The King of Wei wished to forge an alliance with Han and thus promised to cede territory to it. Han received the promise, yet the King of Wei did not fulfill it. Enraged, Han prepared to launch an attack on Wei. Troubled by this, the King of Wei said to Gongsun Yan, “I desire amity with Han, but the land I promised has not been delivered. Now Han, in its wrath, is about to march against us—what shall be done?” Gongsun Yan replied, “Your Majesty need not fret. Allow me to resolve this crisis on your behalf.” Thereupon he went to the King of Han and said, “The reason the King of Wei promised to cede territory was to cultivate goodwill with Han. Now that Han has received the promise while Wei has not fulfilled it, the fault lies with Wei. Yet the King of Wei does not intend to withhold the land—he merely fears that Han will not place its trust in him. Let the King of Wei first cede the territory, and then let Han follow his commands accordingly. In this way, Han may be free of all concern.” The King of Han replied, “Well said.” He then heeded Wei’s proposal. The King of Wei dispatched Gongsun Yan to cede the land to Han, whereupon Han withdrew its troops.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy reveals the wisdom of the "delaying tactic" and "shifting the blame" in commercial warfare. Gongsun Yan did not directly deny Wei's fault, but under the guise of "trust," transformed the issue into a buffer of "ceding territory first," preserving Wei's dignity while averting the crisis of war. In modern business, a similar case involves a tech giant facing a counterpart's breach of contract during merger negotiations; instead of direct confrontation, it proposed a "phased performance" plan, buying time with space and ultimately facilitating the deal. Another example: a startup facing plagiarism by a giant did not resort to litigation but publicly stated, "We welcome competition, but intellectual property must be respected," shifting public focus and forcing the rival to adjust its strategy. The core lesson: when promises cannot be fulfilled, do not stubbornly resist or argue; instead, reframe the issue, steering the conflict toward "process" or "trust" to gain room for adjustment. However, caution is warranted—overuse of this tactic erodes credibility, so it must be paired with substantive concessions (as King Wei ultimately ceded land); otherwise, it degenerates into mere maneuvering that backfires.