Gan Mao allied the states of Qin and Zhao to attack Chu. The King of Chu dispatched Jing Cui to lead troops in relief. Gan Mao said to the King of Chu, "Your Majesty should not engage the allied forces of Qin and Zhao in battle, for their armies are certain to withdraw." Jing Cui replied, "The allied forces of Qin and Zhao are elite and numerous; they cannot be fought." The King of Chu asked, "What then should be done?" Jing Cui answered, "Please augment our troops to strengthen our defense and solidify their alliance (thereby causing them to hesitate and retreat)." Thereupon the King of Chu reinforced his army. The allied forces of Qin and Zhao indeed withdrew.
💡 商战启示录
The core of this strategy lies in "subduing the enemy without fighting"—by displaying strength (reinforcing troops) rather than engaging in direct confrontation, one deters the opponent and compels them to retreat of their own accord. In modern commercial warfare, this resembles "strategic deterrence" or "competitive defense." For instance, when Huawei faced U.S. chip sanctions, it did not confront head-on but preemptively developed the "HarmonyOS" system and HiSilicon chips, creating technological contingencies that signaled to the market, "Even if supplies are cut off, we can stand on our own." This stabilized customer confidence and forced rivals to reassess the cost of blockade. Similarly, in the fiercely competitive e-commerce arena, Pinduoduo did not wage a direct price war against Alibaba or JD.com; instead, it established a low-price mindset through "subsidy of a hundred billion," while rapidly expanding its supply chain to build scale barriers, deterring competitors from rashly entering a war of attrition. The wisdom of Jing Cui lies in this: the display of strength does not equate to actual consumption, but rather, by increasing one's own leverage, it alters the opponent's calculus of expected returns. In business decision-making, enterprises should adeptly employ resource reserves, patent portfolios, and brand moats as means of "reinforcing troops," revealing their trump cards at critical junctures of negotiation or competition, thereby achieving strategic goals at minimal cost, rather than blindly plunging into wars of attrition.