Speaker 1: The Art of War, Part two. This LibriVox recording is
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Chapter nine, The Army on the March.
Speaker 1: We come now to the question of encamping the army
Speaker 1: and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains,
Speaker 1: and keep in the neighborhood of valleys. Camp in high
Speaker 1: places facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order
Speaker 1: to fight. So much for mountain warfare. After crossing a river,
Speaker 1: you should get far away from it. When an invading
Speaker 1: force crosses a river in its onward march, do not
Speaker 1: advance to meet it in mid stream. It will be
Speaker 1: best to let half the army get across and then
Speaker 1: deliver your attack. If you are anxious to fight, you
Speaker 1: should not go to meet the invader near a river
Speaker 1: which he has to cross. More your craft higher up
Speaker 1: than the enemy, and facing the sun, do not move
Speaker 1: up stream to meet the enemy. So much for river warfare.
Speaker 1: In crossing salt marshes, your sole concern should be to
Speaker 1: get over them quickly without any delay. If forced to
Speaker 1: fight in a salt marsh, you should have water and
Speaker 1: grass near you, and get your back to a clump
Speaker 1: of trees. So much for operations in salt marshes. In
Speaker 1: dry level country, take up an easily accessible position with
Speaker 1: rising ground to your rights and on your rear, so
Speaker 1: that the danger may be in front and safety lie behind.
Speaker 1: So much for campaigning in flat country. These are the
Speaker 1: four useful branches of military knowledge which enabled the Yellow
Speaker 1: Emperor to vaguish four several sovereigns. All armies prefer high
Speaker 1: ground to low, and sunny places to dark. If you
Speaker 1: are careful of your men and camp on hard ground,
Speaker 1: the army will be free from disease of every kind,
Speaker 1: and this will spell victory. When you come to a
Speaker 1: hill or a occupy the sunny side with the slope
Speaker 1: on your right rear. Thus you will at once act
Speaker 1: for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural
Speaker 1: advantages of the ground. When, in consequence of heavy rains
Speaker 1: up country, a river which you wish to ford is
Speaker 1: swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until it subsides.
Speaker 1: Country in which there are precipitous cliffs with torrents running
Speaker 1: between deep natural hollows, confined places, tangled thickets, quagmires, and
Speaker 1: crevices should be left with all possible speed and not approached.
Speaker 1: While we keep away from such places, we should get
Speaker 1: the enemy to approach them. While we face them, we
Speaker 1: should let the enemy have them on his rear. If
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood of your camp there should be any
Speaker 1: hilly country, ponds surrounded by aquatic grass, hollow basins filled
Speaker 1: with reeds, or woods with thick undergrowth, they must be
Speaker 1: carefully routed out and searched for these. These are places
Speaker 1: where men in ambush or insidious spies are likely to
Speaker 1: be lurking. When the enemy is close at hand and
Speaker 1: remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of
Speaker 1: his position. When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke
Speaker 1: a battle, he is anxious for the other side to advance.
Speaker 1: If his place of encampment is easy of access, he
Speaker 1: is tendering a bait. Movement Amongst the trees of a
Speaker 1: forest shows that the enemy is advancing. The appearance of
Speaker 1: a number of screens in the midst of thick grass
Speaker 1: means that the enemy wants to make us suspicious. The
Speaker 1: rising of birds in their flight is the sign of
Speaker 1: an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.
Speaker 1: When there is dust rising in a high column, it
Speaker 1: is the sign of chariots advancing. When the dust is
Speaker 1: low but spread over a wide area, it betokens the
Speaker 1: approach of infantry. When it branches out in different directions,
Speaker 1: it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood.
Speaker 1: A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify
Speaker 1: that the army is encamping. Humble words and increased preparations
Speaker 1: are sides that the enemy is about to advance. Violent
Speaker 1: language and driving forward as if to attack are sides
Speaker 1: that he will retreat. When the light chariots come out
Speaker 1: first and take up a position on the wings, it
Speaker 1: is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle.
Speaker 1: Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.
Speaker 1: When there is much running about and the soldiers fall
Speaker 1: into rank, it means that the critical moment has come.
