Position before action

Sun Tzu said: In the past, those who were good at commanding battles first had to keep themselves from being defeated, and then waited for the enemy to reveal the opportunity to be defeated by us.

It is up to oneself to be invincible (get prepared); It is up to the enemy to let one win (not prepared).

Therefore, one is good at commanding battles can not be defeated by the enemy, but one cannot necessarily defeat the enemy.

Therefore there is a saying: victory can be predicted, but it cannot happen artificially according to the predetermined situation.

The formation that cannot be defeated by the enemy is a defensive formation;

The formation that can defeat the enemy is an offensive formation.

The defensive formation is carried out because of the lack of troops;

The offensive formation is carried out because the forces are sufficient to the enemy.

Those who are good at defense conceal one's forces as if one were hidden deepest underground, so that the enemy cannot spy on;

Those who are good at offense dispatch one's troops like divine soldiers descending from the sky, making it difficult for the enemy to parry.

Therefore, it is possible to effectively protect oneself and achieve a comprehensive victory.

Foreseeing victory, no more than the insight of ordinary people, is not the most brilliant.

Victory through hard work, even if everyone in the world praises it, is not the most brilliant.

It's like being able to lift the new fluff of birds and beasts in autumn, is not one's strength strong,

Being able to see the sun and the moon, is not one's eyes are good-sighted,

Being able to hear the sound of thunder, is not one's ears are sensitive.

Those who are good at commanding battles in the past only defeated the enemy that was easy to defeat.

Thus, the victory of who are good at commanding battles have neither the reputation of wisdom nor the merit of valor.

In fact, there will be no mistake in their victory.

The reason of no mistake is because the measures they take are based on the certainty of victory--defeat the enemy who is already in a losing situation.

One who is good at commanding battles always puts oneself in an invincible position, and at the same time, one will never miss any opportunity to defeat the enemy.

Therefore, the victorious army first creates the conditions for victory and then engages the battle, and the defeated army always blindly engages the battle first, and then hopes to win by luck from the bitter battle.

One who is good at commanding battles, maintains the unity of will between superiors and subordinates, and ensures that the laws and systems are implemented well, so they can become the masters of the victory or defeat of the war.

Elements of the army:

The first is the "degree", the land size;

the second is "quantity", military supplies;

the third is the "number", the organization and establishment of the army;

the fourth is "weighing", the comparison of the comprehensive military strength;

The fifth is "winning", judging the merits of victory and defeat.

The terrain where the army is located determines the size of the land;

The size of the land determines the wealth of military supplies;

The difference in military supplies determines the organization and establishment of the army;

The difference in organization and establishment of the army determines the comprehensive military strength;

The difference in military strength ultimately determines the outcome of the war.

Therefore, the victorious army is like using Yi against Zhu, it is a strong military strength to win against a weak enemy, and the defeated army is like using Zhu against Yi, it is a weak military strength against a strong enemy.

(*Note: 1 Yi = 24 Liang, 1 Liang = 24 Zhu, so 1 Yi = 576 Zhu, all of these are weight units)

One who can win the war, do the deployment of the fighting people, is like opening a 2,000-meter-high dam and releasing the stored water to deal with the little stream below the dam, this is called the formation and size of the armies.