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