Speaker 1: When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is allure.
Speaker 1: When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are
Speaker 1: faint from want of food. If those who are sent
Speaker 1: to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is
Speaker 1: suffering from thirst. If the enemy sees an advantage to
Speaker 1: be gained and makes no effort to secure it, the
Speaker 1: soldiers are exhausted. If birds gather on any spot it
Speaker 1: is unoccupied clamor by night betokens nervousness. If there is
Speaker 1: disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. If
Speaker 1: the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot.
Speaker 1: If the officers are angry, it means that the men
Speaker 1: are weary. When an army feeds its horses with grain
Speaker 1: and kills its cattle for food, and when the men
Speaker 1: do not hang their cooking pots over the camp fires,
Speaker 1: showing that they will not return to their tents, you
Speaker 1: may know that they are determined to fight to the death.
Speaker 1: The sight of men whispering together in small knots or
Speaker 1: speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank
Speaker 1: and file. Two frequent rewards signify that the enemy is
Speaker 1: at the end of his resources. Too many punishments betray
Speaker 1: a condition of dire distress. To begin by bluster, but
Speaker 1: afterwards to take fright the enemy's numbers shows a supreme
Speaker 1: lack of intelligence. When envoys are set with compliments in
Speaker 1: their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes
Speaker 1: for a truce. If the enemy's troops march up angrily
Speaker 1: and remain facing ours for a long time without either
Speaker 1: joining battle or taking themselves off again. The situation is
Speaker 1: one that demands great vigilance and circumspection. If our troops
Speaker 1: are no more in number than the enemy that is
Speaker 1: amply sufficient, it only means that no direct attack can
Speaker 1: be made. What we can do is simply to concentrate
Speaker 1: all our available strength, keep a close watch on the enemy,
Speaker 1: and obtain reinforcements. He who exercises no forethoughts but makes
Speaker 1: light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.
Speaker 1: If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you,
Speaker 1: they will not prove submissive, and unless submissive, they will
Speaker 1: be practically useless. If when the soldiers have become attached
Speaker 1: to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless. Therefore,
Speaker 1: soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity,
Speaker 1: but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This
Speaker 1: is a certain road to victory. If in training soldiers
Speaker 1: commands are habitually enforced, the army will be well disciplined.
Speaker 1: If not, its discipline will be bad. If a general
Speaker 1: shows confidence in his men but always insists on his
Speaker 1: orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual. Chapter ten, terrain,
Speaker 1: we may distinguish six kinds of terrain to wit accessible ground,
Speaker 1: entangling ground, temporizing ground, narrow passes, precipitous heights, positions at
Speaker 1: a great distance from the enemy. Ground which can be
Speaker 1: freely traversed by both sides is called accessible. With regard
Speaker 1: to ground of this nature, be before the enemy, occupying
Speaker 1: the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your line
Speaker 1: of supplies. Then you will be able to fight with advantage.
Speaker 1: Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to reoccupy
Speaker 1: is called entangling. From a position of this sort, if
Speaker 1: the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him.
Speaker 1: But if the enemy is prepared for your coming and
Speaker 1: you fail to defeat him, then return being impossible. Disaster
Speaker 1: will ensue. When the position is such that neither side
Speaker 1: will gain by making the first move, it is called
Speaker 1: temporizing ground. In a position of this sort, even though
Speaker 1: the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will
Speaker 1: be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat,
Speaker 1: thus enticing the enemy in his turn. Then, when part
Speaker 1: of his army has come out, we may deliver our
Speaker 1: attack with advantage with regard to narrow passes, if you
Speaker 1: can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned, and
Speaker 1: await the advent of the enemy. Should the army forestall
Speaker 1: you in occupying a pass, do not go after him
Speaker 1: if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it
Speaker 1: is weakly garrisoned. With regard to precipitous heights, if you
Speaker 1: are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised
Speaker 1: and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.
Speaker 1: If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not
Speaker 1: follow him, but retreats and try to entice him away.
