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第28章

art of war-第28章

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     9。  Should the army forestall you in occupying a pass;  do 

not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned; but only if it 

is weakly garrisoned。

     10。  With regard to PRECIPITOUS HEIGHTS;  if you   are 

beforehand with your adversary; you should occupy the raised and 

sunny spots; and there wait for him to come up。



     'Ts‘ao Kung says:  〃The particular advantage of securing 

heights and defiles is that your actions cannot then be dictated 

by the enemy。〃   'For the enunciation of the grand principle 

alluded to;  see VI。  ss。 2'。  Chang Yu tells the following 

anecdote of P‘ei Hsing…chien (A。D。 619…682); who was sent on a 

punitive expedition against the Turkic tribes。  〃At night he 

pitched his camp as usual; and it had already been completely 

fortified by wall and ditch; when suddenly he gave orders that 

the army should shift its quarters to a hill near by。  This was 

highly displeasing to his officers; who protested loudly against 

the extra fatigue which it would entail on the men。  P‘ei Hsing…

chien;  however; paid no heed to their remonstrances and had the 

camp moved as quickly as possible。  The same night;  a terrific 

storm came on; which flooded their former place of encampment to 

the depth of over twelve feet。  The recalcitrant officers were 

amazed at the sight; and owned that they had been in the wrong。  

'How did you know what was going to happen?' they asked。  P‘ei 

Hsing…chien replied:  'From this time forward be content to obey 

orders without asking unnecessary questions。'  From this it may 

be seen;〃  Chang Yu continues; 〃that high and sunny places are 

advantageous not only for fighting; but also because they are 

immune from disastrous floods。〃'



     11。  If the enemy has occupied them before you;  do not 

follow him; but retreat and try to entice him away。



     'The turning point of Li Shih…min's campaign in 621 A。D。 

against the two rebels; Tou Chien…te; King of Hsia;  and Wang 

Shih…ch‘ung;  Prince of Cheng; was his seizure of the heights of 

Wu…lao;  in spike of which Tou Chien…te persisted in his attempt 

to relieve his ally in Lo…yang; was defeated and taken prisoner。  

See CHIU T‘ANG; ch。 2; fol。 5 verso; and also ch。 54。'



     12。  If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy; 

and the strength of the two armies is equal; it is not easy to 

provoke a battle;



     'The point is that we must not think of undertaking a long 

and wearisome march; at the end of which; as Tu Yu says;  〃we 

should be exhausted and our adversary fresh and keen。〃'



and fighting will be to your disadvantage。



     13。  These six are the principles connected with Earth。



     'Or perhaps;  〃the principles relating to ground。〃   See; 

however; I。 ss。 8。'



The general who has attained a responsible post must be careful 

to study them。

     14。  Now an army is exposed to six several calamities;  not 

arising from natural causes; but from faults for which the 

general   is   responsible。   These are:    (1)   Flight;   (2) 

insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganization; (6) 

rout。

     15。  Other conditions being equal; if one force is hurled 

against another ten times its size; the result will be the FLIGHT 

of the former。

     16。  When the common soldiers are too strong and their 

officers too weak; the result is INSUBORDINATION。



     'Tu Mu cites the unhappy case of T‘ien Pu 'HSIN T‘ANG SHU; 

ch。 148'; who was sent to Wei in 821 A。D。 with orders to lead an 

army against Wang T‘ing…ts‘ou。  But the whole time he was in 

command;  his soldiers treated him with the utmost contempt;  and 

openly flouted his authority by riding about the camp on donkeys; 

several thousands at a time。  T‘ien Pu was powerless to put a 

stop to this conduct; and when; after some months had passed;  he 

made an attempt to engage the enemy; his troops turned tail and 

dispersed in every direction。  After that; the unfortunate man 

committed suicide by cutting his throat。'



When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too 

weak; the result is COLLAPSE。



     'Ts‘ao Kung says:  〃The officers are energetic and want to 

press on; the common soldiers are feeble and suddenly collapse。〃'



     17。  When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate; 

and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a 

feeling of resentment; before the commander…in…chief can tell 

whether or no he is in a position to fight; the result is RUIN。



     'Wang Hsi‘s note is:  〃This means; the general is angry 

without cause;  and at the same time does not appreciate the 

ability of his subordinate officers; thus he arouses fierce 

resentment and brings an avalanche of ruin upon his head。〃'



     18。  When the general is weak and without authority;  when 

his orders are not clear and distinct;



     'Wei Liao Tzu (ch。 4) says:  〃If the commander gives his 

orders with decision; the soldiers will not wait to hear them 

twice;  if his moves are made without vacillation;  the soldiers 

will not be in two minds about doing their duty。〃  General Baden…

Powell says;  italicizing the words:  〃The secret of getting 

successful work out of your trained men lies in one nutshellin 

the clearness of the instructions they receive。〃  '3'  Cf。  also 

Wu Tzu ch。 3:  〃the most fatal defect in a military leader is 

difference;  the worst calamities that befall an army arise from 

hesitation。〃'



when there are no fixes duties assigned to officers and men;



     'Tu Mu says:  〃Neither officers nor men have any regular 

routine。〃'



and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner;  the 

result is utter DISORGANIZATION。

     19。  When a general;  unable to estimate the   enemy's 

strength;  allows an inferior force to engage a larger one;  or 

hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one; and neglects to 

place picked soldiers in the front rank; the result must be ROUT。



     'Chang Yu paraphrases the latter part of the sentence and 

continues:   〃Whenever there is fighting to be done; the keenest 

spirits should be appointed to serve in the front ranks; both in 

order to strengthen the resolution of our own men and to 

demoralize the enemy。〃  Cf。 the primi ordines of Caesar  (〃De 

Bello Gallico;〃 V。 28; 44; et al。)。'



     20。  These are six ways of courting defeat; which must be 

carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible 

post。



     'See supra; ss。 13。'



     21。  The natural formation of the country is the soldier's 

best ally;



     'Ch‘en Hao says:  〃The advantages of weather and season are 

not equal to those connected with ground。〃'



but a power of estimating the adversary;  of controlling the 

forces of victory; and of shrewdly calculating difficulties; 

dangers and distances; constitutes the test of a great general。

     22。  He who knows these things; and in fighting puts his 

knowledge into practice; will win his battles。  He who knows them 

not; nor practices them; will surely be defeated。

     23。  If fighting is sure to result in victory; then you must 

fight;  even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not 

result in victory; then you must not fight even at the ruler's 

bidding。



     'Cf。 VIII。 ss。 3 fin。  Huang Shih…kung of the Ch‘in dynasty; 

who is said to have been the patron of Chang Liang and to have 

written the SAN LUEH; has these words attributed to him:   〃The 

responsibility of setting an army in motion must devolve on the 

general alone;  if advance and retreat are controlled from the 

Palace;  brilliant results will hardly be achieved。  Hence the 

god…like ruler and the enlightened monarch are content to play a 

humble part in furthering their country's cause 'lit。; kneel down 

to push the chariot wheel'。〃  This means that 〃in matters lying 

outside the zenana; the decision of the military commande

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