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

“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.”

“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.”

“It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”

“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”

“Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.”

“Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity.”

“Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.”

“When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then mens weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.”

“Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.”