775: VII. Military Struggle

Sun Tzu said: The law of the use of soldiers, the general accepts the orders of the king, from the collection of the people, the organization of the army, to the confrontation with the enemy, there is no more difficult than to fight for victory. The most difficult part of the battle for the winning conditions lies in turning a roundabout detour into a straight road, and turning disadvantages into advantages. At the same time, it is necessary to turn the enemy's immediate advantage into a detour and lure the enemy with small profits, so that he can reach the strategic point of contention before the enemy strikes behind. This is the way to master the way to take a roundabout approach.

Therefore, there is both a smooth side and a dangerous side to the military struggle. If the whole army carries all the baggage to fight for profit, it will not be able to reach the predetermined territory on time; If part of the army is left behind to fight for profit, the baggage equipment will be lost. Therefore, if the generals of the three armies were captured by the enemy, the sturdy soldiers would arrive first, and the weak soldiers would fall behind, and as a result, only one-tenth of the troops would be in place. If you go fifty miles to fight for profit, you will lose the main general of the former army, and only half of the troops will be able to be in place. Thirty miles to fight for profit, only two-thirds of the troops could still arrive. It must be known that the army will fail without baggage, it cannot survive without food, and it will be difficult to survive without material reserves.

Therefore, if you do not understand the strategic intentions of the princes and nations, you cannot make friends with them; Unfamiliar with the terrain of mountains, forests, dangers, and swamps, and cannot march; If you don't use the guide, you won't be able to get the location. Therefore, in fighting a war with troops, we must rely on deceit and changeability to achieve success, decide on our own actions according to whether it is advantageous or not, and change tactics according to the way of dispersing or concentrating troops. Therefore, when an army moves quickly, it is like a swift wind, when it moves slowly, it is like a forest that is not in chaos, when it attacks the enemy, when it is defended, it is like a mountain when it is defended, when it is hidden, it is like a thick cloud covering the sun and the moon, and when it charges, it is like a thunderbolt. Divide your troops, plunder the enemy's villages, divide your forces to hold important places, expand your territory, weigh the stakes, and then move on camera. A general who knows how to take a roundabout approach will be able to achieve victory, and this is the principle of competing for the winning conditions.

In "Military Administration", it is said: 'The language command cannot be heard, so the golden drum is set up; The action commander can't see it, so the flag is set. These golden drums and banners were used to unify the eyes and ears of the army. Since the whole army is unanimous, then the brave soldiers cannot rush forward alone, and the cowardly soldiers do not dare to retreat alone. This is the method of commanding a large force to fight. Therefore, firelight, gongs and drums are often used in night battles, and flags are often used in daytime operations, all of which are out of the need to meet the needs of the soldiers' ears, eyes, and ears.

For the enemy's army, it can demoralize; For the general of the enemy army, it can shake his determination. When the army first entered the battle, it was full of morale, and after some time, it was completely exhausted. Therefore, those who are good at using troops always avoid the enemy's sharp spirit when they first arrive, and then wait until the enemy's morale is slackened and exhausted before attacking it, which is the way to master the use of army morale. Dealing with the enemy's chaos with one's own rigor and one's composure against the enemy's rashness is a means of mastering the general's mentality. Use the battlefield approached by your own troops to deal with enemies from afar. The secret of grasping the combat effectiveness of the army is to use the comfort and recuperation of one's own troops to deal with a tired enemy, and to use the sufficient food and salary of one's own troops to deal with a hungry enemy. Don't stop the enemy with a neat banner, don't attack the enemy with a strong lineup, this is the principle of mastering flexibility.

The rules of using troops are: do not attack the enemy on the back when occupying the mountains, do not meet the enemy head-on if he has his back to the high ground, do not follow the enemy if he pretends to be defeated and retreat, do not attack the enemy's elite, do not ignore the enemy's lure, do not encounter the enemy troops on the way back to their own country, leave a gap when surrounding the enemy, and do not push the enemy in a desperate situation too much. These are the rules of the use of soldiers.