The state of Qi was planning to attack Wei, and Wei sent an envoy to Chunyu Kun, saying, "Qi intends to wage war against Wei. Only you, sir, can avert this calamity from Wei." Chunyu Kun replied, "Very well." He then entered the court and advised the King of Qi, saying, "Chu is Qi's sworn enemy, while Wei is Qi's ally. Should you attack your ally, you would allow your enemy to exploit your weary troops—a course that brings ill repute and real peril. Such a decision would be unwise for Your Majesty." The King of Qi said, "Well said." And so he abandoned the plan to attack Wei.
💡 商战启示录
Chunyu Kun's admonition reveals a strategic wisdom in commercial warfare: "prioritize allies and avoid the mutual destruction of the snipe and the clam." In modern business, enterprises often attack partners or competitors for short-term gains, while overlooking the possibility that a third-party competitor may reap the spoils as the fisherman does. For instance, although the "Cola Wars" between Coca-Cola and Pepsi are fierce, both sides refrain from utterly crushing the other—for if one were to dominate alone, it would attract regulatory scrutiny and new entrants, while weakening the overall vitality of the industry. An even more illustrative case is that of Apple and Samsung: they are both rivals and supply-chain partners. If Apple were to over-suppress Samsung, it might disrupt the supply of core components, inadvertently empowering third parties such as Huawei. Chunyu Kun emphasized that "attacking allied states" would "allow enemies to exploit the remnants of one's exhaustion," which corresponds to the business arena: if an enterprise launches price wars or patent litigation to seize market share, it depletes its own resources and may allow bystanders—such as emerging competitors or substitute technologies—to seize the opportunity to gain ground. Therefore, a wise enterprise, like King Qi, should assess the long-term ecological impact of its actions, preserve key alliances, and avoid falling into the trap of "mutual ruin with a third party profiting" due to shortsightedness. Strategically, the focus should be on jointly expanding the pie or defending against common enemies, rather than engaging in internal attrition.