Those who fight, with the right combination, with strange victories. Therefore, the good and the strange are infinite like heaven and earth, and infinite like rivers and seas. In the end, the sun and the moon are also. Dead and alive. It's four o'clock. There are only five tones, and the five tones are invincible. There are only five colors, and the five-color change is invincible; The taste is only five or five flavors, and it is impossible to win by taste. The war situation is just odd and positive, and odd and positive changes cannot overcome poverty. Odd and positive, such as endless cycle, can be poor!
Translation:
In most battles, soldiers are used for head-on combat, while raiders are used for surprise. Those who are good at using Indiana Jones, their tactical changes are as endless as the operation of heaven and earth, as endless as rivers and seas. Just like the sun and the moon, they will start all over again; Like the change of seasons, it comes and goes. Palace, Shang, Jiao, Zheng and Yu are no more than five tones, but the combination changes of five tones will never be heard; Red, yellow, blue, white and black do not exceed five colors, but the combination of five colors can never be finished; Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty are not more than five flavors, and they can never be tasted when combined. The use of military power in war is only "odd" and "positive", and the combination of "odd" and "positive" will never change. Odd and positive coexist, just like a circle hovering, with no beginning and no end. Who can finish it?
Explanation:
The above paragraph is the second paragraph of Sun Tzu's Art of War, which talks about the distinction between "singularity" and "righteousness" in the use of troops. They can also be transformed into each other and change endlessly.
This passage is also the most misunderstood. Most people think that "odd" is the "odd" in "Qi Sheng", but it should actually be understood as the "odd" in "Ji Shu".
Laozi said in the Tao Te Ching: "Governing the country with righteousness, using troops with strangeness, and taking the world with inaction." This is also the earliest statement of "odd" and "positive". It is also ingenious for Sun Tzu to apply it to Sun Tzu's art of war.
It is generally believed that the unchangeable law is positive and the reform is strange. In terms of using troops, regular soldiers are used for garrison, stalemate and containment, while raiders are used for maneuver, preparation and assault; On the battlefield, the soldiers are fighting head-on, and the others are raiders; Tactically, it is the regular soldiers who fight according to the general operational strategy, and the raiders who break the enemy with other special tactics.
Generally speaking, people who are familiar with Sun Tzu's art of war abound, but there are very few people in the world who can really use Sun Tzu's art of war, all because they copy it mechanically. The magic of the use of the art of war lies in single-mindedness, understanding the art of war, not superstitious about the art of war, sticking to the art of war, and using the art of war invisibly. This is the highest realm.
Han Xin's The Last Stand is a typical positive case, while Zhao Kuo's On Paper is a typical negative case.
In terms of operational strategy, Han Xin not only relied on the array of 10,000 troops, but also divided into two other routes. He took a military horse and sent two thousand soldiers and horses to ambush at Jingxingkou in the middle of the night.
Let's look at how odd numbers are converted. At first, the array with back water was positive, while others were odd. Later, all the soldiers and horses he led came out to perform, and this road was positive; At the beginning of the battle, the combination of his team and the back water array was "positive"; When Zhao Jun ran away, he became a "soldier" and he became a "Jones" when he chased after him.
This is the so-called "odd is like an infinite cycle, how can it be poor!" A famous general must understand that the "unchangeable law" and the newly created "reform" complement each other in operational command, and should proceed from reality, be regular and correct, and be strange. Only in this way can we truly understand the secret nature of fighting with soldiers.
Now, it seems that Zhao Kuo only knows "an armchair strategist" and has no idea about the application of the art of war and the "singularity", so failure has become a matter of course.
Of course, when we read the Art of War, we can't just stay in the Art of War and apply it to our lives. This is "applying what you have learned".
Let's look at another story that we often tease: a basket of fish and a fishing rod, people can only choose the same, which one to choose?
First of all, this is an open question, because there are no actual conditions, so there are various answers, but the answers are all reasonable.
If there is nothing to eat in the desert and life is threatened, of course choose a basket of fish; If at sea, a basket of fish is not enough to eat ashore, of course, choose a fishing rod; It would be much easier if there was no danger to life. Those who choose fishing rods can continue fishing, those who choose fish can take them back to eat directly, or they can sell them and buy more fishing rods. ...
In fact, life is a truth of following the art of war. Only by applying what you have learned and not being rigid and inflexible can you achieve yourself.
Just like there are countless roads and rivers in this world, we should be flexible. Since the road is endless, I will go my own way; If you can't cross the river, turn around.