art of war-第38章
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all sides at once; thus emulating the achievement of T‘ien Tan。'
'See p。 90。' That same evening; a strong breeze sprang up; so
Huang…fu Sung instructed his soldiers to bind reeds together into
torches and mount guard on the city walls; after which he sent
out a band of daring men; who stealthily made their way through
the lines and started the fire with loud shouts and yells。
Simultaneously; a glare of light shot up from the city walls; and
Huang…fu Sung; sounding his drums; led a rapid charge; which
threw the rebels into confusion and put them to headlong flight。〃
'HOU HAN SHU; ch。 71。' '
10。 (5) When you start a fire; be to windward of it。 Do
not attack from the leeward。
'Chang Yu; following Tu Yu; says: 〃When you make a fire;
the enemy will retreat away from it; if you oppose his retreat
and attack him then; he will fight desperately; which will not
conduce to your success。〃 A rather more obvious explanation is
given by Tu Mu: 〃If the wind is in the east; begin burning to
the east of the enemy; and follow up the attack yourself from
that side。 If you start the fire on the east side; and then
attack from the west; you will suffer in the same way as your
enemy。〃'
11。 A wind that rises in the daytime lasts long; but a
night breeze soon falls。
'Cf。 Lao Tzu's saying: 〃A violent wind does not last the
space of a morning。〃 (TAO TE CHING; chap。 23。) Mei Yao…ch‘en
and Wang Hsi say: 〃A day breeze dies down at nightfall; and a
night breeze at daybreak。 This is what happens as a general
rule。〃 The phenomenon observed may be correct enough; but how
this sense is to be obtained is not apparent。'
12。 In every army; the five developments connected with
fire must be known; the movements of the stars calculated; and a
watch kept for the proper days。
'Tu Mu says: 〃We must make calculations as to the paths of
the stars; and watch for the days on which wind will rise;
before making our attack with fire。〃 Chang Yu seems to interpret
the text differently: 〃We must not only know how to assail our
opponents with fire; but also be on our guard against similar
attacks from them。〃'
13。 Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show
intelligence; those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an
accession of strength。
14。 By means of water; an enemy may be intercepted; but not
robbed of all his belongings。
'Ts‘ao Kung's note is: 〃We can merely obstruct the enemy's
road or divide his army; but not sweep away all his accumulated
stores。〃 Water can do useful service; but it lacks the terrible
destructive power of fire。 This is the reason; Chang Yu
concludes; why the former is dismissed in a couple of sentences;
whereas the attack by fire is discussed in detail。 Wu Tzu (ch。
4) speaks thus of the two elements: 〃If an army is encamped on
low…lying marshy ground; from which the water cannot run off; and
where the rainfall is heavy; it may be submerged by a flood。 If
an army is encamped in wild marsh lands thickly overgrown with
weeds and brambles; and visited by frequent gales; it may be
exterminated by fire。〃'
15。 Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles
and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of
enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general
stagnation。
'This is one of the most perplexing passages in Sun Tzu。
Ts‘ao Kung says: 〃Rewards for good service should not be
deferred a single day。〃 And Tu Mu: 〃If you do not take
opportunity to advance and reward the deserving; your
subordinates will not carry out your commands; and disaster will
ensue。〃 For several reasons; however; and in spite of the
formidable array of scholars on the other side; I prefer the
interpretation suggested by Mei Yao…ch‘en alone; whose words I
will quote: 〃Those who want to make sure of succeeding in their
battles and assaults must seize the favorable moments when they
come and not shrink on occasion from heroic measures: that is to
say; they must resort to such means of attack of fire; water and
the like。 What they must not do; and what will prove fatal; is
to sit still and simply hold to the advantages they have got。〃'
16。 Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans
well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources。
'Tu Mu quotes the following from the SAN LUEH; ch。 2: 〃The
warlike prince controls his soldiers by his authority; kits them
together by good faith; and by rewards makes them serviceable。
If faith decays; there will be disruption; if rewards are
deficient; commands will not be respected。〃'
17。 Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your
troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless
the position is critical。
'Sun Tzu may at times appear to be over…cautious; but he
never goes so far in that direction as the remarkable passage in
the TAO TE CHING; ch。 69。 〃I dare not take the initiative; but
prefer to act on the defensive; I dare not advance an inch; but
prefer to retreat a foot。〃'
18。 No ruler should put troops into the field merely to
gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply
out of pique。
19。 If it is to your advantage; make a forward move; if
not; stay where you are。
'This is repeated from XI。 ss。 17。 Here I feel convinced
that it is an interpolation; for it is evident that ss。 20 ought
to follow immediately on ss。 18。'
20。 Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be
succeeded by content。
21。 But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never
come again into being;
'The Wu State was destined to be a melancholy example of
this saying。'
nor can the dead ever be brought back to life。
22。 Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful; and the good
general full of caution。 This is the way to keep a country at
peace and an army intact。
'1' 〃Unless you enter the tiger's lair; you cannot get hold of
the tiger's cubs。〃
…
XIII。 THE USE OF SPIES
1。 Sun Tzu said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men
and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the
people and a drain on the resources of the State。 The daily
expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver。
'Cf。 II。 ss。 ss。 1; 13; 14。'
There will be commotion at home and abroad; and men will drop
down exhausted on the highways。
'Cf。 TAO TE CHING; ch。 30: 〃Where troops have been
quartered; brambles and thorns spring up。 Chang Yu has the note:
〃We may be reminded of the saying: 'On serious ground; gather in
plunder。' Why then should carriage and transportation cause
exhaustion on the highways?The answer is; that not victuals
alone; but all sorts of munitions of war have to be conveyed to
the army。 Besides; the injunction to 'forage on the enemy' only
means that when an army is deeply engaged in hostile territory;
scarcity of food must be provided against。 Hence; without being
solely dependent on the enemy for corn; we must forage in order
that there may be an uninterrupted flow of supplies。 Then;
again; there are places like salt deserts where provisions being
unobtainable; supplies from home cannot be dispensed with。〃'
As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in
their labor。
'Mei Yao…ch‘en says: 〃Men will be lacking at the plough…
tail。〃 The allusion is to the system of dividing land into nine
parts; each consisting of about 15 acres; the plot in the center
being cultivated on behalf of the State by the tenants of the
other eight。 It was here also; so Tu Mu tells us; that their
cottages were built and a well sunk; to be use