In the campaign to besiege Yongshi, the state of Chu had laid siege to the city. The state of Han demanded troops and provisions from Zhou. The Duke of Zhou was deeply troubled and confided in Su Dai. Su Dai said, "Why worry? I can ensure that Han will not requisition troops or provisions from Zhou, and I can also secure Gaodu for you." The Duke of Zhou was overjoyed and said, "If you truly accomplish this, I shall entrust the governance of the state to you." Su Dai then went to see Gongzhong, the Prime Minister of Han, and said, "Have you not heard of Chu's strategy? Zhao Ying, a general of Chu, said to the King of Chu: 'The Han army is exhausted, and their granaries are empty, leaving them unable to defend their cities. If we strike while they are weakened by hunger, we can surely take Yongshi within a month.' Yet now, after five months of siege, Chu has still failed to capture Yongshi—this shows that Chu itself is in dire straits. The King of Chu has begun to doubt Zhao Ying's plan. Now, by requisitioning troops and provisions from Zhou, you are revealing Han's weakness to Chu. When Zhao Ying hears of this, he will surely urge the King of Chu to reinforce the siege, and Yongshi will inevitably fall." Gongzhong said, "Well said. But my envoys have already departed." Su Dai replied, "Why not offer Gaodu to Zhou instead?" Gongzhong said angrily, "I have already refrained from requisitioning troops and provisions from Zhou—that is generous enough! Why should I also give away Gaodu?" Su Dai said, "If you give Gaodu to Zhou, then Zhou will surely turn to align with Han. When Qin hears of this, it will be enraged and will sever its ties with Zhou by burning their tallies. In this way, you exchange a broken Gaodu for the complete allegiance of Zhou—why not do it?" Gongzhong said, "Very well." Thus, Han ceased requisitioning troops and provisions from Zhou and instead presented Gaodu to Zhou. In the end, Chu failed to capture Yongshi and withdrew its forces.
💡 商战启示录
This episode showcases Su Dai's dual-layered strategic acumen: on the surface, resolving the crisis facing the Zhou state, yet beneath it, leveraging information asymmetry and the restructuring of interest chains to induce Han to voluntarily abandon its conscription demands—even going so far as to offer the city of Gaodu as a concession. In modern commercial warfare, this strategy can be likened to "supply chain negotiation" and "competitive intelligence warfare." For instance, when Technology Company A faces a price-increase threat from Supplier B, A does not directly haggle but instead reveals to B that Competitor C is slashing prices due to inventory glut, implying that if B insists on raising prices, A will pivot to C. To secure its long-term orders, B proactively offers more favorable discounts instead. Su Dai's key maneuver lay in fabricating a "common enemy"—the state of Chu—leading Han to realize that conscripting Zhou's resources would expose its own vulnerability, thereby altering its decision. This corresponds to the modern business concept of "shared risk": when one party seeks to exploit another, the astute party reveals the potential harm such actions pose to the aggressor's own strategic position, prompting a shift from zero-sum confrontation to mutual gain. Furthermore, Su Dai's proposal to exchange Gaodu for the Zhou state was, in essence, a long-term strategic calculus on Han's behalf—akin to enterprises trading short-term profits for ecosystemic collaboration, such as yielding margins to key partners in exchange for their support in setting industry standards, ultimately forging alliances to counter stronger rivals.