Read2Me - The Art of War Name and picture from twetch — not on-chain. The signature is; the profile is not.

“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”

“But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away.”

“By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.”

“By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldiers minds.”

“By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.”

“There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:”

“Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.”

“If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.”

“ It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemys one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.”

“the skillful leader subdues the enemys troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.”

“The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.”

“..and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.”

“The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months..”

“The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided.”

“Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys plans the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemys forces; the next in order is to attack the enemys army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.”

“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemys resistance without fighting.”

“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemys country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it”

“Chapter 3. Attack By Stratagem”

“Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the peoples fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.”

“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”

“This is called, using the conquered foe to augment ones own strength.”

“in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours.”

“Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.”

“Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemys provisions is equivalent to twenty of ones own”

“With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated;”

“When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.”

“On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the peoples substance to be drained away.”

“Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.”

“Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.”

“The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.”