Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi debated before King Hui of Qin. Sima Cuo advocated attacking the Kingdom of Shu, while Zhang Yi said, "It would be better to attack the Kingdom of Han." King Hui of Qin said, "Pray let me hear your reasoning." Zhang Yi replied, "Let us first cultivate close ties with Wei and Chu, then dispatch troops through the Three Rivers, seal the vital passes at Huanyuan and Goushi, block the thoroughfare at Tunliu, have Wei sever the route to Nanyang, and Chu press upon Nanzheng. Qin shall attack Xincheng and Yiyang, advancing straight to the outskirts of the Eastern and Western Zhou, denouncing the crimes of the Zhou king, and encroaching upon the lands of Chu and Wei. The Zhou king, knowing he cannot save himself, will surely surrender the Nine Tripods and his treasured vessels. Once we hold the Nine Tripods and command the maps and registers, we may wield the Son of Heaven as a puppet to issue decrees to all under heaven, and none will dare disobey—this is the enterprise of a true sovereign. Now Shu is a remote western state, a chieftain of the Rong and Di barbarians. To campaign against it would weary our soldiers and exhaust our people, yet yield no renown; to gain its territory would bring no profit. I have heard it said: 'For fame, one must go to the court; for profit, one must go to the market.' Now the Three Rivers and the Zhou court are the market and court of all under heaven, yet Your Majesty does not contend for them, but rather for the lands of the Rong and Di—this is far from the enterprise of a sovereign."
Sima Cuo said, "It is not so. I have heard: 'One who wishes his state to prosper must needs expand its territory; one who wishes his army to be strong must needs enrich his people; one who wishes to be a true king must needs spread his virtue abroad. When these three are achieved, the kingly enterprise follows of itself.' Now Your Majesty's territory is narrow and your people poor, so I wish to begin with what is easy. Shu is a remote western state, a chieftain of the Rong and Di, and it is plagued by turmoil like that of Jie and Zhou. To attack it with the armies of Qin is like driving wolves and jackals after a flock of sheep. To seize its land suffices to enlarge our borders; to gain its wealth suffices to enrich our people; to marshal our troops without harming our soldiers, and the enemy has already submitted. Thus, in conquering one state, the world will not deem us cruel; in reaping benefits across the west, the feudal lords will not call us greedy. In this single stroke, we attain both fame and substance, and bear the name of suppressing violence and rectifying disorder. Now to attack Han and seize the Son of Heaven—seizing the Son of Heaven is an ill name, and it may not bring profit, while burdening ourselves with unrighteousness and attacking what the world is unwilling to see—this is perilous! Pray let me explain the reason: Zhou is the ancestral house of all under heaven, and Qi and Han are its allies. When the Zhou king knows he will lose the Nine Tripods, and Han knows it will lose the Three Rivers, the two states will surely unite in counsel, relying on Qi and Zhao, and beseeching Chu and Wei for aid. If they give the Tripods to Chu and the lands to Wei, Your Majesty cannot prevent it. This is what I call 'perilous'—it is safer to attack Shu." King Hui of Qin said, "Excellent! I shall follow your counsel." In the end, he raised troops to attack Shu, and within ten months seized its territory, thereby pacifying the state. The ruler of Shu was reduced to the rank of marquis, and Chen Zhuang was appointed as its chancellor. After Shu was subjugated, Qin grew stronger and wealthier, and held the feudal lords in contempt.
💡 商战启示录
The dispute between Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi was, at its core, a clash of strategic paths: whether to pursue the high-risk, high-reward shortcut of "holding the Son of Heaven hostage," or to follow the steady, foundation-building route of "tangible gains." Zhang Yi advocated attacking Han to seize the "market center," intending to dominate swiftly by controlling discourse and the high ground—much like modern enterprises blindly chasing trending opportunities. In the bike-sharing wars, for instance, many companies burned cash to grab users while neglecting profit models, ultimately collapsing. Sima Cuo, by contrast, emphasized that "he who wishes to enrich his state must broaden his territory," arguing for first conquering Shu to acquire real resources, expand the realm, and strengthen national power before pursuing hegemony—akin to Huawei's early deep cultivation of telecommunications equipment, first accumulating technology and capital in domestic rural markets, then expanding overseas step by step. Sima Cuo's strategy embodied the business wisdom of "easy before difficult, reaping both reputation and substance": choosing a niche market with less competition and abundant resources (like Shu), establishing a base first to secure cash flow and scale advantages, while avoiding the universal wrath that "seizing the Son of Heaven" would provoke—corresponding to how enterprises must not cross legal or ethical red lines, lest they invite industry-wide siege. In modern business, Tesla first built its brand with high-end sports cars, then captured the market with mass-market models—a manifestation of "profit before prestige." Sima Cuo's principle of "conquering a state without the world deeming it tyranny" suggests that in mergers and acquisitions, enterprises should select targets perceived as "value troughs" by the market and frame them with the legitimate rationale of "integration and upgrading," thereby achieving both profit and honor. Ultimately, Qin grew strong through conquering Shu, demonstrating that when resources are limited, pragmatic accumulation is more sustainable than speculative risk-taking—this is the millennium-old echo of the "encircle the cities from the countryside" strategy in the arena of commerce.