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