Strategy before battle

Sun Tzu said: The principle of waging war is,

It is the better choice to keep the whole enemy country, while it is not good to break it;

It is the better choice to keep the whole enemy 10,000-men army, while it is not good to break them;

It is the better choice to keep the whole enemy 1,000-men brigade, while it is not good to break them;

It is the better choice to keep the whole enemy 100-men company, while it is not good to break them;

It is the better choice to keep the whole enemy 10-men squad, while it is not good to break them;

Therefore, Winning a hundred victories in a hundred wars, are not considered the most brilliant among the wise.

Dispelling the opponent's fighting spirit without fighting is the most brilliant among the wise.

Therefore, the superior military strategy is to dispel the enemy's purpose, the second class strategy is to dispel the enemy's will to fight, the third class strategy is to disintegrate the enemy's military power, and the lowest is to capture or destroy the enemy's city.

Attack to the enemy's city is a strategy that is only used as a last resort.

In order to attack the city, it takes three months to build large shields and chariots, and to prepare various equipment; And then it takes another three months to pile up the mounds of earth for climbing the city wall.

By the time, the generals could no longer control the anxiety and anger in their hearts, and drove the soldiers to climb the ladder to attack the city like ants, after the soldiers suffered one-third of the casualties, the city could not be captured, which was the disaster brought about by the attack!

Therefore, those who are good at commanding battles, dispel the enemy's military intentions without engaging in battle;

annex the enemy's city without storming it;

destroy the enemy's country without lasting attrition;

must rely on the preservation of the enemy to compete with all other nations to win the world.

In this way, the army will not be tired and frustrated, and the favorable conditions for war will be preserved, and this is the principle of planning the purpose of attack.

Therefore, the principle of commanding battles is:

when one have ten times the enemy's strength, one should siege the enemy;

when one have five times the enemy's strength, one should attack the enemy;

when one have twice the enemy's strength, one should divide the enemy;

when one have the same strength as the enemy, one should be able to take the initiative to respond to the battle.

When the army is less than the enemy, one must be able to escape,

When the morale is not as good as the enemy, one must be able to avoid it.

Therefore, the more stubborn and hard-fought a weak enemy is, the easier it is to become a strong enemy captive.

Military generals are the assistant of the monarch.

If the generals assist the monarch very thoroughly, and there is no barrier between the monarch and the generals, the country is destined to be strong and prosperous;

If there are negligence in the generals' assistance to the monarch, and there is a gap between the monarchs and generals, the country is doomed to weaken.

So, there are three aspects of the monarch's harm to military operations:

Ordering to advance without understanding that the army cannot advance, and ordering to retreat without understanding that the army cannot retreat is called binding the army;

If one do not understand the affairs of the army but interfere in the management of the army, it will confuse the officers and soldiers in the army;

Interfering in command in the army without understanding the power and position in the army will cause the officers and soldiers in the army to have doubts.

If the officers and soldiers of the armies are confused and suspicious, then other nations will take the opportunity to attack us. This is called disruption to the military rhythm and will lose the war.

So, there are five situations to understand victory:

Those who know under what conditions they can fight or not fight can win;

Those who know how to use the many and the few flexibly can win;

Those whose monarch and people are united in their will can win;

Those who waits for the unprepared enemy with a prepared army can win;

Those who has talent generals, and the monarch does not intervene, can win.

These five are the natural Tao of understanding victory.

Therefore, if one have a thorough understanding of the enemy's situation and one's own situation, one will not lose the battle;

If one don't know the enemy but know one's own situation, you have half the chance of winning or losing;

If one do not understand neither the enemy nor one's own will be defeated in every battle.