Speaker 1: If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy,
Speaker 1: and the strength of the two armies is equal, it
Speaker 1: is not easy to provoke a battle, and fighting will
Speaker 1: be to your disadvantage. These six are the principles connected
Speaker 1: with Earth. The general who has attained a responsible post
Speaker 1: must be careful to study them. Now the army is
Speaker 1: exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes,
Speaker 1: but from faults for which the general is responsible. These
Speaker 1: are flight, insubordination, collapse, ruin, disorganization, route other conditions being equal.
Speaker 1: If one force is hurled against another ten times its size,
Speaker 1: the result will be the flight of the farmer. When
Speaker 1: the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak,
Speaker 1: the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong
Speaker 1: and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse.
Speaker 1: When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on
Speaker 1: meeting the enemy, give battle on their own account from
Speaker 1: a feeling of resentment before the commander in chief can
Speaker 1: tell whether or not he is in a position to fight.
Speaker 1: The result is ruin. When the general is weak and
Speaker 1: without authority. When his orders are not clear and distinct.
Speaker 1: Where there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men,
Speaker 1: and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner,
Speaker 1: the result is utter disorganization. One a general unable to
Speaker 1: estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage
Speaker 1: a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a
Speaker 1: powerful one and neglects to place picked soldiers in the
Speaker 1: front rank. The results must be rout. These are six
Speaker 1: ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted by
Speaker 1: the general who has attained a responsible post. The natural
Speaker 1: formation of the country is the soldier's best ally. But
Speaker 1: a power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces
Speaker 1: of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers, and distances
Speaker 1: constitutes the test of a great general. He who knows
Speaker 1: these things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice,
Speaker 1: will win his battles. He who knows them not nor
Speaker 1: practices them, will surely be defeated. If fighting is sure
Speaker 1: to result in victory, then you must fight, even though
Speaker 1: the ruler forbid it. If fighting will not result in victory,
Speaker 1: then you must not fight, even at the ruler's bidding.
Speaker 1: The general who advances without covening fame and retreats without
Speaker 1: fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country
Speaker 1: and do good service for his sovereign, is the duel
Speaker 1: of the kingdom. Regard your soldiers as your children, and
Speaker 1: they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look upon
Speaker 1: them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand
Speaker 1: by you, even unto death. If, however, you are indulgent
Speaker 1: but unable to make your authority felt, kind hearted but
Speaker 1: unable to enforce your commands, and incapable moreover of quelling disorder,
Speaker 1: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children. They
Speaker 1: are useless for any practical purpose. If we know that
Speaker 1: our own men are in a condition to attack, but
Speaker 1: are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack,
Speaker 1: we have gone only half way towards victory. If we
Speaker 1: know that the enemy is open to attack, but are
Speaker 1: unaware that our own men are not in a condition
Speaker 1: to attack, we have gone only half way towards victory.
Speaker 1: If we know that the enemy is open to attack,
Speaker 1: and also know that our men are in a condition
Speaker 1: to attack, but are other aware that the nature of
Speaker 1: the ground makes finding impracticable, we have still gone only
Speaker 1: halfway towards victory. Hence, the experienced soldier, once in motion,
Speaker 1: is never bewildered. Once he has broken camp, he is
Speaker 1: never at a loss. Hence the saying, if you know
Speaker 1: the enemy and know yourself, the victory will not stand
Speaker 1: in doubt. If you know heaven and no earth, you
Speaker 1: may make your victory complete. Chapter nine, The Nine Situations.
Speaker 1: The Art of War recognizes nine varieties of ground. Dispersive ground,
Speaker 1: fascil ground, contentious ground, open ground ground of intersecting highways,
Speaker 1: serious ground, difficult ground, hemmed in ground, desperate ground. When
Speaker 1: a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is
Speaker 1: dispersive ground. When he has penetrated into hustile territory but
Speaker 1: to no great distance, it is fascile ground. Ground, the
Speaker 1: possession of which imports great advantage to either side. Is
Speaker 1: contentious ground. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement.
