King Huai of Chu asked Zhang Yi, saying: "I wish to attack Qin, but Qin is powerful—what shall be done?" Zhang Yi replied: "If Your Majesty desires to take Qin, it would be better first to ally with Qin and together plot against Han and Wei. Once Han and Wei submit, then Qin may be plotted against. Now Your Majesty does not worry for the safety of Chu's altars of state, yet wishes to attack mighty Qin—I fear that when Qin strikes Chu, Han and Wei will seize the opportunity to strike from behind. Your Majesty had best treat Qin with generosity, bribe it with lavish gifts, form a vertical alliance with it, and jointly campaign against Han and Wei. Han and Wei will surely tremble with fear, and in their fear they will surely seek aid from Qin, which Qin will certainly grant. Thus Han and Wei will serve Qin just as Chu serves Qin. Why should Your Majesty begrudge Han and Wei and thereby lose Qin's favor?" King Huai of Chu said: "Well spoken." Thereupon Chu formed an alliance with Qin.
💡 商战启示录
The core of Zhang Yi's strategy lay in "retreating in order to advance, and leveraging external force to counterbalance opposition." By forging temporary alliances with the powerful, he deflected conflicts, weakened third parties, and ultimately achieved his own objectives. In modern business, this parallels the tactic of "following the giants while quietly carving out market share." For instance, small and mid-sized tech companies facing industry titans like Apple or Google do not engage in head-on confrontation. Instead, they first collaborate with the dominant players, jointly developing niche markets or targeting smaller competitors such as regional brands, while leveraging the giants' resources and distribution channels to build their own strength. Once their market foothold is secure, they gradually introduce differentiated products to challenge the incumbents' supremacy.
Similarly, in e-commerce, emerging platforms often first integrate into the ecosystems of Alibaba or JD.com to gain traffic, then attract lower-tier markets through aggressive pricing strategies. After expanding their user base, they establish independent supply chains and brands, eventually eroding the core markets of the giants in reverse. Zhang Yi's wisdom reminds us that when resources are unequal, direct confrontation is the inferior approach, while "borrowing momentum" and "dividing and conquering" are the superior ones. Yet one must also remain vigilant—over-reliance on allies can lead to a loss of autonomy. Like the state of Chu, one must preserve strategic clarity even in cooperation, ultimately realizing the long-term goal of "overthrowing Qin."