apply-ally-far-attack-near

Apply Ally Far, Attack Near

When expanding against multiple competitors sequentially, first identify which distant actors could intervene to rescue your immediate targets; form alliances with those distant actors to neutralise the rescue option; then attack near targets in sequence, closest first — because attacking without neutralising the rescue option allows any target to hold out until reinforced, and attacking distant targets while near threats remain creates a two-front vulnerability that your opponents can exploit.

Why This Is Best Practice

Origin: In approximately 266 BC, Fan Sui (范雎) was appointed as a minister to King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭王). Qin had been pursuing an expansionist strategy but with limited systematic doctrine: attacking sometimes near, sometimes far, creating tactical victories without strategic accumulation. Fan Sui submitted a memorial to the king that identified the critical error: Qin had been attacking states far away (Qi, for example) while leaving the near states of Han and Wei intact. Any distant conquest was impossible to hold because Han and Wei were still strong enough to threaten Qin's flanks and disrupt supply lines to distant occupied territory. Fan Sui's doctrine: 远交近攻 — form distant alliances, attack near targets. His specific proposal: ally with Qi (distant, no direct territorial conflict with Qin) and attack Han and Wei (near, directly threatening Qin's expansion corridor). The logic was geometric: near states threaten your flanks and can interdict supply to distant occupied territory; distant states cannot be threatened by you (no direct territorial pressure) but can rescue near states if those near states are under attack. Eliminate the near threats first, with the distant alliance in place to prevent rescue. Then renegotiate the distant alliance from a position of increased strength.

Qin adopted this doctrine and executed it systematically over the following decades. By 221 BC — approximately 45 years after Fan Sui's memorial — Qin had unified all of China, eliminating each near state in sequence while managing alliances with more distant ones. The doctrine was not the only factor, but the systematic near-to-far sequencing was a consistent feature of Qin's conquest strategy.