Speaker 1: Is open ground. Ground which forms the key to three
Speaker 1: contiguous states, so that he who occupies at first has
Speaker 1: most of the empire at his command. Is a ground
Speaker 1: of intersecting highways. When an army has penetrated into the
Speaker 1: heart of a hostile country, leaving a number of fortified
Speaker 1: cities in its rear, it is serious ground. Mountain forests,
Speaker 1: rugged steeps, marshes, and fens all country that is hard
Speaker 1: to traverse. This is difficult ground, ground which is reached
Speaker 1: through narrow gorges, and from which we can only retire
Speaker 1: by tortuous paths, so that a small of the enemy
Speaker 1: would suffice to crush a large body of our men.
Speaker 1: This is hemden ground, ground on which we can only
Speaker 1: be saved from destruction by fighting without delay. Is desperate ground.
Speaker 1: On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not on fascil ground. Halt
Speaker 1: not on contentious ground, attack not on open ground. Do
Speaker 1: not try to block the enemy's way on the ground
Speaker 1: of intersecting highways. Join hands with your allies on serious ground,
Speaker 1: gather in plunder a difficult ground. Keeps steadily on the
Speaker 1: march on hemden ground. Resort to stratagem on desperate ground. Fight.
Speaker 1: Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how
Speaker 1: to drive a wedge between the enemy's front and rear
Speaker 1: to prevent cooperation between his large and small divisions, to
Speaker 1: hinder the good troops from rescuing the bad, the officers
Speaker 1: from rallying their men. When the enemy's men were a unit,
Speaker 1: they managed to keep them in disorder. When it was
Speaker 1: to their advantage. They made a forward move when otherwise
Speaker 1: they stop still. If asked how to cope with a
Speaker 1: great host of the enemy in orderly array and on
Speaker 1: the point of marching to the attack, I should say,
Speaker 1: begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear. Then
Speaker 1: he will be amenable to your will. Rapidity is the
Speaker 1: essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make
Speaker 1: your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots. The
Speaker 1: following are the principles to be observed by an invading force.
Speaker 1: The further you penetrate into a country, the greater will
Speaker 1: be the solidarity of your troops, and thus the defenders
Speaker 1: will not prevail against you. Make forays into fertile country
Speaker 1: in order to supply your army with food. Carefully study
Speaker 1: the well being of your men, and do not overtax them.
Speaker 1: Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army
Speaker 1: continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans. Throw your
Speaker 1: soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they
Speaker 1: will prefer death to flight. If they will face death,
Speaker 1: there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men
Speaker 1: alike will put forth their uttermost strength. Soldiers when in
Speaker 1: desperate straits, lose the sense of fear. If there is
Speaker 1: no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they
Speaker 1: are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front.
Speaker 1: If there is no help for it, they will fight hard. Thus,
Speaker 1: without waiting to be marshaled, the soldiers will be constantly
Speaker 1: on the Kiviv, without waiting to be asked. They will
Speaker 1: do your will without restrictions. They will be faithful without
Speaker 1: giving orders, they can be trusted. Prohibit the taking of omens,
Speaker 1: and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes,
Speaker 1: no calamity need be feared. If our soldiers are not
Speaker 1: overburdened with money, it is not because they have a
Speaker 1: distaste for riches. If their lives are not unduly long,
Speaker 1: it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. On
Speaker 1: the day they are ordered out to battle, your soldiers
Speaker 1: may weep those sitting up bedewing their garments, and those
Speaker 1: lying down, letting the tears run down their cheeks. But
Speaker 1: let them once be brought to bay, and they will
Speaker 1: display the courage of a chu or a Kuei. The
Speaker 1: skillful tachnician may be likened to the Shuei jan Nah.
