XI. The Nine Grounds

Sun Tzu said: In the method of using troops there is dispersive ground, shallow ground, contested ground, open ground, crossroads ground, deep ground, difficult ground, enclosed ground, and deadly ground.

When the feudal lords fight in their own territory, it is dispersive ground. When one enters another’s territory but not deeply, it is shallow ground. Ground that is advantageous to us if we take it and advantageous to him if he takes it is contested ground. Ground where we can go and they can come is open ground. Ground where the lands of three lords meet, so that whoever arrives first wins the multitudes of the world, is crossroads ground. When one has gone deep into another’s territory, with many walled towns at one’s back, it is deep ground. Mountains and forests, passes and defiles, marshes and swamps, any road hard to travel, are difficult ground. Ground where the way in is narrow and the way back roundabout, so that a few of theirs can strike many of ours, is enclosed ground. Ground where one survives by fighting swiftly and perishes by not fighting swiftly is deadly ground.

So on dispersive ground, do not fight; on shallow ground, do not stop; on contested ground, do not attack; on open ground, do not let the army be cut off; on crossroads ground, join with allies; on deep ground, plunder; on difficult ground, keep moving; on enclosed ground, use stratagem; on deadly ground, fight.

Those skilled at using troops in ancient times could keep the enemy’s front and rear from reaching each other, his large and small units from relying on each other, his nobles and commoners from rescuing each other, and his superiors and subordinates from supporting each other; his soldiers, once scattered, could not regroup, and when assembled could not form in order. When it accords with advantage, move; when it does not accord with advantage, stop.

“May I ask: if the enemy comes on in great numbers and in good order, how should we meet him?” The answer is: First seize what he holds dear, and he will do our bidding. The essence of war is speed. Take advantage of the enemy’s failure to keep up, go by roads he does not expect, and attack where he has taken no precautions.

In general, the way of an invading army is this. When it has gone deep, it is concentrated, and the defenders cannot overcome it. Plunder the fertile countryside, and the Three Armies will have enough to eat. Look carefully to the men’s nourishment and do not overwork them; unite their spirit and build up their strength; move the troops and lay plans so that none can fathom them.

Throw them where there is nowhere to go, and they will die rather than flee. Ready to die, what can they not achieve? The soldiers will give all their strength. When soldiers are in deep peril, they are not afraid; when there is nowhere to go, they stand firm; when they have gone deep, they hold together; when there is no choice, they fight.

So without being drilled they are on guard; without being asked they do what is needed; without being bound by agreement they are close; without being ordered they are trustworthy. Forbid omens and do away with doubts, and until death they will go nowhere else. Our soldiers have no surplus wealth, not because they dislike goods; they have no surplus life, not because they dislike long life. On the day the orders are issued, the soldiers who are sitting wet their collars with tears, and those lying down have tears running down their cheeks. Throw them where there is nowhere to go, and they will show the courage of Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui.¹

So those skilled at using troops are like the shuairan. The shuairan is a snake of Mount Chang.² Strike its head, and its tail comes; strike its tail, and its head comes; strike its middle, and head and tail both come. “May I ask whether troops can be made like the shuairan?” The answer is: They can. The men of Wu and the men of Yue hate each other, yet if they were crossing in the same boat and met a storm, they would help each other like a left hand and a right. Therefore tethering the horses side by side and burying the wheels is not enough to rely on. To make courage uniform, as if it were one, is the way of governing; to get the best from the hard and the soft alike is the principle of the ground. So those skilled at using troops lead the whole army as if leading one man by the hand: the men have no choice.

The business of the general is to be calm and inscrutable, upright and orderly. He can keep the soldiers’ eyes and ears in ignorance, so that they know nothing. He changes his arrangements and alters his plans, so that no one recognizes them; he changes his camp and takes roundabout routes, so that the men cannot anticipate him. When the commander sets a time with them, it is like climbing up high and taking away the ladder. When the commander goes deep into the territory of the feudal lords with them, he releases the trigger. He drives them like a flock of sheep, driven this way and driven that, and no one knows where they are going. To gather the host of the Three Armies and throw it into danger: this is the business of the general.

The variations of the nine grounds, the strength in drawing in and stretching out, and the patterns of human nature must be examined. In general, the way of an invading army is this: deep, it is concentrated; shallow, it disperses. Where one leaves one’s own state and crosses the border with an army, it is cut-off ground. Where roads lead off on all four sides, it is crossroads ground. Where one has gone in deep, it is deep ground. Where one has gone in shallow, it is shallow ground. With strongholds behind and narrow passes in front, it is enclosed ground. Where there is nowhere to go, it is deadly ground.

So on dispersive ground, I will make their will one; on shallow ground, I will keep them together; on contested ground, I will hurry up the rear; on open ground, I will look carefully to defense; on crossroads ground, I will make our alliances firm;³ on deep ground, I will keep the food coming; on difficult ground, I will press on along the road; on enclosed ground, I will block the gaps; on deadly ground, I will show them that there is no living through it. So it is the nature of soldiers to resist when surrounded, to fight when there is no choice, and to obey when the danger is extreme.

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. An army that does not know even one of these four or five things is not the army of a hegemon-king.⁴ When the army of a hegemon-king attacks a great state, that state cannot assemble its multitudes; when its might falls on the enemy, his alliances cannot come together. So it does not contend for alliances in the world, nor does it nurture power in the world; trusting in its own designs, it lets its might fall on the enemy, and so it can take his cities and overthrow his state.

Bestow rewards beyond the rules; issue orders beyond the usual measures. Handle the host of the Three Armies as if handling one man. Set them to their tasks, but do not explain in words; set them to danger, but do not tell them of the advantage. Throw them into ground where they will perish, and they will survive; sink them in deadly ground, and they will live. Only when the multitude has fallen into harm can it decide victory and defeat.

So the business of war lies in going along with the enemy’s intentions while studying them closely, then massing against him in one direction to kill his general a thousand li away. This is called achieving one’s aim by skill.

So on the day the war is decided, close the passes and break the tallies, and let no envoys through; deliberate sternly in the temple hall to settle the matter. When the enemy opens a door, be quick to enter. Go first for what he holds dear, and quietly set a time for it; keep to the inked line while shadowing the enemy, until the battle is decided. So at first be like a maiden, and the enemy will open his door; afterward be like a hare breaking loose, and the enemy will be too late to resist.

Notes

1. 1. Zhuan Zhu stabbed King Liao of Wu to death on behalf of Prince Guang, the future King Helü. Cao Gui, a man of Lu, held a dagger to Duke Huan of Qi at a covenant and made him return the land Lu had lost. The text gives only one syllable of each name.

2. 2. The shuairan is a snake of legend; its name means “quick to respond.” Mount Chang, also called Mount Heng, is a famous mountain in northern China.

3. 3. Our source text reads “open ground” a second time here and adds a clause the received text lacks, “on crossroads ground, I will be careful of what we rely on.” We take the second “open ground” as a copying error for “crossroads ground” and follow the received text.

4. 4. The hegemon (ba) was the leading lord who presided over the others; the king (wang) ruled all under heaven.