II. Waging War
II. Waging War
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Sun Tzu said: In general, the method of using troops is this. A thousand fast four-horse chariots, a thousand leather-covered wagons, a hundred thousand armored men, and provisions carried a thousand li:1 the expenses at home and at the front, the cost of envoys and guests, materials such as glue and lacquer, and the upkeep of chariots and armor come to a thousand pieces of gold a day. Only then can an army of a hundred thousand be raised.
When it is used to fight, prize victory. If it drags on, weapons grow dull and the edge is blunted; if it lays siege to cities, its strength is exhausted; if the army is kept long in the field, the resources of the state will not suffice. When weapons are dulled and the edge blunted, strength exhausted and wealth spent, the feudal lords will rise to take advantage of the exhaustion, and even the wise will not be able to make the outcome good. So in war we have heard of haste that was clumsy, but we have never seen length that was clever. That a war should drag on and the state profit by it has never happened. So one who does not fully know the harm of using troops cannot fully know its advantage.
Those skilled at using troops do not levy men twice or ship grain three times. They take their equipment from home and their food from the enemy, and so the army has enough to eat. A state is impoverished by its army when it ships supplies far; when supplies are shipped far, the common people grow poor. Near the army, prices rise; when prices rise, the people’s wealth is drained, and when wealth is drained, the levies on the villages press hard. With strength exhausted and wealth spent, the households at the heart of the country are emptied. Of the people’s means, seven parts in ten are gone. Of the government’s means, for broken chariots and worn-out horses, armor and helmets, arrows and crossbows, halberds and shields, spears and great shields, draft oxen and heavy wagons, six parts in ten are gone.
So a wise general makes a point of feeding on the enemy. One zhong of the enemy’s grain is worth twenty zhong of our own; one dan of his fodder is worth twenty dan of ours.2 What makes men kill the enemy is anger; what makes them take the enemy’s goods is reward. So in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots are captured, reward the man who took the first, and change their flags and banners. Mix the captured chariots in with ours and drive them; treat the captured soldiers well and keep them. This is called defeating the enemy and growing stronger.
So in war, prize victory, not length. The general who understands war is the master of the people’s fate,3 the one on whom the safety or peril of the state depends.