Original text of the work
Sun Tzu said:
In the art of military use, the whole country is the best, and the destruction of the country is second; the whole army is the first, and the destruction of the army is the second. The whole brigade is the best, and the broken brigade is second; the whole army is the best, and the broken brigade is second; the whole army is the best, and the broken army is second.
That’s why winning a hundred battles is not a good thing; subduing the enemy’s troops without fighting is a good thing. Therefore, the first step is to attack the strategy ①, the next step is to attack the enemy ②, the next step is to attack the army, and the next step is to attack the city. The method of siege is a last resort. It takes three months to complete the repair of the oar and culane ③ and the equipment; it takes another three months to build the distance from the sculls. If the general cannot bear his anger and the ants attack him, killing one-third of the soldiers, but the city cannot be taken out, this attack will be a disaster.
Therefore, those who are good at using troops will subjugate the enemy's troops instead of fighting, conquer the enemy's city instead of attacking it, destroy the enemy's country instead of lasting for a long time, and will fight for the whole world, so the army will not stop. This is the best way to attack.
Therefore, the method of using troops is to surround it with ten, attack it with five, divide it with twice the enemy. If the enemy is small, you can fight it, if it is small, you can escape from it, if it is weak, you can avoid it. Therefore, if the small enemy is strong, the big enemy can be captured.
The husband-general is the auxiliary of the country. If you assist the Zhou Dynasty, the country will be strong; if you assist the Zhou Dynasty, the country will be weak. Therefore, there are three reasons why the ruler is troubled by the army: if he does not know that the army cannot retreat, he calls it an advance; if he does not know that the army cannot retreat, he calls it a retreat, which is called an army; if he does not know the affairs of the three armies but agrees with the administration of the three armies, then the soldiers will be confused. ; If you do not know the power of the three armies but share the responsibilities of the three armies, the soldiers will be suspicious. Since the three armies are confused and doubtful, the princes will be in trouble. It means that the rebel army leads to victory.
There are five ways to know victory: He who knows what can be fought and what cannot be fought wins; He who knows how to use the many and the weak wins; He who has the same desire from above and below wins; He wins when there is no surprise and waits for the unexpected; He wins when the general is able but the king does not control him win. These five people know the way to victory. Therefore, it is said: If you know the enemy and yourself, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles; if you do not know the enemy but know yourself, you will win and lose in one battle; if you do not know the enemy and yourself, you will be in danger in every battle.
Translation of the work
Sun Tzu said: The principle of war is: to make the enemy's entire country surrender is the best policy, to use force to defeat the enemy's country is second best; to make the enemy's entire army surrender is the best policy, to defeat the enemy The army is the next best; to make the enemy's entire brigade surrender is the best policy, to defeat the enemy's brigade is the next best policy; to make the enemy's entire brigade surrender is the best policy, to defeat the enemy's soldiers is the next best policy; to make the enemy's entire army surrender is the best policy, to defeat the enemy's army is the next best policy Next time.
Therefore, winning every battle is not the most brilliant thing; surrendering all enemies without fighting is the most brilliant thing. Therefore, the best military action is to use strategy to defeat the enemy's strategic intentions or war actions, the second is to defeat the enemy through diplomacy, the third is to defeat the enemy's army by force, and the last is to attack the enemy's city.
Besieging a city is a last resort and a last resort. It will take at least three months to make large shields and four-wheeled vehicles and prepare all the equipment for siege. It will take at least another three months to build up the mountains of earth for siege. If the general cannot suppress his impatience and orders his soldiers to climb the wall like ants to attack the city, but the city is still not captured even though one-third of the soldiers are killed or wounded, this is the disaster caused by the siege.
Thus, those who are good at using troops can make the enemy surrender without fighting, make the enemy city surrender without attacking the city, and destroy the enemy country without long-term fighting. We must use the strategy of "complete victory" to win over the world, so as not to frustrate the national strength and military strength, but also gain the benefits of comprehensive victory. This is the way to attack.
So, the principle applied in actual combat is: if we are ten times outnumbered by the enemy, we will carry out encirclement and annihilation; if we are five times outnumbered by the enemy, we will carry out an attack; if we are twice outnumbered by the enemy, we will work hard to defeat the enemy; Spread them out and defeat them one by one. If your troops are weaker than the enemy, avoid fighting. Therefore, if the weak party fights to hold on, it will become a prisoner of the powerful enemy.
The general is the auxiliary of the country. If the auxiliary plan is careful and thorough, the country will be strong; if the auxiliary plan is careless and improper, the country will be weak. Therefore, there are three types of harm the monarch can do to the army: not knowing that the army cannot advance and ordering it to advance; not knowing that the army cannot retreat and ordering it to retreat is called restraining the army; not knowing the military's battle and defense matters, internal affairs, etc. The officers and soldiers will be at a loss as to what to do if they do not understand the affairs of the three armies and interfere with the command of the army. When the army is at a loss as to what to do and full of doubts, the princes will take the opportunity to raise troops to cause trouble.
This is to mess up the army and miss the opportunity to win
Therefore, there are five aspects to predicting victory: Those who can accurately judge whether the battle can be fought or not will win; those who know how to take countermeasures based on the strength of the enemy and ourselves , win; the whole country, the whole army, with unified will and concerted efforts, wins; the one who is fully prepared to deal with the unprepared, wins; the general who is proficient in military affairs and adept at contingency, and the monarch does not interfere, wins.
The above is how to foresee victory. So it is said: if you know the enemy and yourself, there will be no danger in every battle; if you don't know the opponent but know yourself, you have a half chance of winning or losing; if you don't know the opponent and yourself, you will lose every battle.
Extended information
The author is Sun Wu (alias Changqing), a native of Qi in the late Spring and Autumn Period.
"The First Plan" first talks about temple calculations, that is, comparing the various conditions of the enemy and ourselves in the temple before sending troops, estimating the possibility of winning or losing the war, and formulating a battle plan.
The second part of "Combat Chapter" talks about the mobilization of war after the temple calculation and the use of weapons to the enemy, so as to defeat the enemy and become stronger.
The third step in "Attack" is to attack the city with wisdom, that is, instead of using force, various means are used to make the defending enemy surrender.
The first three are about strategic planning.
The fourth part of "Military Form" talks about factors that are objective, stable, and easily visible, such as the strength of combat effectiveness and material preparations for war.
The fifth part of "Military Strength" refers to subjective, changeable, and accidental factors, such as the deployment of troops and the courage and cowardice of morale.
The sixth chapter of "Virtual Reality" talks about how to use dispersion, assembly, encirclement and roundabout to create a situation where we are strong and the enemy is weak at the scheduled battle site, so that we can win with more than we have with less.
The third is combat command.
The seventh chapter of "Military Struggle" talks about how to "use detours to gain the advantage" and "take advantage of adversity" to seize the advantage of the battle.
The eighth chapter of "Nine Changes" talks about the generals adopting different strategies and tactics according to different situations.
The ninth chapter of "March" talks about how to camp and observe the enemy's situation during the march.
These four are battlefield changes.
The tenth chapter of "Terrain" talks about six different combat terrains and corresponding tactical requirements.
The eleventh chapter of "Nine Places" talks about nine combat environments and corresponding tactical requirements based on the "subject and object" situation and the degree of penetration into the enemy.
These five are military geography
The twelfth chapter of "Fire Attack" talks about using fire to assist.
The thirteenth chapter of "Yongjian Chapter" talks about the coordinated use of five types of spies. The language description in the book is concise and the content is also very philosophical. Many generals who later used their troops were influenced by this book.