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第29章

art of war-第29章

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outside the zenana; the decision of the military commander must 

be absolute。〃  Chang Yu also quote the saying:  〃Decrees from the 

Son of Heaven do not penetrate the walls of a camp。〃'

     24。  The general who advances without coveting fame and 

retreats without fearing disgrace;



     'It was Wellington; I think; who said that the hardest thing 

of all for a soldier is to retreat。'



whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service 

for his sovereign; is the jewel of the kingdom。



     'A noble presentiment; in few words; of the Chinese  〃happy 

warrior。〃   Such a man; says Ho Shih; 〃even if he had to suffer 

punishment; would not regret his conduct。〃'



     25。  Regard your soldiers as your children; and they will 

follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own 

beloved sons; and they will stand by you even unto death。



     'Cf。  I。 ss。 6。  In this connection; Tu Mu draws for us an 

engaging picture of the famous general Wu Ch‘i;  from whose 

treatise on war I have frequently had occasion to quote:   〃He 

wore the same clothes and ate the same food as the meanest of his 

soldiers;  refused to have either a horse to ride or a mat to 

sleep on; carried his own surplus rations wrapped in a parcel; 

and shared every hardship with his men。  One of his soldiers was 

suffering from an abscess; and Wu Ch‘i himself sucked out the 

virus。  The soldier's mother; hearing this; began wailing and 

lamenting。  Somebody asked her; saying:  'Why do you cry?   Your 

son is only a common soldier; and yet the commander…in…chief 

himself has sucked the poison from his sore。'  The woman replied; 

'Many years ago;  Lord Wu performed a similar service for my 

husband; who never left him afterwards; and finally met his death 

at the hands of the enemy。  And now that he has done the same for 

my son; he too will fall fighting I know not where。'〃  Li Ch‘uan 

mentions the Viscount of Ch‘u; who invaded the small state of 

Hsiao during the winter。  The Duke of Shen said to him:  〃Many of 

the soldiers are suffering severely from the cold。〃  So he made a 

round of the whole army; comforting and encouraging the men;  and 

straightway they felt as if they were clothed in garments lined 

with floss silk。'



     26。  If; however; you are indulgent; but unable to make your 

authority   felt;  kind…hearted;  but unable to enforce   your 

commands;  and incapable; moreover; of quelling disorder:   then 

your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children;  they are 

useless for any practical purpose。



     'Li Ching once said that if you could make your soldiers 

afraid of you; they would not be afraid of the enemy。  Tu Mu 

recalls an instance of stern military discipline which occurred 

in 219 A。D。; when Lu Meng was occupying the town of Chiang…ling。  

He had given stringent orders to his army not to molest the 

inhabitants nor take anything from them by force。  Nevertheless; 

a certain officer serving under his banner; who happened to be a 

fellow…townsman;  ventured to appropriate a bamboo hat belonging 

to one of the people; in order to wear it over his regulation 

helmet as a protection against the rain。  Lu Meng considered that 

the fact of his being also a native of Ju…nan should not be 

allowed to palliate a clear breach of discipline; and accordingly 

he ordered his summary execution; the tears rolling down his 

face;  however;  as he did so。  This act of severity filled the 

army with wholesome awe; and from that time forth even articles 

dropped in the highway were not picked up。'



     27。  If we know that our own men are in a condition to 

attack; but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack;  we 

have gone only halfway towards victory。



     'That is;  Ts‘ao Kung says; 〃the issue in this case is 

uncertain。〃'



     28。  If we know that the enemy is open to attack;  but are 

unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack;  we 

have gone only halfway towards victory。



     'Cf。 III。 ss。 13 (1)。'



     29。  If we know that the enemy is open to attack; and also 

know that our men are in a condition to attack; but are unaware 

that the nature of the ground makes fighting impracticable;  we 

have still gone only halfway towards victory。

     30。  Hence the experienced soldier; once in motion; is never 

bewildered; once he has broken camp; he is never at a loss。



     'The reason being; according to Tu Mu; that he has taken his 

measures so thoroughly as to ensure victory beforehand。  〃He does 

not move recklessly;〃 says Chang Yu; 〃so that when he does move; 

he makes no mistakes。〃'



     31。  Hence the saying:  If you know the enemy and know 

yourself;  your victory will not stand in doubt;  if you know 

Heaven and know Earth; you may make your victory complete。



     'Li Ch‘uan sums up as follows:  〃Given a knowledge of three 

thingsthe affairs of men; the seasons of heaven and the natural 

advantages of earth;  victory will invariably crown   your 

battles。〃'





'1'  See 〃Pensees de Napoleon 1er;〃 no。 47。



'2'  〃The Science of War;〃 chap。 2。



'3'  〃Aids to Scouting;〃 p。 xii。







XI。  THE NINE SITUATIONS





     1。  Sun Tzu said:  The art of war recognizes nine varieties 

of ground:   (1)  Dispersive ground;  (2)  facile ground;  (3) 

contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting 

highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed…in 

ground; (9) desperate ground。

     2。  When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory; it is 

dispersive ground。



     'So called because the soldiers; being near to their homes 

and anxious to see their wives and children; are likely to seize 

the opportunity afforded by a battle and scatter in every 

direction。  〃In their advance;〃 observes Tu Mu; 〃they will lack 

the valor of desperation; and when they retreat; they will find 

harbors of refuge。〃'



     3。  When he has penetrated into hostile territory; but to no 

great distance; it is facile ground。



     'Li Ch‘uan and Ho Shih say 〃because of the facility for 

retreating;〃   and   the   other   commentators   give    similar 

explanations。  Tu Mu remarks:  〃When your army has crossed the 

border; you should burn your boats and bridges; in order to make 

it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home。〃'



     4。  Ground the possession of which imports great advantage 

to either side; is contentious ground。



     'Tu Mu defines the ground as ground 〃to be contended for。〃  

Ts‘ao Kung says:   〃ground on which the few and the weak can 

defeat the many and the strong;〃 such as 〃the neck of a pass;〃 

instanced   by Li Ch‘uan。  Thus;  Thermopylae was   of   this 

classification because the possession of it; even for a few days 

only;  meant holding the entire invading army in check and thus 

gaining invaluable time。  Cf。 Wu Tzu; ch。 V。  ad init。:   〃For 

those who have to fight in the ratio of one to ten;  there is 

nothing better than a narrow pass。〃  When Lu Kuang was returning 

from his triumphant expedition to Turkestan in 385 A。D。; and had 

got as far as I…ho; laden with spoils; Liang Hsi;  administrator 

of Liang…chou; taking advantage of the death of Fu Chien; King of 

Ch‘in;  plotted against him and was for barring his way into the 

province。  Yang Han;  governor of Kao…ch‘ang;  counseled him; 

saying:   〃Lu Kuang is fresh from his victories in the west;  and 

his soldiers are vigorous and mettlesome。  If we oppose him in 

the shifting sands of the desert; we shall be no match for him; 

and we must therefore try a different plan。  Let us hasten to 

occupy the defile at the mouth of the Kao…wu pass; thus cutting 

him off from supplies of water;  and when his troops are 

prostrated with thirst; we can dictate our own terms without 

moving。  Or if you think that the pass I mention is too far off; 

we could ma

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