The story of Zhuge Liang using the empty city strategy to scare Sima Yi away has become a household name in China, but most people just listen to it as a pastime. And the Japanese businessmen in our neighboring countries read something more from it, something that goes beyond the story, and that is superb business strategy.

A capable and successful entrepreneur, even if he does not have enough capital for a while, can maintain the confidence of entrepreneurship and use the strategy of attacking the heart to achieve the success of the business.

The early development of Japan's Akatama Wine Co., Ltd. depended on the successful application of this strategy. Shimai, the founder of "Akatama Wine", was only 20 years old when he started trading Akatama wine, and at that time the Japanese were very interested in drinking imported wine and were not interested in the wine made by the Japanese themselves. Unable to carry out large-scale advertising, Shinjiro Shimai, who had limited funds, used the "empty castle strategy" strategy to experiment with wine production in his own workshop, and then rode his bicycle to various hotels in the city every night to ask, "Is there any red jade wine here?" The answer, of course, was "no", and Shimai Shinjiro and his employees immediately said, "What a pity! Chiyu wine is of the best quality, and when you buy it, I'll come again! After working tirelessly day after day, the hotel finally inquired about Akatama wine, and Shijiro Shimai began to produce his own wine.

When there is no wine, the first wine advertisement is the beginning of Shijiro Shimai's "Empty Castle Plan". When the registration of the "Akadamama" wine trademark was completed, Shimai Shinjiro even made a series of advertising tricks, such as preparing 30 two-meter-long lanterns with the eye-catching "Akadamama" trademark printed on them, and hiring people wearing birthday uniforms to walk around with lanterns to play an advertising effect. Wherever there is a fire, there must be people carrying "Akadamama" lanterns at the scene to illuminate the firefighters, because people like to gather in the fire area to watch and discuss, and the "Akadamama" lanterns arrive, and the influence of "Akadamama" wine also expands. When the Akatama wine business was successful, Shinjiro Shimai used the same method to claim that he had successfully developed Japanese whisky, and sang about the "empty city plan" of Japanese whisky, and only put his own whisky on the market a year later. Shinjiro Shimai once said, "Every company has a process of growing up, and in the beginning, it always has to use the empty city strategy, which is the entrepreneurial spirit of the company." ”

When Japanese entrepreneur Ken Toioka studied "Empty City Plan and Kong Ming's Strategic Thought", he particularly emphasized that as a business strategy, the empty city plan is the most reasonable investment according to business needs. Zhuge Liang's main goal at that time was to retreat back to Hanzhong, and it would be enough to scare Sima Yi back to Jieting, so with 2,500 soldiers, the task could be completed. If he wants to defeat Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang will definitely bring more people to Xicheng, and he doesn't have to use the empty city strategy.

Ken Toioka concluded: "The empty castle plan is not a deception. ”

All small and medium-sized enterprises in the entrepreneurial stage may wish to use it boldly, and of course, do not forget the four words, that is, confidentiality and self-confidence.

Re-reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", we will find that Zhuge Liang announced his meticulous battle plan when he went to the city and saw the dust rushing to the sky, the Wei soldiers were killed in two ways towards Xicheng County, and all the officials under his subordinates were "all discolored": "Hide all the banners; All the armies are guarding the city, and if there is any reckless entry and exit, and those who speak loudly, they will be beheaded! Four gates were opened, and twenty soldiers were used to sweep the streets with twenty sergeants, disguised as civilians. If the Wei soldiers arrive, they must not move without permission, I have my own plan. "There are two keys to this plan, one is to have strict discipline and strict confidentiality. The so-called "reckless entry and exit and loud talking" are all sabotage of the strategic plan and must be "cut off." The second is to give his subordinates confidence in victory, that is, the so-called "I have my own plan". From this point of view, Zhuge Liang's empty city plan must first of all have his subordinates have confidence in their own careers, which is the most important condition for Sima Yi's plan. In addition, Zhuge Liang made it clear that the nature of the empty city plan was "attacking the heart first", so when Sima Yi's soldiers were in the city, they should "sit on the city tower, smile well, burn incense and play the piano", giving Sima Yi the illusion of setting a trap and waiting for the rabbit.

Here, Zhuge Liang's own self-confidence is crucial. Without it, not only would this empty city plan not be sung, but a "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" may also have to be rewritten. As a leader, do you want to be Zhuge Liang?