Speaker 1: This way, John is a snake that is found in
Speaker 1: the Chung mountains. Strike at its head, and you will
Speaker 1: be attacked by its tail. Strike at its tail, and
Speaker 1: you will be attacked by its head. Strike at its middle,
Speaker 1: and you will be attacked by head and tail. Both
Speaker 1: asked if an army can be made to imitate the
Speaker 1: Shuai jan I should answer yes. For the men of
Speaker 1: Wu and the men of Yue are enemies. Yet if
Speaker 1: they are crossing a river in the same boats and
Speaker 1: are caught by a storm, they will come to each
Speaker 1: other's assistance, just as the left hand helps the right. Hence,
Speaker 1: it is not enough to put one's trust in the
Speaker 1: tethering of horses and the burying of chariot wheels in
Speaker 1: the ground. The principle on which to manage an army
Speaker 1: is to set up one standard of courage, which all
Speaker 1: must reach. How to make the best of both strong
Speaker 1: and weak, that is a question involving the proper use
Speaker 1: of ground. Thus the skillful general conducts his army just
Speaker 1: as though he were leading a single man willy nilly
Speaker 1: by the hand. It is the business of a general
Speaker 1: to be quiet and thus insure secrecy, upright and just,
Speaker 1: and thus maintain order. He must be able to mystify
Speaker 1: his officers and men by false reports and appearances, and
Speaker 1: thus keep them in total ignorance. By altering his arrangements
Speaker 1: and changing his plans, he keeps the enemy without definite knowledge.
Speaker 1: By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents
Speaker 1: the enemy from anticipating his purpose at the critical moments.
Speaker 1: The leader of an army acts like one who has
Speaker 1: climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder
Speaker 1: behind him. He carries his man deep into hostile territory
Speaker 1: before he shows his hand. He burns his boats and
Speaker 1: breaks his cooking pots. Like a shepherd driving a flock
Speaker 1: of sheep. He drives his men this way and that,
Speaker 1: and nothing knows whither he is going to muster his
Speaker 1: host and bring it into danger. This may be termed
Speaker 1: the business of the general. The different measures suited to
Speaker 1: the nine varieties of ground, the expediency of aggressive or
Speaker 1: defensive tactics, and the fundamental laws of human nature. These
Speaker 1: are things that must most certainly be studied when the
Speaker 1: invading hostile territory. The general principle is that penetrating deeply
Speaker 1: brings cohesion. Penetrating but a short means dispersion. When you
Speaker 1: leave your own country behind and take your army across
Speaker 1: the neighborhood territory, you find yourself on critical ground. When
Speaker 1: there are means of communication on all four sides, the
Speaker 1: ground is one of interesting highways. When you penetrate deeply
Speaker 1: into a country, it is serious ground. When you penetrate
Speaker 1: but a little way, it is facile ground. When you
Speaker 1: have the enemy's strongholds on your rear and narrow passes
Speaker 1: in front, it is hemmed in ground. When there is
Speaker 1: no place of refuge at all, it is desperate ground. Therefore,
Speaker 1: on dispersive ground, I would inspire my men with unity
Speaker 1: of purpose. On fascile ground, I would see that there
Speaker 1: is close connection between all parts of my army. On
Speaker 1: contentious ground, I would hurry up my rear. On open ground,
Speaker 1: I would keep a vigilant eye on my defenses. On
Speaker 1: ground of interesting highways, I would consolidate my alliances. On
Speaker 1: serious ground, I would try to ensure a continuous stream
Speaker 1: of supplies. On difficult ground, I would keep pushing on
Speaker 1: along the road. On hemmed in ground, I would block
Speaker 1: any way of retreat. On desperate ground, I would proclaim
Speaker 1: to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives, For
Speaker 1: it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance
Speaker 1: when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself,
Speaker 1: and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger.
Speaker 1: We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we
Speaker 1: are acquainted with their designs. We are not fit to
Speaker 1: lead an army on the march. Unless we are familiar
Speaker 1: with the face of the country, its mountains and forests,
Speaker 1: its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps, we shall
Speaker 1: be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we
Speaker 1: make use of local guides. To be ignored of any
Speaker 1: one of the following four or five principles does not
Speaker 1: befits a warlike prince. When a warlike prince attacks a
Speaker 1: powerful state, his generalship shows itself in preventing the concentration
Speaker 1: of the enemy's forces. He overawes his opponents, and their
Speaker 1: allies are prevented from joining against him. Hence, he does
Speaker 1: not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, nor
Speaker 1: does he foster the power of other states. He carries
Speaker 1: out his own secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe.
