779: XII. Fire Attack; XIII. Use the intersection.

Sun Tzu said: There are five forms of fire attack: one is to burn the enemy's men and horses, the second is to burn the enemy's grain and grass, the third is to burn the enemy's baggage, the fourth is to burn the enemy's warehouses, and the fifth is to burn the enemy's grain routes. The conditions must be met for carrying out a fire attack, and the fire attack equipment must be prepared at ordinary times. When you set a fire, you should look at the right time, and if you start a fire, you should choose a good day. The so-called time of day refers to the dry climate; The so-called day refers to the time when the moon passes through the four star positions: 'Kei', 'Wall', 'Wing', and 'Zhen'. Whenever the moon passes through these four constellations, it is a day of wind.

Whenever fire attacks are used, it is necessary to flexibly and flexibly deploy troops in response to the different changes caused by the five types of fire attacks. If you set fire to the inside of the enemy camp, you must promptly send troops to respond from the outside. When the fire has been burned and the enemy is still calm, it is necessary to wait and not attack immediately. Wait for the fire to be strong, and then make a decision according to the situation, attack if you can, and stop if you can't. The fire can be set off from the outside, so you don't have to wait for the inside to respond, just set it on fire at the right time. When setting fire from the upwind, do not attack from the downwind. When the wind blows for a long time during the day, it is easy to stop at night. The army must master these five methods of fire attack, use them flexibly, and wait for the time and conditions to set fire before launching a fire attack.

The use of fire to assist the army's offensive is particularly effective, and the use of water to assist the army's offensive is bound to be strengthened. Water can divide and isolate enemy troops, but it cannot burn enemy supplies.

Whoever wins a battle and conquers land and cities, and fails to reward his deeds in time, will surely be in trouble. This situation is called 'Fee'. Therefore, a wise monarch should consider this issue carefully, and a virtuous general should take this issue seriously. Don't act if there is no benefit; If you are not sure of victory, do not use soldiers; Don't go to war until it's critical. The king must not start a war out of a momentary anger, and the commander must not go to war out of a momentary anger. The use of troops should be done only if it is in the interests of the country, and it should be stopped if it is not in the interests of the country. Anger can turn back into joy, and anger can turn back into joy. But when a nation perishes, it cannot be restored, and when a person dies, it cannot be reborn. Therefore, in dealing with war, a wise monarch should be cautious, and a virtuous general should be vigilant, which is the fundamental principle for stabilizing the country and preserving the army.

XIII. Use the intersection

Sun Wu said: Fan Xing has 100,000 soldiers, and has fought for thousands of miles, and the consumption of the people and the expenses of the office have to cost thousands of gold every day, and the front and rear are in turmoil, and the people are tired of running around on the road, and there are as many as 700,000 families who cannot engage in normal farming and production. Holding each other like this for several years is to win the battle. If a person is stingy with money and refuses to reuse spies, so that he fails to grasp the enemy's situation, he is not merciful to the extreme, and he is not worthy to be the commander of the army, not to be the assistant of the state, and not to be the master of victory. Therefore, the reason why wise monarchs and virtuous generals can defeat the enemy as soon as they send troops and surpass ordinary people is that they can grasp the enemy's situation in advance. It is necessary to understand the enemy's situation in advance, and not to obtain it by asking God and ghosts; It is not permissible to speculate by analogy with similar things; It is not possible to verify the position of the sun, moon and stars. It must be taken from people, from the mouths of those who are familiar with the enemy's situation.

There are five ways to use espionage, namely, the cause room, the internal room, the anti-room, the death room, and the life room. These five kinds of spies are used at the same time, so that the enemy can not understand the laws of our use, this is the mysterious method of using spies, and it is also the magic weapon of the king to defeat the enemy. The so-called intuma refers to the use of the enemy's fellow villagers as spies, which can also be called the countryside. The so-called in-house is to use the enemy's officials as spies. The so-called anti-intermediary is to use enemy spies for our use. The so-called death refers to deliberately creating and disseminating false information, passing false information to the enemy through our spies, and inducing the enemy to be deceived. The so-called Ikuma is a person who can come back alive after reconnaissance to report the enemy's situation.

So in the army, there is no one closer than a spy; There is no greater reward than a spy; Nothing is more secret than spying. People who are not of great intelligence cannot use spies; He who is not merciful and generous cannot instruct a spy; People who are not sophisticated cannot discern and corroborate the information provided by the spy. Subtle, subtle! Spies can be used anytime, anywhere! If the work of the spy has not yet been carried out, but the secret has been leaked, then the spy and the person who knows the inside must be put to death.

All enemy troops that are preparing to attack, enemy cities that are to be captured, and enemy personnel who are preparing to be assassinated must know in advance the names of their generals, cronies, officials in charge of communication, gatekeepers, and doormen's staff, and instruct our spies to reconnoiter these situations clearly.

We must search for the spy sent by the enemy to reconnoiter our military situation, so as to buy him with a lot of money, lure him in, and then let him go. In this way, the reverse can be used by me. By understanding the enemy's situation through counter-in-conflict, the countryside and the interior can also be used. By understanding the enemy's situation through counter-in-the-counter, it is possible to spread false information to the enemy in the dead room. By understanding the enemy's situation through counter-in-law, it is possible to make Ikuma return to report the enemy's situation at a scheduled time. The use of the five types of spies must be understood and mastered by the monarch. The key to understanding the situation is to use anti-intermediary, so it is necessary to give preferential treatment to anti-intermediary.

In the past, the rise of Yin Shang was due to the reuse of Yi Yin (发yi), who was a minister in the Xia Dynasty

sound

ot yi, yi), he was familiar with and understood the situation of the Xia Dynasty; The rise of the Zhou Dynasty was due to the reuse of Lü Ya, who knew the situation of the Shang Dynasty, by King Wu of Zhou. Therefore, a wise king, a virtuous general, and the able to appoint wise people as spies, will surely be able to achieve great achievements. This was a crucial step in the use of troops, and the entire army relied on the enemy information provided by the spies to decide on military operations.

"Good! At this point, I have finished explaining The Art of War. That's all for today's lesson. Tomorrow, General Song will be asked to explain the "Thirty-six Strategies" to the soldiers. ”

"Listen to your commands! General Murong! ”

····························································································