During the campaign at Yiyang, Feng Zhang said to King Wu of Qin, "Has Your Majesty not heard of the affair of the ruler of Zhongshan? The ruler of Zhongshan, in his affections and preferences, was drawn not to Qin but to Zhao. Now, if Your Majesty entrusts the great affairs of state to Han, and Han, like Zhongshan, should deliver its benefits to Zhao, then Your Majesty would inevitably have to entrust those affairs to Zhao as well, and thus the altars of Qin would be imperiled. It would be better for Your Majesty to cede five cities to make peace with Han. Han will surely feel gratitude toward Your Majesty, and Zhao will not dare to disobey. If Zhao complies, Han will certainly not betray Qin, and the altars of Qin will be secure." King Wu of Qin said, "Well spoken." Thereupon he ceded five cities to make peace with Han.
💡 商战启示录
Feng Zhang's strategy exemplifies the profound foresight of ancient political strategists in diplomatic maneuvering, the core of which lies in proactively adjusting alliances through calculated concessions, thereby avoiding passive dependence on a single partner and consolidating one's own position. In modern commercial warfare, this parallels the diversified management of corporate supply chains. For instance, Apple once relied heavily on Samsung as its core component supplier; however, to avoid being held hostage, Apple proactively introduced multiple suppliers such as LG and BOE, while investing in self-developed chips—dispersing risk and enhancing bargaining power to ensure supply chain stability and security. When Feng Zhang advised the King of Qin to cede territory in pursuit of peace, the surface gesture was concession, but the underlying intent was to dismantle the latent threat of Korea defecting to Zhao, thereby reclaiming diplomatic initiative. This reminds modern enterprises that in critical partnerships, one must not entrust their fate entirely to a single party; instead, through strategic investment or benefit-sharing, they should construct a multilateral, mutually beneficial ecosystem. Moreover, such concession is not passive compromise but a retreat to advance—exchanging short-term costs for long-term strategic security, much like a company ceding partial profits to channel partners to enter a new market. In sum, Feng Zhang's wisdom lies in anticipating risks, proactively positioning, and resolving potentially greater crises through controllable costs—this is precisely the essence of risk management and resource integration in modern business strategy.