Sun Tzu said: "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame." Thereupon Sun Tzu said, "The King loves only words, and cannot translate them into deeds."
WAGING WAR
Again, if the campaign goes on for a long time, the state's resources will not be able to withstand the pressure. Poverty in the treasury allows an army to be sustained by contributions at a distance.
ATTACK BY STRATAGEM
Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying, "It is the function of the sovereign to give broad instructions, but to decide the battle is the function of the general." It is unnecessary to dwell on the military disasters that have been caused by unnecessary interference in field operations by the local government.
TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
Literally, "he hides under the ninth earth," which is a metaphor indicating the greatest secrecy and concealment, so that the enemy does not know his location."] On the other hand, Tu Mu says, "The issue of the relative power that has If resolved, we can bring into play the various sources of cunning." Ho Shih subdues this interpretation, but weakens it.
ENERGY
If the enemy perceives a movement intended to be CH`I," it immediately becomes CHENG."]. If so, the places I will hold are precisely those that the enemy cannot attack.”].
MANEUVERING
Here's how Ts`ao Kung explains it: "Make it look like you're far away, then cover the distance quickly and arrive on stage before your opponent." The simile is doubly appropriate because the wind is not only swift but, as Mei Yao-ch points out, "invisible and leaves no trace."]. Ch`en Hao says "quarter your soldiers in the countryside and let them sow and plant it." It is by acting on this principle and reaping the lands they invaded that the Chinese have succeeded in carrying out some of their most memorable and triumphant expeditions, such as Pan Ch`ao's, who penetrated the Caspian Sea, and in more recent times . year, Fu-k`ang-an and Tso Tsung-t`ang.].
Chang Yu says: "If sight and hearing are united at the same time on the same object, the development of as many as a million soldiers will be like the development of a single man."!]. Chuang Yu quotes the saying, "Those who advance against orders and those who retreat against orders are equally guilty." Tu Mu tells a story related to this about Wu Ch`i when he fought against the Ch`in state. In this way they can be robbed of their lively spirit." Li Ch`uan and others relate an anecdote (found in TSO CHUAN, year 10, ss. 1) of Ts`ao Kuei, a protégé of Duke Chuang of Lu.
The latter state was attacked by Ch`i, and the duke was about to join Ch`ang-cho after the first roll of the enemy's drums, when Ts`ao said, "Not yet." Only after their drums beat for the third time did he give the word for attack. This is the quality that enables him to discipline disorder and to inspire courage in the panic-stricken." The great general Li Ching (A.D.) has a saying: "Attack consists not only in attacking walled cities or striking on an army in battle array; it must include the art of attacking the enemy's mental equilibrium."]. 34;Invincible is the soldier who has his desire and turns home." A wonderful story is told of Ts`ao Ts`ao's courage and resource in ch.
VARIATION IN TACTICS
34;make them forget PIEN (reasons for acting otherwise than their first impulse) and rush in our direction."]. Once we can bring his force into battle, she is doomed to be our prey. ". Mei Yao-ch`en truly observes, though somewhat paradoxically: "The pursuit of glory must be careless of public opinion."].
34;openings of the valley." Chang Yu relates the following anecdote: Wu-tu Ch`iang was a robber captain in the time of the Later Han, and Ma Yuan was sent to exterminate his gang. Chang Yu has the note: "Said either of troops who was placed on the river bank, or about boats anchored in the stream itself; in both cases it is essential to be higher than the enemy and facing the sun." The other commentators are not at all explicit.]. Defined as "low-lying places so heavy with mud that they are impassable for chariots and horsemen. "].
If a scout sees the trees in the forest moving and shaking, he may know that they are being felled to clear a passage for the enemy's march."]. 34; Their object is to make us contemptible and careless, after which they will attack us." The result of the battle was the definitive return of about seventy cities belonging to the Ch`i state."].
