Zhang Yi said to King Huai of Chu, "If Your Majesty could truly follow my counsel, close the border passes, and sever the alliance with Qi, I would be willing to offer the six hundred li of the Shangyu region, and let maidens of Qin become your concubines, so that Qin and Chu may exchange marriage ties and remain brother states forever. This would weaken Qi in the north and strengthen Qin in the west—no plan could be more advantageous than this." King Huai of Chu was greatly delighted and agreed to Zhang Yi. All his ministers came to congratulate him, but only Chen Zhen expressed mourning. The King said angrily, "I have obtained six hundred li of land without spending a single soldier or weapon—why do you mourn?" Chen Zhen replied, "It is not so. As I see it, not only will the Shangyu land not be obtained, but Qi and Qin will unite, and if Qi and Qin unite, disaster will surely descend upon us." The King asked, "What reasoning is there for this?" Chen Zhen said, "The reason Qin values Chu is because Chu has Qi as its ally. Now if we close the border passes and break with Qi, Chu will stand isolated. How could Qin covet an isolated state and gift it six hundred li of land for nothing? When Zhang Yi returns to Qin, he will surely betray Your Majesty. Thus Chu will have broken with Qi in the north and bred calamity with Qin in the west—the schemes of both states will arrive at once. Your Majesty had best secretly maintain ties with Qi while feigning a break outwardly, and send a man to follow Zhang Yi to Qin. If Qin grants us the land, then we may break with Qi without delay; if it does not, we may secretly ally with Qi and confront Qin together." The King did not heed this, and sent Qu Gai westward to Qin to receive the land. After Zhang Yi returned to Qin, he feigned drunkenness, fell from his carriage, and claimed illness, refusing to attend court. Three months passed, and still the land was not obtained. The King of Chu said, "Does Zhang Yi think my break with Qi is not yet thorough enough?" So he sent a warrior named Song Yi to Qi to revile the King of Qi. The King of Qi flew into a rage, and humbled himself to curry favor with Qin. Once Qi and Qin were on friendly terms, Zhang Yi finally appeared at court and said to the Chu envoy, "I have a fief of six li, which I wish to present to your King." When the Chu envoy returned and reported this, the King of Chu flew into a rage and wished to raise an army to attack Qin. Chen Zhen said, "May I now speak?" The King said, "You may." Chen Zhen said, "Attacking Qin is not a good plan. Your Majesty had best bribe Qin with a renowned city, ally with Qin to attack Qi, and thus recover from Qi what we have lost to Qin." The King did not listen, and so raised an army to attack Qin. Qin and Qi joined forces, and Chu suffered a great defeat.
💡 商战启示录
Zhang Yi, using the "six hundred li of Shangyu" as bait, executed a strategy of "bluff and divide," the core of which lay in exploiting King Huai of Chu's greed and shortsightedness to drive a wedge between Chu and Qi, thereby isolating Chu. In modern commercial warfare, similar cases abound. For instance, a tech giant, when vying for market share, often dangles "strategic partnerships" or "exclusive licensing" as bait to induce rivals' allies to defect, thereby dismantling their ecosystem alliances. King Huai of Chu, lured by immediate gains, credulously trusted Zhang Yi and ignored Chen Zhen's far-sighted counsel of "vertical alliance against Qin," ultimately losing both territory and dignity. This serves as a warning to corporate leaders: when confronted with seemingly alluring partnership terms, one must prudently assess the counterpart's credibility and strategic intent, lest short-term benefits undermine long-term strategic alliances. Chen Zhen's proposal to "cede famed cities to Qin and ally with Qi to attack Qin" embodies the wisdom of "loss transfer and interest compensation," akin to modern enterprises making "strategic concessions" to secure greater market opportunities, or leveraging competitors' conflicts to maximize their own gains. King Huai of Chu's eventual downfall, precipitated by emotionally driven decisions, likewise reminds managers to avoid irrational choices born of anger or avarice. True masters of commercial warfare can, like Zhang Yi, "subdue the enemy without fighting," and, like Chen Zhen, "discern opportunity within crisis," maintaining clarity and flexibility throughout the game.