King Huai of Chu imprisoned Zhang Yi and intended to put him to death. To save Zhang Yi, Jin Shang said to King Huai, "If you imprison Zhang Yi, the King of Qin will surely fly into a rage. When the other feudal lords see that Chu has lost Qin's support, they will surely hold Your Majesty in contempt." Jin Shang then said to Zheng Xiu, the king's favored consort, "The King of Qin dotes on Zhang Yi exceedingly, yet our king seeks to kill him. Now the King of Qin plans to bribe Chu with six districts of Shangyong, present beautiful women to the King of Chu, and select skilled maidens from the palace as dowry attendants. If the King of Chu values territory and respects Qin, then Qin's beauties will surely gain his favor, and you will be neglected. It would be better for you to persuade the king to release Zhang Yi." Zheng Xiu thereupon promptly urged King Huai to set Zhang Yi free.
💡 商战启示录
Jin Shang's lobbying strategy exemplifies the classic "chain of interests" approach to public relations. Rather than pleading directly for Zhang Yi, he astutely identified the core vulnerabilities of King Huai of Chu and Zheng Xiu: the king's covetousness for territory and fear of Qin, and Zheng Xiu's anxiety over losing favor. In modern commercial warfare, this resembles resolving a crisis by influencing key figures within the decision-making chain. For instance, when a multinational corporation faces government penalties over product issues, its PR team might refrain from confronting regulators directly. Instead, they could channel through industry associations to convey macro-level risks—such as "penalties will drive away foreign investment and cause job losses"—while simultaneously offering collaborative opportunities to relatives of pivotal regulatory figures, thereby turning the tide. This teaches us that in resolving business conflicts, one should identify the other party's deeper interest structure rather than fixate on surface-level positions. Moreover, one should leverage "third parties" or "indirect influence" to transmit messages, for direct lobbying often triggers defensiveness, whereas relayed communication through interested stakeholders carries greater persuasive weight. However, it must be noted that such strategies must operate within the bounds of legality and compliance; otherwise, they devolve into commercial bribery, inviting even greater risks.