Lord Wenxin Lü Buwei was banished from the state of Qin, and his retainer Sikong Ma fled to the state of Zhao, where the King of Zhao appointed him as acting prime minister. The state of Qin then dispatched troops to attack Zhao. Sikong Ma advised the King of Zhao, saying: "When Lord Wenxin served as prime minister of Qin, I served him as a secretary and became familiar with the affairs of Qin. Now Your Majesty has appointed me to a minor office, and I am also familiar with the affairs of Zhao. Allow me to analyze for Your Majesty the situation of a war between Qin and Zhao, and see which side holds the advantage. If Your Majesty follows my counsel, Qin will surely not attack Zhao." The King of Zhao said: "I am willing to hear it." Sikong Ma said: "If Your Majesty cedes half of Zhao's territory to Qin, Qin will obtain half of Zhao without battle and will surely be delighted. Qin, inwardly concerned about Zhao's defenses and outwardly fearful of rescue from the other feudal lords, will surely accept. Once Qin accepts the territory and withdraws its troops, Zhao will retain the other half of its land to preserve itself. Qin, enriched by the bribe, will grow powerful, and the states east of the mountains will surely be alarmed; the destruction of Zhao would endanger them, and the feudal lords will surely be fearful. Fear will lead them to rescue one another, and thus the Vertical Alliance can be achieved. I request to organize the Vertical Alliance for Your Majesty. If the alliance succeeds, then Your Majesty will nominally lose half of Zhao, but in reality will gain the states east of the mountains to oppose Qin, and Qin will no longer suffice to destroy Zhao." The King of Zhao said: "In former days, Qin sent troops to attack Zhao, and Zhao ceded the twelve cities of Hejian as a bribe to Qin. The territory was reduced and the army weakened, yet in the end Zhao could not escape the calamity wrought by Qin. Now to cede half of the realm again to strengthen Qin—my strength cannot sustain it, and I would surely perish with it. Better not to cede, and instead organize the Vertical Alliance. Qin will surely attack Zhao, and Zhao will surely be destroyed. Pray listen to my counsel—then Qin will surely not attack Zhao. If you do not listen, Qin will surely attack Zhao, Zhao will surely be destroyed, and Your Majesty will surely be captured." The King of Zhao did not heed him. Sikong Ma said: "For Your Majesty's sake, I think it better to bribe Qin with half of Zhao; Qin will surely be pleased, and Zhao can preserve itself. If you do not follow my advice, Zhao will surely be destroyed, and Your Majesty will surely be captured." The King of Zhao said: "I am willing to receive your instruction." Sikong Ma said: "I request to go to Qin on Your Majesty's behalf and persuade the King of Qin not to attack Zhao." The King of Zhao then sent him. Upon meeting the King of Qin, Sikong Ma advised: "The King of Zhao requests to bribe Qin with half of Zhao's territory, and I request to organize the Vertical Alliance for Your Majesty. If the alliance succeeds, then Qin will have no calamity from Zhao; if it does not succeed, then Qin will surely attack Zhao. If Zhao is destroyed, then Qin will surely be able to seize the empire. I request to consider for Your Majesty that it is better to first take Zhao. If Zhao is destroyed, then Yan, Wei, Han, and Chu can all be plotted against." The King of Qin said: "Excellent." Thereupon he dispatched troops to attack Zhao. In the end, the King of Zhao was captured.
💡 商战启示录
Sima Kong's strategy in the state of Zhao was, in essence, a game-theoretic approach of "retreating in order to advance." Its core lay in proactively conceding advantages to gain strategic breathing room, thereby forging alliances to counterbalance a formidable foe. This mirrors the "defensive contraction" strategy in modern business, where companies facing overwhelming competition from giants yield a portion of market share or resources to buy time, while uniting with other weaker players to form an ecosystem alliance. For instance, in the ride-hailing sector, Didi achieved a monopoly advantage by merging with Kuaidi and acquiring Uber China, whereas smaller platforms like Meituan Ride-Hailing chose to partner with aggregators such as Amap, trading "half the realm" for traffic access, avoiding head-on conflict and surviving instead in niche markets. Similarly, after being sanctioned, Huawei divested its Honor business—appearing to cede "half its realm"—yet in truth preserved its supply chain and brand value, reserving space for future resurgence. Sima Kong later defected to Qin and advised the Qin king to first destroy Zhao, underscoring the importance of "flowing with the tide"—business decisions must adapt dynamically to shifting circumstances, never clinging rigidly to a single strategy. The Zhao king, shortsighted in refusing to concede, ultimately saw his state ruined, serving as a warning to corporate leaders: in contests of vastly unequal strength, a stubborn refusal to yield may invite total collapse, whereas the wisdom of "conceding for time, allying for survival" often turns crisis into opportunity.