After Lord Wenxin, Lü Buwei, was expelled from the state of Qin, his retainer Sikong Ma fled to the state of Zhao, where the King of Zhao appointed him acting prime minister. Shortly thereafter, Qin dispatched troops to attack Zhao. Sikong Ma advised the King of Zhao, saying: "When Lord Wenxin served as prime minister of Qin, I served under him as a secretary, and thus became familiar with the affairs of Qin. Now that Your Majesty has appointed me to a minor office, I have likewise come to understand the conditions of Zhao. Allow me to analyze for Your Majesty the outcome of a war between Qin and Zhao. In comparison with Qin, which state is the stronger?" The King of Zhao replied: "We are not their equal." Sikong Ma asked: "Which state has the greater population?" The King replied: "We are not their equal." Again he asked: "Which state is more abundant in wealth and grain?" The reply came: "We are not their equal." Again he asked: "Which state is better governed?" The reply came: "We are not their equal." Again he asked: "Which state has the more worthy prime minister?" The reply came: "We are not their equal." Again he asked: "Which state has the more valiant generals?" The reply came: "We are not their equal." Again he asked: "Which state has the more rigorous laws and decrees?" The reply came: "We are not their equal." Sikong Ma then said: "Since this is so, in every respect Your Majesty's state is inferior to Qin—Zhao is doomed to perish." The King of Zhao said: "You have not scorned my humble state, but have laid bare the truth before me. I am willing to heed your wise counsel." Sikong Ma said: "Your Majesty may cede half of Zhao's territory to Qin. Qin, without fighting a single battle, would gain half of Zhao and would surely be delighted. Qin, fearing both that Zhao might hold fast in defense and that the other feudal lords might come to its rescue, would certainly accept the offer. Once Qin accepts the land and withdraws its troops, Zhao, by holding onto its remaining half, would be able to preserve itself. Qin, having received its bribe, would grow ever stronger, and the states east of the mountains would inevitably be thrown into panic. The fall of Zhao would alert them to their own peril, and in their fear the feudal lords would come to one another's aid—thus the cause of the Vertical Alliance would succeed. I beg to join Your Majesty with the other feudal lords. If the alliance succeeds, Your Majesty will have nominally lost half of Zhao, but in reality will have gained the support of all the states east of the mountains to oppose Qin—then Qin would not be difficult to destroy." The King of Zhao said: "In times past, when Qin attacked Zhao, Zhao ceded the twelve districts of Hejian. Our territory shrank and our military strength waned, yet in the end we could not escape the calamity brought by Qin. Now, if we cede yet another half of our land to strengthen Qin, Zhao's power will be insufficient to sustain itself, and we will surely perish. Pray devise another stratagem." Sikong Ma said: "In my youth I served as a minor clerk in Qin, and though I rose by merit, I remained always in low office. I have never led troops into battle. Allow me, however, to take command of all of Zhao's forces and meet the enemy." The King of Zhao would not grant him this commission. Sikong Ma said: "I have offered my humble plan, but Your Majesty will not adopt it. Since this is so, I can no longer serve Your Majesty—I beg leave to depart." Sikong Ma left Zhao and crossed the ford of Pingyuan. The officer in charge of the ford, Guo Yi, received him with courtesy and asked: "The armies of Qin are attacking Zhao. You have come from Zhao—what is the situation there?" Sikong Ma then related how he had presented his plan to the King of Zhao and how it had been rejected, and declared that Zhao was certain to perish. The warden of Pingyuan asked: "I would hear your instruction." Sikong Ma said: "The plan I offered the King of Zhao was to cede half of Zhao's territory as a bribe to Qin. Qin would surely withdraw its troops without battle, and Zhao, preserving its remaining half, would secure its own survival. Qin, covetous of the bribe, would grow strong, and the feudal lords east of the mountains would inevitably be thrown into panic. In their fear, the states would form a Vertical Alliance—then Zhao, though it had lost half its land, would in reality have gained the support of the feudal lords to oppose Qin, and Qin would not be difficult to destroy. The King of Zhao would not listen, and so Zhao is doomed. Once Zhao falls, Qin is certain to claim the title of king over all under heaven, and will proceed to swallow up the entire realm." In the end, Qin did indeed swallow up the entire realm, exactly as Sikong Ma had foretold.
💡 商战启示录
Sikong Ma's strategy is, in essence, a form of game-theoretic wisdom rooted in "retreating in order to advance." In the arena of commerce, when a company faces crushing competition from industry giants, clinging stubbornly to its position often leads to total defeat, whereas voluntarily conceding a portion of one's interests can, in turn, secure room for survival and strategic alliances. For instance, the merger of Didi and Kuaidi in 2015 was a case where both parties, after a devastating subsidy war, chose to "cede territory" and share the market, thereby averting mutual ruin and joining forces against external threats such as Uber. Similarly, when Huawei faced sanctions from the United States, it divested its Honor business—an apparent "cutting in half"—yet this move preserved its core R&D capabilities in chips, while allowing Honor to gain supply chain support after independence, fostering a synergistic ecosystem. The central insight of Sikong Ma lies in this: a partial sacrifice can buy a global window of time, and that window is precisely the key to reorganizing resources and forging alliances. The common error of modern enterprises is the "King Zhao-style obstinacy"—an excessive attachment to existing assets while overlooking the emerging landscape. True strategists, like Sikong Ma, calculate the long-term gains of "cutting in half": when opponents grow lax from greed, and allies draw closer from fear, what you lose is merely a boundary on the map, yet what you gain is the initiative to rewrite the rules of the game. In the annals of business history, successful defensive battles have never been won through head-on confrontation, but rather by trading space for time, and compromise for alliance—ultimately turning the tide and prevailing at a higher dimension.