art of war-第22章
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hath his desire and returneth homewards。〃 A marvelous tale is
told of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao's courage and resource in ch。 1 of the SAN
KUO CHI: In 198 A。D。; he was besieging Chang Hsiu in Jang; when
Liu Piao sent reinforcements with a view to cutting off Ts‘ao's
retreat。 The latter was obligbed to draw off his troops; only to
find himself hemmed in between two enemies; who were guarding
each outlet of a narrow pass in which he had engaged himself。 In
this desperate plight Ts‘ao waited until nightfall; when he bored
a tunnel into the mountain side and laid an ambush in it。 As
soon as the whole army had passed by; the hidden troops fell on
his rear; while Ts‘ao himself turned and met his pursuers in
front; so that they were thrown into confusion and annihilated。
Ts‘ao Ts‘ao said afterwards: 〃The brigands tried to check my
army in its retreat and brought me to battle in a desperate
position: hence I knew how to overcome them。〃'
36。 When you surround an army; leave an outlet free。
'This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to
escape。 The object; as Tu Mu puts it; is 〃to make him believe
that there is a road to safety; and thus prevent his fighting
with the courage of despair。〃 Tu Mu adds pleasantly: 〃After
that; you may crush him。〃'
Do not press a desperate foe too hard。
'Ch‘en Hao quotes the saying: 〃Birds and beasts when
brought to bay will use their claws and teeth。〃 Chang Yu says:
〃If your adversary has burned his boats and destroyed his
cooking…pots; and is ready to stake all on the issue of a battle;
he must not be pushed to extremities。〃 Ho Shih illustrates the
meaning by a story taken from the life of Yen…ch‘ing。 That
general; together with his colleague Tu Chung…wei was surrounded
by a vastly superior army of Khitans in the year 945 A。D。 The
country was bare and desert…like; and the little Chinese force
was soon in dire straits for want of water。 The wells they bored
ran dry; and the men were reduced to squeezing lumps of mud and
sucking out the moisture。 Their ranks thinned rapidly; until at
last Fu Yen…ch‘ing exclaimed: 〃We are desperate men。 Far better
to die for our country than to go with fettered hands into
captivity!〃 A strong gale happened to be blowing from the
northeast and darkening the air with dense clouds of sandy dust。
To Chung…wei was for waiting until this had abated before
deciding on a final attack; but luckily another officer; Li Shou…
cheng by name; was quicker to see an opportunity; and said:
〃They are many and we are few; but in the midst of this sandstorm
our numbers will not be discernible; victory will go to the
strenuous fighter; and the wind will be our best ally。〃
Accordingly; Fu Yen…ch‘ing made a sudden and wholly unexpected
onslaught with his cavalry; routed the barbarians and succeeded
in breaking through to safety。'
37。 Such is the art of warfare。
'1' See Col。 Henderson; op。 cit。 vol。 I。 p。 426。
'2' For a number of maxims on this head; see 〃Marshal Turenne〃
(Longmans; 1907); p。 29。
…
VIII。 VARIATION IN TACTICS
'The heading means literally 〃The Nine Variations;〃 but as
Sun Tzu does not appear to enumerate these; and as; indeed; he
has already told us (V SS。 6…11) that such deflections from the
ordinary course are practically innumerable; we have little
option but to follow Wang Hsi; who says that 〃Nine〃 stands for an
indefinitely large number。 〃All it means is that in warfare we
ought to very our tactics to the utmost degree。。。。 I do not know
what Ts‘ao Kung makes these Nine Variations out to be; but it has
been suggested that they are connected with the Nine Situations〃
… of chapt。 XI。 This is the view adopted by Chang Yu。 The only
other alternative is to suppose that something has been losta
supposition to which the unusual shortness of the chapter lends
some weight。'
1。 Sun Tzu said: In war; the general receives his
commands from the sovereign; collects his army and concentrates
his forces。
'Repeated from VII。 ss。 1; where it is certainly more in
place。 It may have been interpolated here merely in order to
supply a beginning to the chapter。'
2。 When in difficult country; do not encamp。 In country
where high roads intersect; join hands with your allies。 Do not
linger in dangerously isolated positions。
'The last situation is not one of the Nine Situations as
given in the beginning of chap。 XI; but occurs later on (ibid。
ss。 43。 q。v。)。 Chang Yu defines this situation as being situated
across the frontier; in hostile territory。 Li Ch‘uan says it is
〃country in which there are no springs or wells; flocks or herds;
vegetables or firewood;〃 Chia Lin; 〃one of gorges; chasms and
precipices; without a road by which to advance。〃'
In hemmed…in situations; you must resort to stratagem。 In
desperate position; you must fight。
3。 There are roads which must not be followed;
'〃Especially those leading through narrow defiles;〃 says Li
Ch‘uan; 〃where an ambush is to be feared。〃'
armies which must be not attacked;
'More correctly; perhaps; 〃there are times when an army must
not be attacked。〃 Ch‘en Hao says: 〃When you see your way to
obtain a rival advantage; but are powerless to inflict a real
defeat; refrain from attacking; for fear of overtaxing your men's
strength。〃'
towns which must be besieged;
'Cf。 III。 ss。 4 Ts‘ao Kung gives an interesting
illustration from his own experience。 When invading the
territory of Hsu…chou; he ignored the city of Hua…pi; which lay
directly in his path; and pressed on into the heart of the
country。 This excellent strategy was rewarded by the subsequent
capture of no fewer than fourteen important district cities。
Chang Yu says: 〃No town should be attacked which; if taken;
cannot be held; or if left alone; will not cause any trouble。〃
Hsun Ying; when urged to attack Pi…yang; replied: 〃The city is
small and well…fortified; even if I succeed intaking it; it will
be no great feat of arms; whereas if I fail; I shall make myself
a laughing…stock。〃 In the seventeenth century; sieges still
formed a large proportion of war。 It was Turenne who directed
attention to the importance of marches; countermarches and
maneuvers。 He said: 〃It is a great mistake to waste men in
taking a town when the same expenditure of soldiers will gain a
province。〃 '1' '
positions which must not be contested; commands of the sovereign
which must not be obeyed。
'This is a hard saying for the Chinese; with their reverence
for authority; and Wei Liao Tzu (quoted by Tu Mu) is moved to
exclaim: 〃Weapons are baleful instruments; strife is
antagonistic to virtue; a military commander is the negation of
civil order!〃 The unpalatable fact remains; however; that even
Imperial wishes must be subordinated to military necessity。'
4。 The general who thoroughly understands the advantages
that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his
troops。
5。 The general who does not understand these; may be well
acquainted with the configuration of the country; yet he will not
be able to turn his knowledge to practical account。
'Literally; 〃get the advantage of the ground;〃 which means
not only securing good positions; but availing oneself of natural
advantages in every possible way。 Chang Yu says: 〃Every kind of
ground is characterized by certain natural features; and also
gives scope for a certain variability of plan。 How it is
possible to turn these natural features to account unless
topographical knowledge is supplemented by versatility of mind?〃'
6。 So; the student of war who is unversed in the art of war