Speaker 1: Thus he is able to capture their cities and overthrow
Speaker 1: their kingdoms. Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders
Speaker 1: without regard to previous arrangements, and you will be able
Speaker 1: to handle a whole army as though you had to
Speaker 1: do with but a single man. Confront your soldiers with
Speaker 1: the deed itself. Never let them know your design. When
Speaker 1: the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes, but
Speaker 1: tell them nothing. When the situation is gloomy, Place your
Speaker 1: army in deadly peril and it will survive. Plunge it
Speaker 1: into desperate straits, and it will off in safety. For
Speaker 1: it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm's
Speaker 1: way that it is capable of striking a blow for victory.
Speaker 1: Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to
Speaker 1: the enemy's purpose. By persistently hanging on the enemy's flank,
Speaker 1: we shall succeed in the long run in killing the
Speaker 1: commander in chief. This is called ability to accomplish a
Speaker 1: thing by sheer cunning. On the day that you take
Speaker 1: up your command, block the frontier passes, destroy the official tallies,
Speaker 1: and stop the passage of all emissaries. Be stern in
Speaker 1: the council chamber, so that you may control the situation.
Speaker 1: If the enemy leaves a door opened, you must rush in.
Speaker 1: Forestall your opponents by seizing what he holds deer and
Speaker 1: suddenly contrive to time his arrival on the ground. Walk
Speaker 1: in the path defined by rule, and accommodate yourself to
Speaker 1: the enemy until you can fight a decisive battle at first.
Speaker 1: The then exhibit the coyness of a maiden until the
Speaker 1: enemy gives you an opening. Afterwards, emulate the rapidity of
Speaker 1: a running hare, and it will be too late for
Speaker 1: the enemy to oppose you. Chapter twelve, The attack by fire.
Speaker 1: There are five ways of attacking with fire. The first
Speaker 1: is to burn soldiers in their camp. The second is
Speaker 1: to burn stores. The third is to burn baggage trains.
Speaker 1: The fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines. The fifth
Speaker 1: is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy. In order
Speaker 1: to carry out an attack, we must have means available.
Speaker 1: The material for raising fire should always be kept in readiness.
Speaker 1: There is a proper season from making attacks with fire
Speaker 1: and special days for starting a conflagration. The proper season
Speaker 1: is when the weather is very dry. The special days
Speaker 1: are those when the moon is in the constellations of
Speaker 1: the sieve, the wall, the ring, or the crossbar. For
Speaker 1: these four are all days of rising wind. In attacking
Speaker 1: with fire, one should be prepared to meet five possible developments.
Speaker 1: When fire breaks out inside the enemy's camp, respond at
Speaker 1: once with an attack from without. If there is an
Speaker 1: outbreak of fire, but the enemy's soldiers, remain quiet, bide
Speaker 1: your time, and do not attack. When the force of
Speaker 1: the flames has reached its height, follow it up with
Speaker 1: an attack if that is practicable. If not, stay where
Speaker 1: you are. If it is possible to make an assault
Speaker 1: with fire from without, do not wait for it to
Speaker 1: break out within, but deliver your attack at a favorable moment.
Speaker 1: When you start a fire, be to windward of its
Speaker 1: Do not attack from the leeward. A wind that rises
Speaker 1: in the daytime lasts long, but a night breeze soon falls.
Speaker 1: In every army, the five developments connected with fire must
Speaker 1: be known, the movements of the stars calculated, and a
Speaker 1: watch kept for the proper days. Hence, those who use
Speaker 1: fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence. Those
Speaker 1: who use water as an age to the attack gain
Speaker 1: an accession of strength. By means of water, an enemy
Speaker 1: may be intercepted, but not robbed of all his belongings.
Speaker 1: Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win
Speaker 1: his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the
Speaker 1: spirit of enterprise, for the result is waste of time
Speaker 1: and general stagnation. Hence the saying the enlightened ruler lays
Speaker 1: his plans well ahead. The good general cultivates his resources.
Speaker 1: Move not unless you see an advantage. Use not your
Speaker 1: troops unless there is something to be gained. Fight not
Speaker 1: unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops
Speaker 1: into the field merely to gratify his own spleen. No
Speaker 1: general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If
Speaker 1: it is to your advantage, make a forward move. If not,
Speaker 1: stay where you are, and may in time change to gladness.
