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art of war-第19部分

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enough:  hence the institution of banners and flags。

     24。  Gongs and drums; banners and flags; are means whereby 

the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular 

point。



     'Chang   Yu   says:    〃If sight   and   hearing   converge 

simultaneously on the same object; the evolutions of as many as a 

million soldiers will be like those of a single man。〃!'



     25。  The host thus forming a single united body;  is it 

impossible either for the brave to advance alone;  or for the 

cowardly to retreat alone。



     'Chuang Yu quotes a saying: 〃Equally guilty are those who 

advance against orders and those who retreat against orders。〃  Tu 

Mu tells a story in this connection of Wu Ch‘i;  when he was 

fighting against the Ch‘in State。  Before the battle had begun; 

one of his soldiers; a man of matchless daring; sallied forth by 

himself; captured two heads from the enemy; and returned to camp。  

Wu Ch‘i had the man instantly executed;  whereupon an officer 

ventured to remonstrate; saying:  〃This man was a good soldier; 

and ought not to have been beheaded。〃  Wu Ch‘i replied:  〃I fully 

believe he was a good soldier; but I had him beheaded because he 

acted without orders。〃'



This is the art of handling large masses of men。

     26。  In night…fighting; then; make much use of signal…fires 

and drums;  and in fighting by day; of flags and banners;  as a 

means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army。



     'Ch‘en Hao alludes to Li Kuang…pi's night ride to Ho…yang at 

the head of 500 mounted men; they made such an imposing display 

with torches; that though the rebel leader Shih Ssu…ming had a 

large army; he did not dare to dispute their passage。'



     27。  A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;



     '〃In war;〃 says Chang Yu; 〃if a spirit of anger can be made 

to pervade all ranks of an army at one and the same time;  its 

onset will be irresistible。  Now the spirit of the enemy's 

soldiers will be keenest when they have newly arrived on the 

scene;  and it is therefore our cue not to fight at once; but to 

wait until their ardor and enthusiasm have worn off;  and then 

strike。  It is in this way that they may be robbed of their keen 

spirit。〃   Li Ch‘uan and others tell an anecdote (to be found in 

the TSO CHUAN; year 10; ss。 1) of Ts‘ao Kuei; a protege of Duke 

Chuang of Lu。  The latter State was attacked by Ch‘i;  and the 

duke was about to join battle at Ch‘ang…cho; after the first roll 

of the enemy's drums; when Ts‘ao said:  〃Not just yet。〃   Only 

after their drums had beaten for the third time; did he give the 

word for attack。  Then they fought; and the men of Ch‘i were 

utterly defeated。  Questioned afterwards by the Duke as to the 

meaning of his delay;  Ts‘ao Kuei replied:   〃In battle;  a 

courageous spirit is everything。  Now the first roll of the drum 

tends to create this spirit; but with the second it is already on 

the wane; and after the third it is gone altogether。  I attacked 

when their spirit was gone and ours was at its height。  Hence our 

victory。〃   Wu Tzu (chap。 4) puts 〃spirit〃 first among the  〃four 

important influences〃  in war; and continues:  〃The value of a 

whole armya mighty host of a million menis dependent on one 

man alone:  such is the influence of spirit!〃'



a commander…in…chief may be robbed of his presence of mind。



     'Chang Yu says:  〃Presence of mind is the general's most 

important asset。  It is the quality which enables him to 

discipline disorder and to inspire courage into the panic…

stricken。〃   The great general Li Ching (A。D。  571…649)  has a 

saying:  〃Attacking does not merely consist in assaulting walled 

cities or striking at an army in battle array; it must include 

the art of assailing the enemy's mental equilibrium。〃'



     28。  Now a solider's spirit is keenest in the morning;



