King Zhao of Yan, having succeeded to the throne after the ruin of his state, humbled himself and offered lavish gifts to attract men of worth, desiring to rely on them to avenge his wrongs. Thus he went to see Master Guo Wei and said, "Qi took advantage of our internal strife to breach the state of Yan. I know well that Yan is weak and insufficient to wreak vengeance. Yet if I could obtain wise men to govern the state together with me, so as to wash away the disgrace of my late father, that is my wish. Pray tell me, how should one set about avenging the state?" Master Guo Wei replied, "The sovereign who achieves imperial sway treats the worthy as his teachers; he who achieves kingly sway treats them as his friends; he who achieves hegemonic sway treats them as his ministers; but the sovereign who ruins his state treats them as his menials. If one humbles oneself and treats others with reverence, learning from the worthy with deference, then men of talent surpassing oneself a hundredfold will come; if one puts others before oneself, then men surpassing oneself tenfold will come; if one follows the same course as others, then men of equal ability will come; if one leans upon a low table, grasps a staff, and issues commands with haughty gestures, then only servile men will come; if one gives way to violence and cruelty, and berates at will, then only slaves will come. Such is the ancient way of practicing true kingship and summoning worthy men. If Your Majesty broadly selects the worthy within your realm and personally calls upon their doors, when the world hears that the king has visited his worthy ministers, the sages of the world will surely hasten to Yan." King Zhao said, "Whom should I call upon first?" Master Guo Wei said, "I have heard that in ancient times a sovereign offered a thousand gold pieces to procure a thousand-li steed, but for three years he obtained none. A courtier said, 'Let me go and seek it.' The sovereign dispatched him. In three months he found such a steed, but it was already dead, so he bought its bones for five hundred gold pieces and returned to report. The sovereign flew into a rage, saying, 'What I wanted was a living horse; what use is a dead one, and at the waste of five hundred gold!' The courtier replied, 'If a dead horse is bought for five hundred gold, how much more a living one? The world will surely think that Your Majesty is skilled at buying horses, and horses will soon arrive.' And indeed, within a year, three thousand-li steeds were brought forth. Now if Your Majesty wishes to attract worthy men, begin with me, Guo Wei. If even I am honored, how much more those more worthy than I? Would they begrudge the distance of a thousand li and fail to come?" Thereupon King Zhao built a palace for Guo Wei and honored him as his teacher. Yue Yi came from Wei, Zou Yan from Qi, and Ju Xin from Zhao, and worthy men vied with one another to hasten to Yan. The king mourned the dead, comforted the living, and shared weal and woe with the common people. After twenty-eight years, Yan grew prosperous and abundant, and its soldiers, at ease in their lives, delighted in warfare. Then King Zhao appointed Yue Yi as supreme general, and together with Qin, Chu, and the Three Jin, they plotted to attack Qi. The Qi army was utterly defeated, and King Min of Qi fled into exile. The Yan forces alone pursued the routed enemy, entered Linzi, seized all of Qi's treasures, and burned its palaces and ancestral temples. Of Qi's cities that remained unconquered, only Ju and Jimo were left.
💡 商战启示录
The success of King Zhao of Yan in his campaign against Qi lies at its core in the commercial wisdom of "building a nest to attract phoenixes" and "long-termism." King Zhao, keenly aware of his own weakness and inability to prevail through brute force, first employed Guo Wei's strategy of "buying a thousand-li horse's bones with gold"—projecting a posture of high esteem and making tangible investments to attract top-tier talent. This mirrors how modern enterprises enhance competitiveness through equity incentives, premium compensation cultures, or the recruitment of star teams. For instance, Apple's early decision to bring back Steve Jobs, or Google's lavish hiring of artificial intelligence experts, are contemporary incarnations of "buying bones." King Zhao not only recruited the worthy but also honored Guo Wei with the rites of a teacher, building trust and respect, which led elites such as Yue Yi and Zou Yan to flock to his side. This teaches business leaders to cultivate a culture that "respects talent," rather than viewing employees merely as tools. Secondly, King Zhao "mourned the dead and consoled the sick, sharing hardships with the common people" for twenty-eight years, accumulating national strength and inspiring soldiers to delight in battle—this corresponds to "long-termism" in commercial warfare: not pursuing quick victories, but forging a moat through sustained product refinement, user goodwill, and brand accumulation. Huawei, for example, persisted in early R&D investment and only erupted in the 5G arena years later. King Zhao's eventual alliance with multiple states to attack Qi also demonstrates that adept use of ecosystem collaboration (such as the strategy of vertical alliance) can amplify one's own advantages in commercial warfare. In sum, this case reminds modern entrepreneurs: first attract top talent with sincerity and institutional mechanisms, then consolidate internal strength with patience and a user-centric approach—only thus can one achieve the counterattack of "the weak overcoming the strong" amid fierce competition.