Speaker 1: Vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that
Speaker 1: has once been destroyed can never come again into being,
Speaker 1: nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence,
Speaker 1: the enlightened ruler is heedful and the good general full
Speaker 1: of caution. This is the way to keep a country
Speaker 1: at peace and an army. Intact, Chapter thirteen. The use
Speaker 1: of spies. Raising a host of one hundred thousand men
Speaker 1: and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the
Speaker 1: people and a drain on the resources of the state.
Speaker 1: The daily expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver.
Speaker 1: There will be commotion at home and abroad, and men
Speaker 1: will drop down exhausted on the highways as many as
Speaker 1: seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in their labor.
Speaker 1: Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for
Speaker 1: the victory, which is decided in a single day. This
Speaker 1: being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition
Speaker 1: simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces
Speaker 1: of silver in honors and emoluments is the height of inhumanity.
Speaker 1: One who acts thus is no leader of men, no
Speaker 1: present help to his sovereign, no master of victory. Thus,
Speaker 1: what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to
Speaker 1: strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of
Speaker 1: ordinary men is foreknowledge. Now this, foreknowledge cannot be elicited
Speaker 1: from spirits that cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor
Speaker 1: by any deductive calculation. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can
Speaker 1: only be obtained from other men. Hence the use of spies,
Speaker 1: of whom there are five classes local spies, inward spies,
Speaker 1: converted spies, doomed spies, surviving spies. When these five kinds
Speaker 1: of spy are all at work, none can discover the
Speaker 1: secret system. This is called divine manipulation of the threads.
Speaker 1: It is the sovereign's most precious faculty. Having local spies
Speaker 1: means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district,
Speaker 1: Having inward spies, making use of officials of the enemy,
Speaker 1: having converted spies, getting hold of the enemy's spies and
Speaker 1: using them for your own purposes, having doomed spies, doing
Speaker 1: certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allowing our
Speaker 1: spies to know of them and report them to the enemy.
Speaker 1: Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from
Speaker 1: the enemy's camp. Hence, it is that with none in
Speaker 1: the whole army are more intimate relations to be maintained
Speaker 1: than with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded. In
Speaker 1: no other business should greater secrecy be preserved. Spies cannot
Speaker 1: be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity. They cannot
Speaker 1: be properly managed with benevolence and straightforwardness. Without subtle ingenuity
Speaker 1: of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of
Speaker 1: their reports. Be subtle. Use your spies for every kind
Speaker 1: of business. If a secret piece of news is divulged
Speaker 1: by a spy before the time is ripe, he must
Speaker 1: be put to death. Together with the man to whom
Speaker 1: the secret was told. Whether the object be to crush
Speaker 1: an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual,
Speaker 1: it is always necessary to begin by finding out the
Speaker 1: names of the attendants, the age de camp and door
Speaker 1: keepers and sentries of the general in command. Our spies
Speaker 1: must be commissioned to ascertain these. The enemy's spies who
Speaker 1: have come to spy on us must be sought out,
Speaker 1: tempted with bribes, led away, and comfortably housed. Thus they
Speaker 1: will become converted spies and available for our service. It
Speaker 1: is through the information brought by the converted spy that
Speaker 1: we are able to acquire and employing local and inward spies.
Speaker 1: It is owing to his information again, that we can
Speaker 1: cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy. Lastly,
Speaker 1: it is by his information that the surviving spy can
Speaker 1: be used on appointed occasions. The end and aim of
Speaker 1: spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy,
Speaker 1: and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first
Speaker 1: instance from the converted spy. Hence, it is essential that
Speaker 1: the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality of ode.
Speaker 1: The rise of the Inn dynasty was due to I Chi,
Speaker 1: who has served on the Kaziah. Likewise, the rise of
Speaker 1: the Choo dynasty was due to lu Yah, who has
Speaker 1: served under the Inn. Hence, it is only the enlightened
Speaker 1: ruler and the wise general who will use the highest
Speaker 1: intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and thereby
Speaker 1: they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element
Speaker 1: in water because on them depends on army's ability to move.
Speaker 1: End of the Art of War by Sansu