thereupon he entered the palace and met the Queen Dowager, saying, "Why are you angered, Your Majesty?" She said, "What principle is there in sending a son to be a hostage?" Chen Cui said, "Indeed. The King's reluctance to send his younger brother as a hostage is truly born of affection. Yet the King's consideration for his brother does not match Your Majesty's love for him. Moreover, Your Majesty's love for your sons does not match your love for the King. Why do I say this? The bond between mother and child is but human nature, yet the King, placing the affairs of state above all, has endured the pain of sending his brother as a hostage. Now Your Majesty, moved by private affection, refuses to let the brother go—this will bring sorrow to the King and unrest to the state. Furthermore, has Your Majesty forgotten why the late King established the present King as sovereign? The late King left an edict saying: 'Ministers of the state must not shirk their duties.' Now, by refusing to let the brother serve as hostage, Your Majesty would abandon the late King's decree and cast aside a minister of the state." The Queen Dowager said, "Then what is to be done?" Chen Cui said, "If Your Majesty will not let the brother go, I beg to go as hostage myself." The Queen Dowager said, "Very well." So the King of Yan's younger brother was sent to Qi as a hostage. The Queen Dowager then urged her son to take leave of the King of Yan, and the King consented. The Queen Dowager was overjoyed and said, "Was not Chen Cui's counsel excellent indeed!"
💡 商战启示录
Chen Cui's art of persuasion stands as a classic model for modern business negotiation and internal coordination. Facing the Queen Mother's emotional opposition, he did not meet force with force, but first acknowledged the reasonableness of her "motherly love," then skillfully shifted the comparative framework—contrasting "private affection between mother and son" with "the sovereign's love in governing the realm," presenting the latter as a duty and vision of a higher order. This strategy is often employed in business to navigate conflicts between emotion and interest among shareholders, executives, or within family enterprises. For instance, when a company pushes through organizational reform or dispatches key talent abroad, it frequently encounters resistance from family members or founding elders. Leaders may draw on Chen Cui's approach: elevating personal gains and losses to the level of corporate strategy and long-term value, invoking "the late king's edict" as an analogy for corporate mission and institutional discipline, emphasizing that duty cannot be abandoned, while simultaneously demonstrating proactive responsibility through "I beg to send my own son as hostage," thereby dissolving opposition and forging consensus. In modern times, whether Steve Jobs persuading John Sculley to join Apple, or the rotating chairmanship system at Huawei balancing veterans and newcomers, similar wisdom is required—respecting emotion while guiding the other party to behold the larger chessboard, ultimately achieving the leap from "I" to "we," from short-term sentiment to long-term interest.