The state of Qin attacked Zhao, and the King of Zhao appointed Zhao Sheng as general to engage the Qin army at Changping. Zhao Sheng was defeated, and the Qin forces routed the Zhao troops, with hundreds of thousands of Zhao soldiers slain. The King of Zhao, greatly alarmed, summoned Lou Huan to deliberate on a course of action. Lou Huan said, "I have heard that victory and defeat are common occurrences in the affairs of war; I pray Your Majesty not to be overly troubled. What Qin truly hastens to contend with are the states of Han and Wei, not Zhao. Now that the Qin army has already vanquished the Zhao forces, it will surely shift its troops to attack Han and Wei. The rulers of Han and Wei will inevitably be seized with fear and seek alliance with Qin. If Qin consents, then Zhao will be in peril. Your Majesty had best dispatch envoys bearing lavish gifts to forge ties with Han and Wei, while secretly guarding against Qin. Should Han and Wei obtain Zhao's support, they will not readily submit to Qin. If Qin attacks Han and Wei, Zhao may profit by striking when they are exhausted; if Qin abandons Han and Wei to concentrate on Zhao, then Han and Wei will surely assault Qin from the rear, and Qin cannot long endure. This is a plan of absolute security." The King of Zhao said, "Well spoken." Thereupon he sent Su Dai with a thousand catties of gold to persuade Han and Wei. Han and Wei indeed grew suspicious of Qin and ceased aiding Qin in its assault on Zhao. When Qin learned of this, it withdrew its forces.
💡 商战启示录
The essence of this strategy lies in "leveraging alliances to disperse a formidable adversary," which in modern business manifests as the "vertical and horizontal alliances" and "ecosystem maneuvering" of competitive strategy. When a company faces frontal suppression from an industry giant—akin to the defeat at Changping—head-on confrontation often exacts a heavy toll. The wiser approach is to identify the competitor's "flanking threats," namely other contenders in its core market. For instance, in the e-commerce arena, when Alibaba aggressively attacked JD.com's 3C product category, JD did not merely mount a defensive front. Instead, it chose to ally with Tencent, integrating WeChat's traffic gateway, while simultaneously investing in Vipshop and Pinduoduo, thereby forging an "anti-Alibaba alliance." This mirrors how the State of Zhao united with Han and Wei, compelling Qin (Alibaba) to fear multi-front warfare and disperse its resources, thus alleviating its own pressure. Similarly, when Huawei faced Cisco's intellectual property lawsuit, it did not simply litigate but established a joint venture with 3Com, introducing an American partner to instill caution in Cisco. Lou Huan's wisdom lies in not contending over transient gains or losses, but in reshaping the competitive landscape so that the opponent's "strength" becomes a "liability." Modern enterprises should learn to discern their rivals' "indispensable strongholds" and unite with their "potential threats," forming a strategic encirclement rather than resisting alone. This strategy also emphasizes the cultivation of "generous incentives" and "trust," corresponding in business to consolidating alliances through shared benefits—such as equity cooperation and channel synergy—so as to avoid betrayal driven by short-term interests. Ultimately, Qin's withdrawal and Zhao's deliverance from peril epitomize the triumph of this "subduing the enemy without battle" approach.