The King of Wei presented a beautiful woman to the King of Chu, who cherished her dearly. Lady Zheng Xiu, the King of Chu's consort, knew of her lord's affection for the new arrival and therefore feigned great fondness for her as well. She selected garments and trinkets that pleased the beauty and bestowed them upon her, and chose chambers and bedding that suited her fancy for her use, showing her even greater tenderness than the King himself. The King of Chu remarked, "Women serve their husbands with their beauty, yet jealousy is innate to their nature. Now Zheng Xiu, knowing how I dote on the newcomer, loves her more than I do—this is like a filial son serving his parents, or a loyal minister serving his sovereign." Zheng Xiu, perceiving that the King believed her free of envy, said to the beauty, "His Majesty admires your loveliness but dislikes your nose. Henceforth, whenever you meet the King, you must cover your nose." The beauty, taking this to heart, covered her nose each time she appeared before the King. The King of Chu asked Zheng Xiu, "Why does the newcomer always cover her nose in my presence?" Zheng Xiu replied, "I know the reason." The King said, "Even if the words be harsh, you must speak them plainly." Zheng Xiu answered, "She seems to abhor the odor of Your Majesty's person." The King flew into a rage, crying, "How insolent!" Thereupon he ordered the beauty's nose to be cut off, and no one dared to defy the command.
💡 商战启示录
Zheng Xiu's scheme stands as a classic ancient example of "praise to destroy" and "information manipulation." She first paralyzed her rival with excessive friendliness, lulling the newcomer into complacency, then used false information—"His Majesty detests your nose"—to steer the newcomer into behavior that invited misunderstanding, and finally, leveraging King Chu's trust, twisted the facts to deliver the fatal blow. In modern business competition, variants of this strategy are ubiquitous. For instance, when a startup launches an innovative product, an industry giant may openly express admiration or even propose collaboration, while covertly guiding the rival to invest resources in the wrong direction—"suggesting" they focus on a niche that appears promising but is in fact too narrow, or "leaking" inaccurate customer preference data that causes their product design to diverge from real demand. Meanwhile, the giant spreads remarks among senior executives and investors that "the team has solid technology but lacks market acumen," ultimately exploiting the information asymmetry to defeat the rival at critical moments of fundraising or bidding. An even more common scenario is the "Zheng Xiu-style" colleague in the workplace: outwardly helping you refine a plan, yet subtly steering you into mistakes that violate your superior's taboos, then "objectively" interpreting your actions before the boss. The core lesson in both business warfare and office politics is this: beware of overly enthusiastic "guidance," especially from competitors or parties with vested interests; cross-verify critical information rather than trusting a single source; and establish your own direct channel of trust with the "King," so that no third party can distort your image. True business wisdom lies not merely in seeing through conspiracies, but in building transparent, direct communication mechanisms that leave no room for rumor or misdirection to thrive.