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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 


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