776: Eight and Nine Variations; 9. March;

Sun Tzu said: The rules of the great army are: the general accepts the orders of the king, recruits the people, organizes the army, and when he goes out on the expedition, he should not be stationed on the swampy 'enclosure', he should make friends with neighboring countries on the 'Qudi' at the junction of many countries, and he should not stop on the 'Jedi'. Some roads should not be passed, some enemy armies should not attack, some cities should not be attacked, some places should not be contested, and some orders of the king should not be carried out. Therefore, if the general can be proficient in the pros and cons of various changes, then he knows how to use troops. If the general is not proficient in the pros and cons of various contingencies, then even if he understands the terrain, he will not be able to get the terrain land. If you command the army and do not know the methods of various contingencies, then even if you know the 'five benefits,' you will not be able to give full play to the combat effectiveness of the army.

Therefore, when considering the problem, a wise general must fully take into account both the interests and the disadvantages. In unfavorable circumstances, it is necessary to see favorable conditions, and great things can be carried out smoothly; In good times, we need to see the negative factors, and the disasters can be eliminated in advance.

to hurt the princes of each country with the things that delight it, and to force it to submit; to afflict the princes of the nations with things which they find dangerous, and to compel them to obey our drives; It is necessary to use small profits to lure the princes of various countries and force them to run passively.

The rule of use of troops is not to hope that the enemy will not come, but to rely on oneself to be well prepared; Don't hope that the enemy won't attack, but rely on the power you have to keep the enemy from attacking.

There are five major dangers for generals: if you only know how to fight to the death, you may be booby-trapped; If you are greedy for your life, you may be captured; Impatient and irritable, you may fall for the enemy's tricks; If you blindly have a good reputation, you may fall into the trap of the enemy's insult; 'Loving the people' regardless of the situation may lead to annoyance and unrest. The above five points are the fault of the generals and the disasters of the use of troops. The annihilation of the army and the capture and killing of the generals by the enemy must have been caused by these five dangers. This cannot but be given due attention.

9. March

Sun Tzu said: When dealing with the deployment of troops and observing and judging the enemy's situation, we should pay attention to the following principles: When passing through the mountains, we should be close to the valleys with water and grass, and we should be stationed in a high and sunny place, and we should not attack the high ground occupied by the enemy. To cross a river, one must be stationed away from the river; When the enemy crosses the water, it is advantageous not to meet it in the river, but to wait until it is halfway crossed. If you want to fight the enemy, don't line up near the water's edge; It is advantageous in the river area; When stationed in river areas, they should also stand high and face the sun, and not face the current, and this is the principle of deploying and disposing of troops in river areas. Through saline swamps, one should leave quickly, not staying; If you meet the enemy in a saline swamp, you must be close to the water and grass and have your back to the woods, which is the principle of deploying mobile troops in the saline marsh. In the plains, it is necessary to occupy flat and open areas, while the flanks should lean on the high ground, so that the front is low and the rear is high, which is the principle of deploying mobile troops in the plains. The benefits brought by the application of the above four principles of army deployment are the reason why the Yellow Emperor was able to defeat the other 'Four Emperors'.

Under normal circumstances, the garrison always likes dry highlands, dislikes damp depressions, attaches importance to sunny places, despises damp places, is close to water and grass areas, has sufficient military supplies, and soldiers are not sick, so that the victory of the enemy is guaranteed. In the area of the hilly embankment, it is necessary to occupy the south-facing side, with the main flank with its back to it, and these measures are advantageous for the use of the terrain, which is supplemented by the terrain. If you want to wade across the river, you have to wait for the water to stabilize before crossing the river. Whenever you encounter the six terrains of the Absolute Stream, the Tianjing, the Heavenly Prison, the Tianluo, the Heavenly Depression, and the Heavenly Gap, you must leave quickly and do not approach. Our army is far away from them, and the enemy is allowed to approach them; Our army should face them, and let the enemy turn his back on them. In the course of the march, if you encounter steep passes, lakes and marshes, water nets, reeds, mountains and forests, and places with lush vegetation, you must carefully search repeatedly, as these are all places where the enemy may set up ambushes and hide spies.

The enemy approached and remained quiet, relying on it to occupy the difficult terrain; The enemy came to challenge me from a distance of time in order to lure our army into his trap; The enemy is stationed on flat ground because it is profitable to do so. Many woods swayed and swayed, and it was the enemy who came stealthily; There are many obstacles in the grass, which is a suspicious array of enemies; The birds are frightened, and there are ambushes below; The beast is in a hurry, and this is a great surprise attack by the enemy; The dust was high and sharp, and it was the enemy's chariot galloping; The dust was low and wide, which was driven by the enemy's infantry; The dust was scattered, and it was the enemy who was cutting firewood; The dust is thin and sometimes rises and falls, and this is the enemy camping. The enemy's messenger is tough and the army is ready to retreat; The enemy's chariots are dispatched first, deployed on the flanks, which is in formation; If the enemy has not yet been frustrated and takes the initiative to come forward to make peace, there must be a conspiracy; The enemy is running at a rapid pace and setting up in formation, expecting a decisive battle with us; The enemy's half-advance and half-retreat is an attempt to lure our troops. The enemy soldier stands against his weapon, which is a sign of hunger; The enemy soldier who fetches water drinks it first, which is a sign of thirst and lack of water; The enemy's failure to fight for it when he sees an advantage is a sign of fatigue; Birds gathered above the enemy camp, indicating that it was an empty camp; The enemy screams in panic at night, which is a sign of his fear; The enemy camp was disturbed and chaotic, which showed that the enemy general had no majesty; The flag of the enemy formation is not waved in an orderly manner, which indicates that the enemy ranks are in disarray; The enemy officers were irritable and irritable, indicating that the whole army was tired; Feeding the horses with grain, killing the animals and eating meat, packing up the cooking utensils, and not returning to the camp, this is a poor man who intends to desperately break through the siege. The enemy general speaks to his subordinates in a low voice, which indicates that the enemy will lose the hearts and minds of the people; The successive rewards of the soldiers showed that the enemy had run out of options. The repeated punishment of subordinates indicates that the enemy army is in a difficult situation; The enemy will be the most unsavvy general who will lead the way and be fierce to his subordinates, and then afraid of his subordinates; The enemy sent messengers to give gifts and good wishes, which was the enemy's hope for a truce and a cessation of war; The enemy's anger confronts me, but he does not fight for a long time and does not retreat, so it is necessary to carefully observe his intentions.

As long as the enemy does not advance lightly, it is enough to concentrate troops, determine the enemy's situation, and gain the trust and support of his subordinates. Those who have no foresight and who pride themselves on the enemy will surely be captured by the enemy.

If the soldiers are punished before they are close to them, then they will not be satisfied, and it will be difficult to use them if they do not obey; The soldiers have been personally attached, and military discipline and military law are still not enforced, so they cannot be used to fight. Therefore, it is necessary to educate them with gentle and generous means, and use military discipline and military law to discipline and regulate them, so that they will surely win the respect and support of their subordinates. If you can strictly carry out orders and discipline the soldiers, the soldiers will develop the habit of obedience; If you don't pay attention to strictly following orders and disciplining the soldiers, the soldiers will develop the habit of disobedience; The fact that orders were carried out in peacetime showed that the generals and the non-commissioned officers got along well.