VII. Contending for Advantage

Sun Tzu said: In general, in the method of using troops, the general receives his orders from the sovereign, gathers the army, and assembles the host; and from then until he camps facing the enemy, nothing is harder than contending for advantage. What is hard in contending for advantage is to make the roundabout into the direct and misfortune into advantage. So make the route roundabout and lure the enemy with advantage; set out after him and arrive before him. This is knowing the calculation of the roundabout and the direct.

Contending for advantage can bring gain; contending for advantage can bring danger. If the whole army is sent to contend for advantage, it will not arrive in time; if part of the army is left behind to contend for advantage, the baggage train is lost. So if men roll up their armor and hurry, resting neither day nor night, covering double the distance at a forced march, to contend for advantage a hundred li away, the generals of all three armies are captured: the strong arrive first, the weary fall behind, and as a rule one in ten arrives. If they contend for advantage fifty li away, the general of the vanguard falls, and as a rule half arrive. If they contend for advantage thirty li away, two in three arrive. So an army without its baggage train is lost, without provisions is lost, without stores is lost.

So one who does not know the designs of the feudal lords cannot make alliances in advance; one who does not know the lay of mountains and forests, passes and defiles, marshes and swamps cannot march an army; one who does not use local guides cannot gain the advantage of the ground. So war is founded on deception, moves by advantage, and changes by dividing and combining.

So when it is swift the army is like the wind, when slow like the forest; in raiding and plundering it is like fire, in standing still like a mountain; it is as hard to know as the dark, and it moves like a clap of thunder. In plundering the countryside, divide the men; in extending territory, divide the gains. Weigh things in the balance, then move. One who first knows the calculation of the roundabout and the direct will win. This is the method of contending for advantage.

The Book of Military Administration¹ says: “Because words cannot be heard, gongs and drums were made; because men cannot see one another, flags and banners were made.” Gongs and drums, flags and banners are the means by which the ears and eyes of the men are made one. Once the men are made one, the brave cannot advance alone and the cowardly cannot retreat alone. This is the method of using a multitude. So in night fighting, use many gongs and drums; in day fighting, use many flags and banners. These are the means of changing what men hear and see.

The Three Armies can be robbed of their spirit; the general can be robbed of his heart. So in the morning spirit is keen, at midday it flags, and in the evening it turns toward home. Those skilled at using troops avoid the enemy when his spirit is keen and strike him when it flags and turns toward home. This is managing spirit. In order, they wait for disorder; in calm, they wait for clamor. This is managing the heart. Near the field, they wait for those who come from far; at ease, they wait for the weary; well fed, they wait for the hungry. This is managing strength. Do not intercept banners in perfect order; do not attack a formation drawn up in full array. This is managing change.

So the method of using troops is this. Do not march up against an enemy on high hills; do not meet head-on an enemy with his back to a ridge; do not pursue a feigned flight; do not attack crack troops; do not take the bait of troops offered as bait; do not block an army going home; leave a way out for a surrounded army; do not press a desperate enemy. This is the method of using troops.

Notes

1. 1. An older military book, now lost.