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第39章

art of war-第39章

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other eight。  It was here also; so Tu Mu tells us;  that their 

cottages were built and a well sunk; to be used by all in common。  

'See II。 ss。 12; note。'  In time of war; one of the families had 

to serve in the army; while the other seven contributed to its 

support。  Thus;  by a levy of 100;000 men (reckoning one able…

bodied soldier to each family) the husbandry of 700;000 families 

would be affected。'



     2。  Hostile armies may face each other for years;  striving 

for the victory which is decided in a single day。  This being so; 

to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because 

one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors 

and emoluments;



     '〃For spies〃 is of course the meaning; though it would spoil 

the effect of this curiously elaborate exordium if spies were 

actually mentioned at this point。'



is the height of inhumanity。



     'Sun Tzu's agreement is certainly ingenious。  He begins by 

adverting to the frightful misery and vast expenditure of blood 

and treasure which war always brings in its train。  Now;  unless 

you are kept informed of the enemy's condition; and are ready to 

strike at the right moment; a war may drag on for years。  The 

only way to get this information is to employ spies; and it is 

impossible to obtain trustworthy spies unless they are properly 

paid for their services。  But it is surely false economy to 

grudge a comparatively trifling amount for this purpose;  when 

every day that the war lasts eats up an incalculably greater sum。  

This grievous burden falls on the shoulders of the poor;  and 

hence Sun Tzu concludes that to neglect the use of spies is 

nothing less than a crime against humanity。'



     3。  One who acts thus is no leader of men; no present help 

to his sovereign; no master of victory。



     'This idea; that the true object of war is peace;  has its 

root in the national temperament of the Chinese。  Even so far 

back as 597 B。C。; these memorable words were uttered by Prince 

Chuang of the Ch‘u State:  〃The 'Chinese' character for 'prowess' 

is made up of 'the characters for' 'to stay'  and  'a spear' 

(cessation of hostilities)。  Military prowess is seen in the 

repression   of   cruelty;  the calling in of   weapons;   the 

preservation of the appointment of Heaven; the firm establishment 

of merit;  the bestowal of happiness on the people;  putting 

harmony between the princes; the diffusion of wealth。〃'



     4。  Thus;  what enables the wise sovereign and the good 

general to strike and conquer; and achieve things beyond the 

reach of ordinary men; is FOREKNOWLEDGE。



     'That is; knowledge of the enemy's dispositions; and what he 

means to do。'



     5。  Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; 

it cannot be obtained inductively from experience;



     'Tu Mu's note is:  〃'knowledge of the enemy'  cannot be 

gained by reasoning from other analogous cases。〃'



nor by any deductive calculation。



     'Li   Ch‘uan says:   〃Quantities like   length;   breadth; 

distance and magnitude; are susceptible of exact mathematical 

determination; human actions cannot be so calculated。〃'



     6。  Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be 

obtained from other men。



     'Mei Yao…ch‘en has rather an interesting note:   〃Knowledge 

of the spirit…world is to be obtained by divination;  information 

in natural science may be sought by inductive reasoning; the laws 

of the universe can be verified by mathematical calculation:  but 

the dispositions of an enemy are ascertainable through spies and 

spies alone。〃'



     7。  Hence the use of spies; of whom there are five classes:  

(1)  Local spies;  (2) inward spies; (3)  converted spies;  (4) 

doomed spies; (5) surviving spies。

     8。  When these five kinds of spy are all at work; none can 

discover the secret system。  This is called 〃divine manipulation 

of the threads。〃  It is the sovereign's most precious faculty。



     'Cromwell;  one of the greatest and most practical of all 

cavalry leaders;  had officers styled  'scout masters;'  whose 

business it was to collect all possible information regarding the 

enemy; through scouts and spies; etc。; and much of his success in 

war was traceable to the previous knowledge of the enemy's moves 

thus gained。〃 '1' '



     9。  Having LOCAL SPIES means employing the services of the 

inhabitants of a district。



     'Tu Mu says:  〃In the enemy's country; win people over by 

kind treatment; and use them as spies。〃'



     10。  Having INWARD SPIES; making use of officials of the 

enemy。



     'Tu Mu enumerates the following classes as likely to do good 

service in this respect:  〃Worthy men who have been degraded from 

office;  criminals who have undergone punishment; also;  favorite 

concubines who are greedy for gold; men who are aggrieved at 

being in subordinate positions; or who have been passed over in 

the distribution of posts; others who are anxious that their side 

should be defeated in order that they may have a chance of 

displaying their ability and talents; fickle turncoats who always 

want to have a foot in each boat。  Officials of these several 

kinds;〃 he continues; 〃should be secretly approached and bound to 

one's interests by means of rich presents。  In this way you will 

be able to find out the state of affairs in the enemy's country; 

ascertain the plans that are being formed against you;  and 

moreover disturb the harmony and create a breach between the 

sovereign and his ministers。〃  The necessity for extreme caution; 

however;  in dealing with  〃inward spies;〃  appears from   an 

historical incident related by Ho Shih:  〃Lo Shang; Governor of 

I…Chou; sent his general Wei Po to attack the rebel Li Hsiung of 

Shu in his stronghold at P‘i。  After each side had experienced a 

number of victories and defeats; Li Hsiung had recourse to the 

services of a certain P‘o…t‘ai; a native of Wu…tu。  He began to 

have him whipped until the blood came; and then sent him off to 

Lo Shang; whom he was to delude by offering to cooperate with him 

from inside the city; and to give a fire signal at the right 

moment for making a general assault。  Lo Shang;  confiding in 

these promises; march out all his best troops; and placed Wei Po 

and others at their head with orders to attack at P‘o…t‘ai's 

bidding。  Meanwhile; Li Hsiung's general; Li Hsiang; had prepared 

an ambuscade on their line of march; and P‘o…t‘ai; having reared 

long scaling…ladders against the city walls;  now lighted the 

beacon…fire。  Wei Po's men raced up on seeing the signal and 

began climbing the ladders as fast as they could;  while others 

were drawn up by ropes lowered from above。  More than a hundred 

of Lo Shang's soldiers entered the city in this way; every one of 

whom was forthwith beheaded。  Li Hsiung then charged with all his 

forces;  both inside and outside the city; and routed the enemy 

completely。〃  'This happened in 303 A。D。  I do not know where Ho 

Shih got the story from。  It is not given in the biography of Li 

Hsiung or that of his father Li T‘e; CHIN SHU; ch。 120; 121。'



     11。  Having CONVERTED SPIES; getting hold of the enemy's 

spies and using them for our own purposes。



     'By means of heavy bribes and liberal promises detaching 

them from the enemy's service; and inducing them to carry back 

false information as well as to spy in turn on their own 

countrymen。  On the other hand; Hsiao Shih…hsien says that we 

pretend not to have detected him; but contrive to let him carry 

away a false impression of what is going on。  Several of the 

commentators accept this as an alternative definition; but that 

it is not what Sun Tzu meant is conclusively proved by his 

subsequent remarks about treating the converted spy generously 

(ss。 21 sqq。)。  Ho Shih notes three occasions on which converted 

spies w

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