     'Always provided; I suppose; that he has had breakfast。  At 

the battle of the Trebia; the Romans were foolishly allowed to 

fight   fasting;  whereas Hannibal's men had breakfasted   at 

their leisure。  See Livy; XXI; liv。 8; lv。 1 and 8。'



by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening; his mind is 

bent only on returning to camp。

     29。  A clever general; therefore; avoids an army when its 

spirit is keen; but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined 

to return。  This is the art of studying moods。

     30。  Disciplined and calm; to await the appearance of 

disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:this is the art of 

retaining self…possession。

     31。  To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from 

it; to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling; to 

be well…fed while the enemy is famished:this is the art of 

husbanding one's strength。

     32。  To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are 

in perfect order; to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in 

calm   and confident array:this is the art   of   studying 

circumstances。

     33。  It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against 

the enemy; nor to oppose him when he comes downhill。

     34。  Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight;  do not 

attack soldiers whose temper is keen。

     35。  Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy。



     'Li Ch‘uan and Tu Mu; with extraordinary inability to see a 

metaphor; take these words quite literally of food and drink that 

have been poisoned by the enemy。  Ch‘en Hao and Chang Yu 

carefully point out that the saying has a wider application。'



Do not interfere with an army that is returning home。



     'The commentators explain this rather singular piece of 

advice by saying that a man whose heart is set on returning home 

will fight to the death against any attempt to bar his way;  and 

is therefore too dangerous an opponent to be tackled。  Chang Yu 

quotes the words of Han Hsin:  〃Invincible is the soldier who 

hath his desire and returneth homewards。〃  A marvelous tale is 

told of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao's courage and resource in ch。 1 of the SAN 

KUO CHI:  In 198 A。D。; he was besieging Chang Hsiu in Jang;  when 

Liu Piao sent reinforcements with a view to cutting off Ts‘ao's 

retreat。  The latter was obligbed to draw off his troops; only to 

find himself hemmed in between two enemies; who were guarding 

each outlet of a narrow pass in which he had engaged himself。  In 

this desperate plight Ts‘ao waited until nightfall; when he bored 

a tunnel into the mountain side and laid an ambush in it。  As 

soon as the whole army had passed by; the hidden troops fell on 

his rear;  while Ts‘ao himself turned and met his pursuers in 

front;  so that they were thrown into confusion and annihilated。  

Ts‘ao Ts‘ao said afterwards:  〃The brigands tried to check my 

army in its retreat and brought me to battle in a desperate 

position:  hence I knew how to overcome them。〃'



     36。  When you surround an army; leave an outlet free。



     'This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to 

escape。  The object; as Tu Mu puts it; is 〃to make him believe 

that there is a road to safety; and thus prevent his fighting 

with the courage of despair。〃  Tu Mu adds pleasantly:   〃After 

that; you may crush him。〃'



Do not press a desperate foe too hard。



     'Ch‘en Hao quotes the saying:   〃Birds and beasts when 

brought to bay will use their claws and teeth。〃  Chang Yu says:  

〃If your adversary has burned his boats and destroyed his 

cooking…pots; and is ready to stake all on the issue of a battle; 

he must not be pushed to extremities。〃  Ho Shih illustrates the 

meaning by a story taken from the life of Yen…ch‘ing。  That 

general; together with his colleague Tu Chung…wei was surrounded 

by a vastly superior army of Khitans in the year 945 A。D。  The 

country was bare and desert…like; and the little Chinese force 

was soon in dire straits for want of water。  The wells they bored 

ran dry; and the men were reduced to squeezing lumps of mud and 

sucking out the moisture。  Their ranks thinned rapidly; until at 

last Fu Yen…ch‘ing exclaimed:  〃We are desperate men。  Far better 

to die for our country than to go with fettered hands into 

captivity!〃   A strong gale happened to be blowing from the 

northeast and darkening the air with dense clouds of sandy dust。  

To Chung…wei was for waiting until this had abated before 

deciding on a final attack; but luckily another officer; Li Shou…

cheng by name;  was quicker to see an opportunity;  and said:  

〃They are many and we are few; but in the midst of this sandstorm 

our numbers will not be discernible; victory will go to the 

strenuous fighter;  and the wind will be our best   ally。〃  

Accordingly;  Fu Yen…ch‘ing made a sudden and wholly unexpected 

onslaught with his cavalry; routed the barbarians and succeeded 

in breaking through to safety。'



     37。  Such is the art of warfare。





'1'  See Col。 Henderson; op。 cit。 vol。
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