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第33章

art of war-第33章

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     'Literally;  〃level the courage 'of all' as though 'it were 

that of'  one。〃  If the ideal army is to form a single organic 

whole;  then it follows that the resolution and spirit of its 

component parts must be of the same quality; or at any rate must 

not fall below a certain standard。  Wellington's seemingly 

ungrateful description of his army at Waterloo as 〃the worst he 

had ever commanded〃 meant no more than that it was deficient in 

this important particularunity of spirit and courage。  Had he 

not foreseen the Belgian defections and carefully kept those 

troops in the background; he would almost certainly have lost the 

day。'



     33。  How to make the best of both strong and weakthat is a 

question involving the proper use of ground。



     'Mei Yao…ch‘en's paraphrase is:  〃The way to eliminate the 

differences of strong and weak and to make both serviceable is to 

utilize accidental features of the ground。〃   Less reliable 

troops;  if posted in strong positions; will hold out as long as 

better troops on more exposed terrain。  The advantage of position 

neutralizes the inferiority in stamina and courage。   Col。 

Henderson says:  〃With all respect to the text books; and to the 

ordinary tactical teaching; I am inclined to think that the study 

of ground is often overlooked; and that by no means sufficient 

importance is attached to the selection of positions。。。  and to 

the immense advantages that are to be derived; whether you are 

defending or attacking; from the proper utilization of natural 

features。〃 '2' '



     34。  Thus the skillful general conducts his army just as 

though he were leading a single man; willy…nilly; by the hand。



     'Tu Mu says:  〃The simile has reference to the ease with 

which he does it。〃'



     35。  It is the business of a general to be quiet and thus 

ensure secrecy; upright and just; and thus maintain order。

     36。  He must be able to mystify his officers and men by 

false reports and appearances;



     'Literally; 〃to deceive their eyes and ears。〃'



and thus keep them in total ignorance。



     'Ts‘ao Kung gives us one of his excellent apophthegms:  〃The 

troops must not be allowed to share your schemes in the 

beginning;  they may only rejoice with you over their happy 

outcome。〃  〃To mystify; mislead; and surprise the enemy;〃 is one 

of the first principles in war; as had been frequently pointed 

out。  But how about the other processthe mystification of one's 

own men?  Those who may think that Sun Tzu is over…emphatic on 

this point would do well to read Col。  Henderson's remarks on 

Stonewall Jackson's Valley campaign:  〃The infinite pains;〃  he 

says;  〃with which Jackson sought to conceal; even from his most 

trusted staff officers; his movements; his intentions;  and his 

thoughts;  a commander less thorough would have   pronounced 

useless〃etc。  etc。 '3'  In the year 88 A。D。; as we read in ch。 

47 of the HOU HAN SHU; 〃Pan Ch‘ao took the field with 25;000 men 

from Khotan and other Central Asian states with the object of 

crushing Yarkand。  The King of Kutcha replied by dispatching his 

chief commander to succor the place with an army drawn from the 

kingdoms of Wen…su; Ku…mo; and Wei…t‘ou; totaling 50;000 men。  

Pan Ch‘ao summoned his officers and also the King of Khotan to a 

council of war; and said:  'Our forces are now outnumbered and 

unable to make head against the enemy。  The best plan; then;  is 

for us to separate and disperse; each in a different direction。  

The King of Khotan will march away by the easterly route; and I 

will then return myself towards the west。  Let us wait until the 

evening drum has sounded and then start。'  Pan Ch‘ao now secretly 

released the prisoners whom he had taken alive; and the King of 

Kutcha was thus informed of his plans。  Much elated by the news; 

the latter set off at once at the head of 10;000 horsemen to bar 

Pan Ch‘ao's retreat in the west; while the King of Wen…su rode 

eastward with 8000 horse in order to intercept the King of 

Khotan。  As soon as Pan Ch‘ao knew that the two chieftains had 

gone;  he called his divisions together; got them well in hand; 

and at cock…crow hurled them against the army of Yarkand; as it 

lay encamped。  The barbarians; panic…stricken; fled in confusion; 

and were closely pursued by Pan Ch‘ao。  Over 5000 heads were 

brought back as trophies; besides immense spoils in the shape of 

horses and cattle and valuables of every description。  Yarkand 

then capitulating; Kutcha and the other kingdoms drew off their 

respective forces。  From that time forward; Pan Ch‘ao's prestige 

completely overawed the countries of the west。〃  In this case; we 

see that the Chinese general not only kept his own officers in 

ignorance of his real plans; but actually took the bold step of 

dividing his army in order to deceive the enemy。'



     37。  By altering his arrangements and changing his plans;



     'Wang Hsi thinks that this means not using the same 

stratagem twice。'



he keeps the enemy without definite knowledge。



     'Chang Yu;  in a quotation from another work;  says:   〃The 

axiom;  that war is based on deception; does not apply only to 

deception of the enemy。  You must deceive even your own soldiers。  

Make them follow you; but without letting them know why。〃'



By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes;  he prevents 

the enemy from anticipating his purpose。

     38。  At the critical moment; the leader of an army acts like 

one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder 

behind him。  He carries his men deep into hostile territory 

before he shows his hand。



     'Literally; 〃releases the spring〃 (see V。 ss。 15); that is; 

takes some decisive step which makes it impossible for the army 

to returnlike Hsiang Yu; who sunk his ships after crossing a 

river。  Ch‘en Hao; followed by Chia Lin; understands the words 

less well as 〃puts forth every artifice at his command。〃'



     39。  He burns his boats and breaks his cooking…pots; like a 

shepherd driving a flock of sheep; he drives his men this way and 

that; and nothing knows whither he is going。



     'Tu Mu says:   〃The army is only cognizant of orders to 

advance or retreat;  it is ignorant of the ulterior ends of 

attacking and conquering。〃'



     40。  To muster his host and bring it into danger:this may 

be termed the business of the general。



     'Sun Tzu means that after mobilization there should be no 

delay in aiming a blow at the enemy's heart。  Note how he returns 

again and again to this point。  Among the warring states of 

ancient China; desertion was no doubt a much more present fear 

and serious evil than it is in the armies of today。'



     41。  The different measures suited to the nine varieties of 

ground;



     'Chang Yu says:  〃One must not be hide…bound in interpreting 

the rules for the nine varieties of ground。'



the expediency of aggressive or defensive tactics;  and the 

fundamental laws of human nature:  these are things that must 

most certainly be studied。

     42。  When invading hostile territory; the general principle 

is;  that penetrating deeply brings cohesion; penetrating but a 

short way means dispersion。



     'Cf。 supra; ss。 20。'



     43。  When you leave your own country behind; and take your 

army across neighborhood territory; you find yourself on critical 

ground。



     'This 〃ground〃 is curiously mentioned in VIII。 ss。 2; but it 

does not figure among the Nine Situations or the Six Calamities 

in chap。 X。  One's first impulse would be to translate it distant 

ground;〃 but this; if we can trust the commentators; is precisely 

what is not meant here。  Mei Yao…ch‘en says it is 〃a position not 

far enough advanced to be called 'facile;' and not near enough to 

home to be 'dispersive;' but something between the two。〃  Wang Hsi 

says:  〃It 

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