In the Battle of Pushang, Jizi fell in combat, and the Lord of Wei, relying on Jizi's strength, had been held in esteem. After Jizi's death, the Lord of Wei lost his support and fled into exile, arriving in the state of Qi. The people of Qi aided him in regaining his throne, yet the Lord of Wei, in his resentment, sought to attack Qi. Tian Ju admonished him, saying: "This cannot be done. In the Battle of Pushang of old, Jizi died in battle, and the Lord of Wei, relying on Jizi, was made significant. Now that Jizi is dead, the Lord of Wei fled and came to Qi, and the people of Qi established you as ruler—this is the grace of Qi. Now, in your anger, you wish to attack Qi—this is to cast aside existing kindness and invite calamity from Qin. It would be better to reconcile with Qi and draw close to Qin; Qin will surely be grateful to you, and Qi will not dare to send troops against Wei again." The Lord of Wei heeded not, and insisted on attacking Qi. In the end, the Qi army routed the Wei forces, the Lord of Wei fled, and perished at last in Pushang.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy reveals a core lesson in commercial warfare: when an enterprise loses its vital resources or key figures (such as the hostage prince) and falls into dire straits, it may rely on external forces (such as the State of Qi) to achieve revival—only to treat its lifesaving benefactor as an enemy through shortsighted and emotionally driven decisions, ultimately courting its own destruction. In modern business, such cases are not uncommon. For instance, a startup on the brink of bankruptcy received venture capital funding and was brought back from the dead, yet the founder, resentful of the investors' interference in management, forcibly bought back equity, tore up agreements, and even sued the investors—eventually severing its capital chain and driving the company to collapse. By contrast, consider the success story of Apple Inc.: on the verge of ruin in 1997, it accepted a $150 million investment from Microsoft. Steve Jobs set aside old grievances, collaborated with a competitor, and ultimately led Apple to its meteoric rise. The wisdom of commercial warfare lies in three principles: first, recognize who your true allies are, rather than viewing assistance as humiliation; second, strategic decisions should be grounded in calculations of interest, not emotional impulse; and third, when one's own strength is insufficient, one should unite with the powerful (such as the State of Qin) to create a balance of power, rather than making enemies on all fronts. The death of the Duke of Wei stands as a dual tragedy of "ingratitude" and "strategic myopia," warning entrepreneurs that in times of crisis, they must remain rational, make good use of external resources, and never let a moment's pride doom the entire enterprise.