Chen Zhen left Chu and arrived in Qin. Zhang Yi said to King Hui of Qin, "Chen Zhen, as a minister of Your Majesty, has often leaked the secrets of Qin to Chu. I cannot work alongside him, and I beg Your Majesty to banish him. If he returns to Chu, I hope Your Majesty will have him put to death." King Hui of Qin said, "How would Chen Zhen dare to go to Chu?" King Hui of Qin summoned Chen Zhen and told him, "I am willing to heed your words. Where do you wish to go? I shall prepare a carriage for you." Chen Zhen replied, "I am willing to go to Chu." King Hui of Qin said, "Zhang Yi believes you will go to Chu, and I too know you will go to Chu. If you do not go to Chu, where else could you go?" Chen Zhen said, "In leaving Qin, I shall deliberately go to Chu, so as to conform to the schemes of Your Majesty and Zhang Yi, and at the same time make clear whether I have colluded with Chu. There was a man of Chu who took two wives. Someone went to flirt with the elder, and the elder rebuked him; he flirted with the younger, and the younger consented. Before long, the husband of the two wives died. A guest said to the flatterer, 'Will you take the elder or the younger?' He said, 'I will take the elder.' The guest said, 'The elder rebuked you, and the younger consented to you; why do you take the elder?' He said, 'When she was another's, I wished her to consent to me; now that she is to be my wife, I wish her to rebuke others for my sake.' Now the King of Chu is a wise sovereign, and Zhao Yang is a worthy minister. If I, as a minister, had often leaked the secrets of Qin to Chu, the King of Chu would surely not retain me, and Zhao Yang would not work with me. Thus it would be made clear whether I have colluded with Chu." King Hui of Qin said, "Well said." Thereupon he treated Chen Zhen with kindness.
💡 商战启示录
Chen Zhen skillfully defended himself between Qin and Chu, with his core argument rooted in the parable of "the man with two wives," illustrating the value of loyalty: if one readily betrays a former master, a new master will likewise doubt that person's fidelity. In modern business, this reveals the delicate interplay between "job-hopping" and "non-compete agreements." For instance, when a tech executive jumped to a rival firm but faced legal action for carrying former company secrets, not only did the new company's reputation suffer, but the executive's personal professional credibility was also greatly diminished. Conversely, leaders like Ren Zhengfei of Huawei emphasize "customer-centricity and a foundation of strivers," underscoring employee loyalty to the enterprise, while companies such as Apple and Google also enforce non-compete clauses to prevent core talent from leaking confidential information. Chen Zhen's strategy lay in analyzing the stances of King Chu and Zhao Yang, demonstrating that had he truly betrayed Qin, the Chu side would not have trusted him either, thereby proving his innocence. This serves as a reminder to modern professional managers that when changing jobs or engaging in cross-enterprise collaboration, they should uphold professional ethics and refrain from disclosing former employers' secrets, for loyalty is a scarce quality in the business world that earns long-term trust. When recruiting, companies must also assess candidates' professional integrity to avoid trust crises stemming from "poaching," as seen in the case where a firm's stock price fell due to hiring a non-compliant individual. Thus, ancient wisdom admonishes us that the essence of commercial competition lies in building trust, and the foundation of trust is loyalty and integrity.