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art of war-第24章

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really a defect in a general。  What Sun Tzu condemns is rather an 

exaggerated sensitiveness to slanderous reports; the thin…skinned 

man who is stung by opprobrium; however undeserved。  Mei Yao…

ch‘en truly observes; though somewhat paradoxically:  〃The seek 

after glory should be careless of public opinion。〃'



     (5)  over…solicitude for his men; which exposes him to worry 

and trouble。



     'Here again; Sun Tzu does not mean that the general is to be 

careless of the welfare of his troops。  All he wishes to 

emphasize is the danger of sacrificing any important military 

advantage to the immediate comfort of his men。  This is a 

shortsighted policy;  because in the long run the troops will 

suffer more from the defeat; or; at best; the prolongation of the 

war;  which will be the consequence。  A mistaken feeling of pity 

will often induce a general to relieve a beleaguered city; or to 

reinforce a hard…pressed detachment; contrary to his military 

instincts。  It is now generally admitted that our repeated 

efforts to relieve Ladysmith in the South African War were so 

many strategical blunders which defeated their own purpose。  And 

in the end; relief came through the very man who started out with 

the distinct resolve no longer to subordinate the interests of 

the whole to sentiment in favor of a part。  An old soldier of one 

of our generals who failed most conspicuously in this war;  tried 

once;  I remember; to defend him to me on the ground that he was 

always 〃so good to his men。〃  By this plea; had he but known it; 

he was only condemning him out of Sun Tzu's mouth。'



     13。  These are the five besetting sins of a general; ruinous 

to the conduct of war。

     14。  When an army is overthrown and its leader slain;  the 

cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults。  

Let them be a subject of meditation。





'1'  〃Marshal Turenne;〃 p。 50。







IX。  THE ARMY ON THE MARCH





     'The contents of this interesting chapter are   better 

indicated in ss。 1 than by this heading。'



     1。  Sun Tzu said:  We come now to the question of encamping 

the army; and observing signs of the enemy。  Pass quickly over 

mountains; and keep in the neighborhood of valleys。



     'The idea is; not to linger among barren uplands;  but to 

keep close to supplies of water and grass。  Cf。 Wu Tzu;  ch。  3:  

〃Abide not in natural ovens;〃 i。e。 〃the openings of valleys。〃  

Chang Yu tells 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。  Ch‘iang having found a refuge in the 

hills; Ma Yuan made no attempt to force a battle; but seized all 

the favorable positions commanding supplies of water and forage。  

Ch‘iang was soon in such a desperate plight for want of 

provisions that he was forced to make a total surrender。  He did 

not know the advantage of keeping in the neighborhood of 

valleys。〃'



     2。  Camp in high places;



     'Not on high hills; but on knolls or hillocks elevated above 

the surrounding country。'



facing the sun。



     'Tu Mu takes this to mean 〃facing south;〃  and Ch‘en Hao 

〃facing east。〃  Cf。  infra; SS。 11; 13。



Do not climb heights in order to fight。  So much for mountain 

warfare。

     3。  After crossing a river; you should get far away from it。



     '〃In order to tempt the enemy to cross after you;〃 according 

to Ts‘ao Kung;  and also; says Chang Yu; 〃in order not to be 

impeded in your evolutions。〃  The T‘UNG TIEN reads; 〃If THE ENEMY 

crosses a river;〃 etc。  But in view of the next sentence; this is 

almost certainly an interpolation。'



     4。  When an invading force crosses a river in its onward 

march; do not advance to meet it in mid…stream。  It will be best 

to let half the army get across; and then deliver your attack。



     'Li Ch‘uan alludes to the great victory won by Han Hsin over 

Lung Chu at the Wei River。  Turning to the CH‘IEN HAN SHU;  ch。 

34; fol。 6 verso; we find the battle described as follows:   〃The 

two armies were drawn up on opposite sides of the river。  In the 

night;  Han Hsin ordered his men to take some ten thousand sacks 

filled with sand and construct a dam higher up。  Then;  leading 

half his army across; he attacked Lung Chu; but after a time; 

pretending to have failed in his attempt; he hastily withdrew to 

the other bank。  Lung Chu was much elated by this unlooked…for 

success; and exclaiming:  〃I felt sure that Han Hsin was really a 

coward!〃 he pursued him and began crossing the river in his turn。  

Han Hsin now sent a party to cut open the sandbags;  thus 

releasing a great volume of water; which swept down and prevented 

the greater portion of Lung Chu's army from getting across。  He 

then turned upon the force which had been cut off;   and 

annihilated it; Lung Chu himself being amongst the slain。  The 

rest of the army; on the further bank; also scattered and fled in 

all directions。'



     5。  If you are anxious to fight; you should not go to meet 

the invader near a river which he has to cross。



     'For fear of preventing his crossing。'



     6。  Moor your craft higher up than the enemy; and facing the 

sun。



     'See supra;  ss。  2。  The repetition of these words in 

connection with water is very awkward。  Chang Yu has the note:  

〃Said either of troops marshaled on the river…bank; or of boats 

anchored in the stream itself; in either case it is essential to 

be higher than the enemy and facing the sun。〃   The other 

commentators are not at all explicit。'



Do not move up…stream to meet the enemy。



     'Tu Mu says:  〃As water flows downwards; we must not pitch 

our camp on the lower reaches of a river; for fear the enemy 

should open the sluices and sweep us away in a flood。  Chu…ko Wu…

hou has remarked that 'in river warfare we must not advance 

against the stream;' which is as much as to say that our fleet 

must not be anchored below that of the enemy; for then they would 

be able to take advantage of the current and make short work of 

us。〃  There is also the danger; noted by other commentators; that 

the enemy may throw poison on the water to be carried down to 

us。'



So much for river warfare。

     7。  In crossing salt…marshes; your sole concern should be to 

get over them quickly; without any delay。



     'Because of the lack of fresh water; the poor quality of the 

herbage; and last but not least; because they are low; flat;  and 

exposed to attack。'



     8。  If forced to fight in a salt…marsh;  you should have 

water and grass near you; and get your back to a clump of trees。



     'Li Ch‘uan remarks that the ground is less likely to be 

treacherous where there are trees; while Tu Mu says that they 

will serve to protect the rear。'



So much for operations in salt…marches。

     9。  In dry; level country; take up an easily accessible 

position with rising ground to your right and on your rear;



     'Tu Mu quotes T‘ai Kung as saying:  〃An army should have a 

stream or a marsh on its left; and a hill or tumulus on its 

right。〃'



so that the danger may be in front; and safety lie behind。  So 

much for campaigning in flat country。

     10。  These are the four useful branches of   military 

knowledge



     'Those;  namely; concerned with (1) mountains;  (2)  rivers; 

(3)  marshes;  and  (4)  plains。  Compare Napoleon's  〃Military 

Maxims;〃 no。 1。'



which enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several 

sovereigns。



     'Regarding the 〃Yellow Emperor〃:  Mei Yao…ch‘en asks;  with 

some plausibility;  whether there is an error in the text as 

nothing is known of Huang Ti having conquered four other 

Emperors。  The SHIH CHI (ch。 1 ad init。) speaks only of his 

victories over Yen Ti and Ch‘ih Yu。  In the LIU T‘AO it is 

mentioned that he  〃fought seventy battles 

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