Zhang Yi, in order to break the Vertical Alliance and promote the Horizontal Alliance for the state of Qin, lobbied King Huai of Chu, saying: “Qin holds half of the world’s territory, and its military strength is sufficient to withstand the feudal lords on all four sides. It is backed by lofty mountains, encircled by the Yellow River, and guarded on all sides by perilous passes and formidable barriers. Its valiant warriors number over a million, its war chariots a thousand, its cavalry ten thousand, and its grain stores are piled high as mountains. Its laws and decrees are strict and clear, its soldiers do not shrink from hardship and are glad to lay down their lives, its sovereign is majestic and resolute, and its generals are wise and courageous. Even without dispatching its armies, it could sweep across the natural fastness of Mount Chang and snap the spine of the world; any state that submits late to it shall surely be the first to perish. Moreover, those who contrive the Vertical Alliance are no different from driving a flock of sheep to attack a fierce tiger. Between the tiger and the sheep, the disparity in strength is self-evident. Now, Your Majesty does not befriend the tiger (Qin) but instead befriends the flock of sheep (the allied states)—I privately believe Your Majesty’s strategy is mistaken. Among the great powers of the world today, if it is not Qin, then it is Chu; if it is not Chu, then it is Qin. The two states contend for supremacy and cannot coexist. If Your Majesty does not forge amity with Qin, Qin will send forth its troops to seize Yiyang, and the Shangdang region of Han will become impassable; then, taking Hedong and Chenggao, Han will surely come to offer its submission, and Wei will follow suit, swaying with the wind. Qin will attack Chu’s western borders, while Han and Wei strike from the north—how could the state not be imperiled? Moreover, the Vertical Alliance is the gathering of weak states to attack the mightiest of all. To attack the strong with the weak, to wage war rashly without measuring the enemy, and to exhaust the state’s resources while frequently engaging in conflict—this is the path to self-destruction. I have heard that if one’s military strength is inferior to the enemy’s, one should not issue a challenge; if one’s grain reserves are inferior, one should not prolong the war. Those who advocate the Vertical Alliance speak with glib tongues, exaggerating the virtues and integrity of rulers, telling only of benefits and never of harms. Once the calamity of Qin descends, it will be too late to respond. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will deliberate carefully. If Qin sends troops to occupy Yiyang and severs Han’s Shangdang, and to the east takes Chenggao and Xingyang, then the palaces of Hongtai and the gardens of Sanglin will no longer belong to Your Majesty. If Chenggao is blocked and Shangdang severed, then Chu will be split apart. To serve Qin first is to be safe; to refuse to serve Qin is to be endangered. Qin is a state of tigers and wolves, harboring ambitions to swallow the world. If Qin unifies the world, Chu will suffer catastrophe. Qin’s desire to annex the world is like Chu’s desire to annex the world. Why does Your Majesty not serve Qin, so as to bring peace to Chu and strengthen the bond between Qin and Chu? I beg to have Qin present jade and silk, to forge a bond of brotherhood with Chu, and to ensure that neither shall ever attack the other. I believe there is no better plan than this.” King Huai of Chu said: “Excellent. I am willing to offer my state in service to Qin.”
💡 商战启示录
The core of Zhang Yi's strategy lies in "intimidation-based negotiation" and "binding of interests," offering profound lessons for modern commercial warfare. He first leveraged Qin's absolute dominance—market share and technological barriers—to create a sense of pressure, then exposed the fragility of the Vertical Alliance (the rival coalition), much like small enterprises uniting against an industry titan, often doomed by dispersed resources and internal strife. In the 1990s, for instance, Microsoft faced alliances such as Netscape; by bundling Internet Explorer—akin to Qin's "severing of territory"—it swiftly dismantled the rival ecosystem, forcing submission or retreat. Zhang Yi's assertion that "those who serve Qin first find safety; those who do not court peril" mirrors the corporate strategy of "choosing sides": when an industry giant extends a merger or partnership offer, weaker firms that decline may face channel blockades or technology cutoffs, as seen in Google's mandatory clauses for Android partners. Meanwhile, Zhang Yi cloaked subjugation in the promise of "brotherly states"—in essence, a vassal relationship—much like conglomerates absorbing startups under the guise of "strategic collaboration." King Huai of Chu ultimately "pledged his realm to serve Qin," a cautionary tale for modern decision-makers: when confronted by a formidable adversary's coercion and seduction, a lack of independent strategy and bargaining leverage renders one vulnerable to being harvested by such "Vertical Alliance" tactics. Conversely, enterprises should emulate the later Qu Yuan faction—persisting in independent innovation or forging genuinely robust alliances—rather than allowing rhetoric to erode their resolve.