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highways? The answer is, that not victuals alone, but all sorts of munitions of war have to
be conveyed to the army. Besides, the injunction to 'forage on the enemy' only means that
when an army is deeply engaged in hostile territory, scarcity of food must be provided
against. Hence, without being solely dependent on the enemy for corn, we must forage in
order that there may be an uninterrupted flow of supplies. Then, again, there are places like
salt deserts where provisions being unobtainable, supplies from home cannot be dispensed
with."]
As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in their labor.
[Mei Yao-ch`en says: "Men will be lacking at the plough-tail." The allusion is to the system of
dividing land into nine parts, each consisting of about 15 acres, the plot in the center being
cultivated on behalf of the State by the tenants of the other eight. It was here also, so Tu Mu
tells us, that their cottages were built and a well sunk, to be used by all in common. [See II.
ss. 12, note.] In time of war, one of the families had to serve in the army, while the other
seven contributed to its support. Thus, by a levy of 100,000 men (reckoning one able-bodied
soldier to each family) the husbandry of 700,000 families would be affected.]
2. Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a
single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because
one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments,
["For spies" is of course the meaning, though it would spoil the effect of this curiously
elaborate exordium if spies were actually mentioned at this point.]
is the height of inhumanity.
[Sun Tzu's agreement is certainly ingenious. He begins by adverting to the frightful misery
and vast expenditure of blood and treasure which war always brings in its train. Now, unless
you are kept informed of the enemy's condition, and are ready to strike at the right moment,
a war may drag on for years. The only way to get this information is to employ spies, and it
is impossible to obtain trustworthy spies unless they are properly paid for their services. But
it is surely false economy to grudge a comparatively trifling amount for this purpose, when
every day that the war lasts eats up an incalculably greater sum. This grievous burden falls
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The Art of War By: Szun Tsu, 500BC
on the shoulders of the poor, and hence Sun Tzu concludes that to neglect the use of spies
is nothing less than a crime against humanity.]
3. One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his sovereign, no master of
victory.
[This idea, that the true object of war is peace, has its root in the national temperament of
the Chinese. Even so far back as 597 B.C., these memorable words were uttered by Prince
Chuang of the Ch`u State: "The [Chinese] character for 'prowess' is made up of [the
characters for] 'to stay' and 'a spear' (cessation of hostilities). Military prowess is seen in the
repression of cruelty, the calling in of weapons, the preservation of the appointment of
Heaven, the firm establishment of merit, the bestowal of happiness on the people, putting
harmony between the princes, the diffusion of wealth."]
4. Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and
achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is FOREKNOWLEDGE.
[That is, knowledge of the enemy's dispositions, and what he means to do.]
5. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively
from experience,
[Tu Mu's note is: "[knowledge of the enemy] cannot be gained by reasoning from other
analogous cases."]
nor by any deductive calculation.
[Li Ch`uan says: "Quantities like length, breadth, distance and magnitude, are susceptible of
exact mathematical determination; human actions cannot be so calculated."]
6. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.
[Mei Yao-ch`en has rather an interesting note: "Knowledge of the spirit-world is to be
obtained by divination; information in natural science may be sought by inductive reasoning;
the laws of the universe can be verified by mathematical calculation: but the dispositions of
an enemy are ascertainable through spies and spies alone."]
7. Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes:
(1) Local spies;
(2) inward spies;
(3) converted spies;
(4) doomed spies;
(5) surviving spies.
8. When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is
called "divine manipulation of the threads." It is the sovereign's most precious faculty.
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The Art of War By: Szun Tsu, 500BC
[Cromwell, one of the greatest and most practical of all cavalry leaders, had officers styled
'scout masters,' whose business it was to collect all possible information regarding the
enemy, through scouts and spies, etc., and much of his success in war was traceable to the
previous knowledge of the enemy's moves thus gained." [1] ]
9. Having LOCAL SPIES means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district.
[Tu Mu says: "In the enemy's country, win people over by kind treatment, and use them as
spies."]
10. Having INWARD SPIES, making use of officials of the enemy.
[Tu Mu enumerates the following classes as likely to do good service in this respect:
"Worthy men who have been degraded from office, criminals who have undergone
punishment; also, favorite concubines who are greedy for gold, men who are aggrieved at
being in subordinate positions, or who have been passed over in the distribution of posts,
others who are anxious that their side should be defeated in order that they may have a
chance of displaying their ability and talents, fickle turncoats who always want to have a foot
in each boat. Officials of these several kinds," he continues, "should be secretly approached
and bound to one's interests by means of rich presents. In this way you will be able to find
out the state of affairs in the enemy's country, ascertain the plans that are being formed
against you, and moreover disturb the harmony and create a breach between the sovereign
and his ministers." The necessity for extreme caution, however, in dealing with "inward
spies," appears from an historical incident related by Ho Shih: "Lo Shang, Governor of I-
Chou, sent his general Wei Po to attack the rebel Li Hsiung of Shu in his stronghold at P`i.
After each side had experienced a number of victories and defeats, Li Hsiung had recourse [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]