The state of Qin attacked Zhao, and the King of Zhao sent Feng Ting to negotiate with the other states. Feng Ting said: "When Qin attacks Zhao, if Zhao falls, Qin will surely turn to take Han. When Han falls, it will surely take Wei. When Wei falls, it will surely take Qi. When Qi falls, it will surely take Yan. When Yan falls, it will surely take Chu. When Chu falls, it will surely swallow the entire realm. Thus Qin's attack on Zhao is not aimed at Zhao alone—it concerns the fate of all under heaven. Should Zhao perish, the world will suffer in turn. Now Zhao bears no deep grudge against Qin; it is merely that Zhao stands as the pivotal hub of the realm, and so Qin must seize it. I have heard: when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold. If Zhao falls, then Han, Wei, Qi, Yan, and Chu will all be imperiled. Therefore I beg to unite the six states in a vertical alliance to resist Qin." The King of Zhao approved, saying, "Well spoken." Thereupon he raised troops and joined with Han, Wei, Qi, Yan, and Chu to oppose Qin. When Qin learned of this, it dared not wage war against Zhao for several years.
💡 商战启示录
Feng Ting's strategy of vertical alliance is, in essence, a form of "ecosystem alliance" thinking, offering profound lessons for modern business. He perceived that Qin's ambition was to conquer its rivals one by one, not merely to target Zhao alone. Thus, he transformed the crisis of a single enterprise into a shared crisis across the entire industrial chain, thereby forging a defensive alliance. This mirrors how Alibaba, when contending with eBay in the e-commerce arena, united numerous small and medium-sized merchants, logistics providers, and payment partners to build the "Taobao ecosystem" rather than fighting alone. Similarly, when Huawei faced technological sanctions, it joined forces with domestic supply-chain enterprises to conduct joint R&D, devising "de-Americanized" alternatives that prevented adversaries from easily picking them off. In commercial warfare, when a core enterprise comes under assault from a giant, it should not merely focus on its own defense, but must identify stakeholders bound by the principle that "when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold," proactively initiating industry alliances, sharing resources, and establishing mutual-protection agreements. Feng Ting's success also lay in his ability to clearly articulate to his allies that the threat was "not to Zhao alone," which demands that modern business leaders possess a holistic vision and persuasive power—whether through industry forums, white papers, or private communications—to make partners perceive the common threat and thus galvanize collective action. Conversely, those who cling to short-term self-preservation and refuse collaboration may ultimately be devoured one by one by the giants. Therefore, the essence of the vertical-alliance wisdom is this: elevate competition to the ecosystem level, and use the collective strength of the alliance to offset the advantage of a single formidable foe.