TERRAIN
34; not to allow the enemy to interrupt your communication." In light of Napoleon's dictum, "the secret of war lies in communication," we wish Sun Tzu had done more than skirt the edges of this important subject here . Tu. Mu says, "Each side finds it inconvenient to move, and the situation remains at a stalemate."] Tu Yu says, "turning their backs on us and pretending to flee." But this is only one of the lures that can induce us to leave our position.].
Because then, as Tu Yu notes, "the initiative will be ours, and with sudden and unexpected attacks, we will be at the mercy of the enemy."]. Ts`ao Kung says: "The special advantage of securing heights and defiles is that your actions cannot then be dictated by the enemy." Chang Yu relates the following anecdote about P`ei Hsing-chien (A.D.), who was sent on a punitive expedition against the Turkish tribes. Ts`ao Kung says: "The officers are energetic and want to go on, the common soldiers are weak and suddenly fail."] .
3: "the most fatal defect in a military leader is difference; the worst accidents that befall an army arise from hesitation."]. 34;When fighting is to be done, the keenest spirits should be appointed to serve in the front ranks, both to strengthen the resolve of our own men and to demoralize the enemy."]. Ch`en Hao says: "The advantages of weather and season are not the same as those associated with earth.”].
THE NINE SITUATIONS
If you are asked how to deal with a large army of the enemy in orderly array and about to march to the attack, I should say, "Begin by seizing something that is dear to your opponent; then he will be receptive to your will." . Chang Yu says, "If they find themselves in an uncomfortable place together, they will certainly use their united strength to get out."]. The word in Chinese is 'snivel'. This is taken as more sincere sorrow than tears alone.].
Because of this passage, the term is now used in Chinese to mean 'military maneuvers']. From then on, Pan Ch'ao's prestige completely overwhelmed the countries of the west. his army to deceive the enemy.] 34;(1) the desertion of our own troops; (2) a sudden attack by the enemy." Mei Yao-ch'en says: "During the march, the regiments must be in close contact; in an encampment there must be continuity between the fortifications."].
Meng Shih says, "To make it appear as if I intended to defend the position, whereas my real intention is to suddenly break through the enemy's lines." But if (as will be the case) our display of military power is half inferior to that of the enemy, the other chiefs will be alarmed and refuse to join us."] Tu Mu says: "Follow the tactics of the enemy until a favorable opportunity presents itself; then come forward and engage in a battle that will prove decisive.”].
THE ATTACK BY FIRE
Then, taking the king's sons as hostages, he returned to make his report to Tou Ku. immersed in a brazier, and then I shoot them from powerful bows into the enemy's lines."]. Tu Mu suggests as material for making fire: "dry plant material, reeds, brushwood, straw, fat, oil, etc."
If you start the fire on the east side, and then attack from the west, you will suffer in the same way as your enemy."]. This is what happens as a general rule." The phenomenon observed may be correct enough, but how this sense is to be obtained is not clear.]. If an army is encamped in wild marshes thickly overgrown with weeds and brambles, and visited by frequent gales, it may be exterminated by fire."].
34;Rewards for good service should not be delayed a single day." And Tu Mu: "If you do not take the opportunity to go ahead and reward the. What they must not do, and what will be fatal, is to sit still and simply cling to the benefits they have received."]. If faith fails, there will be disruption; if rewards are deficient, commands will not be respected." ].
THE USE OF SPIES
This idea that the true purpose of war is peace has its roots in the national temperament of the Chinese. Military prowess is seen in the suppression of brutality, the deployment of weapons, the preservation of the. This is called "divine manipulation of the threads". It is the sovereign's most precious asset.
To have CONVERTED Spies, to get hold of the enemy's spies and use them for our own ends. Lien P`o regards them as an easy opponent, who will surely be defeated in the long run." Now this Chao Kua was a son of the famous Chao She. These are the ordinary class of spies, properly so called, who ' a regular part of the army.
Without subtle ingenuity of mind one cannot be sure of the truth of their reports. Mei Yao-ch`en says: "Be on your guard against the possibility of spies going over to the service of the enemy."]. The aim and purpose of espionage in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived from the converted spy in the first instance.
