Su Qin, seeking to form a vertical alliance for the state of Chu, went to persuade the King of Han, saying: "In the north, your kingdom of Han possesses the formidable fortifications of Gong, Luoyi, and Chenggao; in the west, the perilous passes of Yiyang and Changban; in the east, the cities of Wan, Rang, and the Wei River; and in the south, Mount Xing. Your territory stretches a thousand li in every direction, and your soldiers number in the hundreds of thousands. All the great bows and powerful crossbows of the realm come from Han. The renowned bows—Xizi, Shaofu, Shili, and Julai—can all shoot arrows six hundred paces away. When Han soldiers plant their feet and release, they can loose a hundred bolts without pause, piercing an enemy's chest at a distance and striking his heart at close range. The swords and halberds of Han's troops are forged at Mingshan, Tangxi, Moyang, and Hebo. The famed blades—Dengshi, Wanfeng, Longyuan, and Tai'e—can sever oxen and horses on land, strike down geese upon the water, and cut through solid armor when facing an enemy. Armor, shields, helmets, iron arm-guards, leather wrist-bands, and thumb-rings for archery—all are complete in every detail. With the valor of Han's soldiers, clad in sturdy armor, wielding powerful crossbows, and bearing sharp swords, one man can stand against a hundred—this is no idle boast. Yet with the strength of Han and the wisdom of Your Majesty, you would turn westward to serve Qin, calling yourself a vassal of the eastern marches, building palaces for the Qin emperor, accepting Qin's cap and girdle, offering tribute at the spring and autumn sacrifices, and bowing in submission. To bring shame upon your ancestral altars and invite the laughter of the world—nothing could be more grievous than this. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to consider the matter carefully. If Your Majesty serves Qin, Qin will surely demand the cession of Yiyang and Chenggao. Should you yield them this year, it will press for more land next year. If you give, there will soon be no land left to give; if you refuse, all your previous efforts will be undone and disaster will follow. Moreover, Your Majesty's territory is finite, while Qin's greed knows no bounds. To satisfy an insatiable appetite with a limited realm—this is what is called inviting resentment and courting calamity; your land will be diminished without even a battle. I have heard the proverb: 'Better to be the beak of a chicken than the hindquarters of an ox.' Now, if Your Majesty bows westward in submission to Qin, how is that different from being the hindquarters of an ox? With Your Majesty's wisdom and the might of Han's armies, yet earning the name of the ox's rear—I privately feel shame on Your Majesty's behalf." The King of Han flushed with rage, rolled up his sleeves, grasped his sword, and looked up to heaven with a long sigh, saying: "Even if I die, I will never serve Qin. Now, Sir, you have enlightened me with the counsel of the King of Chu. I am willing to offer my kingdom in reverence and follow the cause of the vertical alliance."
💡 商战启示录
The core of Su Qin's strategy lies in precisely identifying the other party's pain points and fears, then presenting clear strategic choices. He first showcases Korea's strength—its resource endowments and technological advantages—to establish leverage in dialogue; he then dissects the catastrophic consequences of serving Qin, exposing the "bottomless pit" effect of ceding territory for peace, and ignites King Han's pride and sense of crisis with the adage "Better to be a chicken's beak than a cow's rump," ultimately compelling a decisive resolution. This mirrors the game-theoretic dilemma of "forced choice" in modern commercial warfare. For instance, in the tech industry, countless startups face the crossroads of acquisition by giants or independent growth. Su Qin's wisdom admonishes entrepreneurs: if you attach yourself to a titan, you will inevitably face continuous resource concessions—data, profit sharing, and more—until you lose autonomy entirely, becoming the "cow's rump." Instead, you should leverage your own "mighty crossbow and sharp blade"—core technologies or niche market advantages—and unite with allies through vertical alliances to form an ecosystem against the giants. A classic example is Huawei's early strategy of "encircling the cities from the countryside," avoiding head-on competition with Ericsson and others, building strongholds in peripheral markets through technical accumulation and agile tactics, ultimately rising to global leadership. Meanwhile, Su Qin's warning of "buying resentment and courting disaster" reminds enterprises that in negotiations, unchecked compromise only emboldens the other side's greed, draining your resources to exhaustion. Therefore, businesses must set clear bottom lines in cooperation, dare to stand firm at critical moments, and, backed by real strength, strive for the position of "chicken's beak"—rather than dying a slow death through concession.