When the King of Qin summoned Dun Ruo, Dun Ruo said, "My principle forbids me from performing the rite of prostration. If Your Majesty can permit me to omit this bow, I may appear before you; otherwise, I shall not meet you." The King of Qin consented to this. Thereupon Dunzi said, "There are those in the realm who possess substance yet lack renown, those who possess renown yet lack substance, and those who possess neither renown nor substance. Does Your Majesty know of this?" The King of Qin replied, "I do not." Dunzi said, "Those with substance but no renown are the merchants. They do not toil with plow and hoe, yet they hold the profit of stored grain—these are those with substance but no renown. Those with renown but no substance are the farmers. They break the frozen earth to sow, and with backs bared to the sun they weed, yet they have no stored grain—these are those with renown but no substance. Those with neither renown nor substance are none other than Your Majesty. You have been established as sovereign of a great state of ten thousand chariots, yet you lack the fame of filial piety; you support your mother with lands a thousand li wide, yet you lack the reality of filial devotion." At this, the King of Qin flew into a rage. Dun Ruo said, "East of the mountains there are six contending states; Your Majesty's might cannot overshadow them, yet it casts its shadow upon your own mother—I privately deem this unworthy of Your Majesty." The King of Qin said, "Can the states east of the mountains be annexed?" Dunzi said, "Han is the throat of the realm; Wei is its chest and belly. If Your Majesty grants me ten thousand gold pieces to go forth and persuade, I shall proceed to Han and Wei, causing their ministers of state to enter Qin—then Han and Wei will submit, and thus the whole realm may be strategized." The King of Qin said, "My state is poor; I fear I cannot furnish ten thousand gold pieces." Dunzi said, "The realm has never known peace; it is either vertical alliances or horizontal ones. If the horizontal succeeds, then Qin becomes emperor; if the vertical succeeds, then Chu becomes king. If Qin becomes emperor, then the riches of all under heaven shall be offered in reverence; if Chu becomes king, then even should Your Majesty possess ten thousand gold pieces, you could not hold them as your own." The King of Qin said, "Well spoken." He then furnished the gold and sent Dunzi eastward to roam through Han and Wei, causing their generals and ministers to submit to Qin. He then journeyed north to Yan and Zhao, and through his efforts Li Mu was slain. The King of Qi came to court, and the four states all yielded—this was the achievement of Dunzi's persuasion.
💡 商战启示录
Dun Ruo awakened the King of Qin with the concepts of "having substance without name" and "having name without substance," revealing that enterprises in commercial warfare must value actual worth over empty reputation. For instance, some emerging brands excessively pursue marketing buzz while neglecting product quality, ultimately vanishing like a flash in the pan. In contrast, companies like Huawei, which remained obscure in their early days while focusing on technological research and development, accumulated core competitiveness in a posture of "substance without name," eventually earning global acclaim and market share. Dun Ruo also emphasized "investing in critical junctures"—he likened Han and Wei to the throat and chest, advising concentrated resources to seize strategically vital territories. In modern business, enterprises should likewise identify high-value segments within the industrial chain, as Apple does by focusing on chip design and ecosystem rather than manufacturing the entire chain, leveraging a few key investments to command vast markets. Furthermore, Dun Ruo's assertion that "if the horizontal alliance prevails, Qin becomes emperor; if the vertical alliance prevails, Chu becomes king" reminds enterprises that they must clearly define their stance and path within a competitive landscape—either building an alliance ecosystem (like the Android camp) or forming an exclusive moat (like Apple's iOS)—for vacillation will scatter resources. Finally, Dun Ruo's expenditure of ten thousand gold on persuasion was, in essence, an investment in talent and intelligence; modern enterprises must likewise be willing to spend on consulting and market research, leveraging informational advantage to formulate strategy, so that "all four states submit," and they may dominate the industry landscape.