The queen of Chu had passed away, and no new queen had yet been installed. Someone advised the King of Chu, saying: "The queen has died, and no successor has been named, nor has the crown prince been confirmed—this is a peril to the state. If Your Majesty wishes to establish a queen, you must first confirm the crown prince, so as to secure the foundation of the kingdom." The King of Chu replied, "Well said." He then summoned the crown prince and installed him as heir.
Later, the favored consort Zheng Xiu, wishing to see her own son made crown prince, said to the King: "If Your Majesty desires to install a queen, I believe the crown prince should first be confirmed." The King answered, "Well said." Zheng Xiu then seized the opportunity to send a messenger to the crown prince, saying: "The King wishes to name a queen, but the succession remains unsettled. The King is angered, and I fear this bodes ill for you. Why not take the initiative and petition the King to install a queen?" The crown prince replied, "Well said."
The next day, the crown prince petitioned the King to install a queen. The King, greatly pleased, made Zheng Xiu his queen, and the crown prince was thereby secured in his position.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy exemplifies the art of "borrowing force to strike" and "riding the current" in power dynamics. Zheng Xiu did not directly contend for the queen's position; instead, by urging the Crown Prince to petition for the establishment of a queen, she simultaneously satisfied King Chu's intention to "first settle the succession," secured the queenship for herself, and reassured the Crown Prince—achieving a multi-party win. In modern business, similar strategies are often seen in internal promotions or resource contests. For instance, when two senior executives at a technology company vied for the CEO position, one did not directly attack his rival. Instead, he proactively championed the launch of a pivotal new project and recommended his opponent to lead it, thereby demonstrating his breadth of vision and collaborative spirit before the board. Meanwhile, he discreetly aligned the project with the company's core strategy. When the project ultimately succeeded, he was elevated to CEO for his "sense of the greater good" and strategic foresight, while his rival, though credited for the project's success, found himself so consumed by operational demands that his bid for the top post faded. In this case, the executive emulated Zheng Xiu, employing a "give first, take later" and "leverage the momentum" approach—stabilizing corporate interests while achieving personal goals, all while avoiding the risks of direct confrontation. The lesson is this: in business competition, sometimes "yielding one step" enables "advancing two." By supporting others or a shared objective, one can carve out greater space and legitimacy for oneself. The key lies in discerning the decision-maker's core needs (as King Chu required stability, and the company required growth) and deftly embedding one's own interests within them, forging a "you win, I win" dynamic rather than a zero-sum game.