When Qin attacked the city of Yiyang in Han, King Huai of Chu said to Chen Zhen, "I have heard that Han Chi is a man of eloquence, well-versed in the affairs of the feudal lords. Surely he can keep Yiyang from falling. Since he is certain to avert disaster, I wish to take Yiyang first and thereby bestow a favor upon him." Chen Zhen replied, "Abandon this plan, Your Majesty—do not seize Yiyang. With all Han Chi's cunning, he will still find himself trapped in this matter. Among the beasts of mountain and marsh, none is more wily than the elk. The elk knows that the hunter spreads his net and drives it forward from the front, so it turns and flees, charging at the hunter—and this it does time and again. The hunter, knowing its craftiness, feigns raising the net and advances, and thus the elk is caught. Now the feudal lords clearly know that Han Chi is full of deceit, and many will feign raising the net and press forward. Abandon this plan, Your Majesty—do not seize Yiyang. With all Han Chi's cunning, he will still find himself trapped in this matter." King Huai heeded Chen Zhen's words, and indeed Yiyang fell to Qin. Chen Zhen had foreseen this all along.
💡 商战启示录
Chen Zhen's counsel reveals the core wisdom of "seeing through an opponent's bluff" in commercial warfare. Though Han Chi was renowned for his cunning, his strategy resembled the elk's "turning back to charge at the hunter"—effective perhaps at first, but once seen through, it loses all power. In modern business, such cases abound: a tech startup, seeking to inflate its valuation, deliberately claimed to have secured partnership intentions from several industry giants, fabricating an illusion of competitive interest. During the first round of financing, this tactic did attract some investors to raise their bids; but by the second round, investors had seen through the "bluff" through industry connections and collectively drove down the price, halving the company's valuation. Conversely, in the 5G standards negotiations, Huawei refrained from bluster, instead wielding its solid patent portfolio and genuine technological strength as leverage, ultimately winning its voice in the discourse. Chen Zhen's strategy reminds entrepreneurs: in negotiations or competition, one must keenly discern an opponent's "feigned maneuvers"—such as false deadlines, exaggerated claims of rival interest, or inflated production capacity. At the same time, one should avoid over-reliance on "deceptive" tactics, for once commercial credibility is damaged, like the elk once exposed, one falls into the passive plight of being "trapped in this predicament." The true wisdom of commercial warfare lies in "foreknowledge"—through information gathering and logical deduction, anticipating the opponent's next move, rather than blindly following trends or trusting surface postures.