Chapter 2
Sun Tzu said: To wage war, one must prepare materials such as a thousand light chariots, a thousand heavy chariots, and one hundred thousand fully armed soldiers, as well as transport provisions to distant places. The expenditures for the military, both front and rear, for entertaining envoys and strategists, for materials like glue and paint used in weapon maintenance, and for upkeep of chariots and armor, amount to a thousand gold pieces per day. Only after such preparations can one hundred thousand troops march into battle.
Therefore, in waging war, swift victory is essential. Prolonged campaigns lead to fatigue and the loss of morale. Sieges deplete manpower, and long-term campaigns exhaust national resources. If the troops become exhausted, morale shattered, and military strength depleted, while domestic resources are drained, other feudal lords will surely take advantage of the situation. Even the most resourceful strategists will find it difficult to avert disaster under such circumstances.
In actual combat, one only hears of commanders lacking strategies to achieve swift victory, but never of those skilled in prolonging campaigns. A prolonged war that benefits the nation has never existed.
Hence, without a thorough understanding of the drawbacks of warfare, one cannot fully comprehend its benefits.
A skilled commander does not need to requisition troops repeatedly or transport provisions multiple times. Weapons and equipment are supplied domestically, while provisions are obtained from the enemy, ensuring adequate sustenance for the troops.
The reason countries become impoverished due to warfare is the need for long-distance transportation to support troops fighting far away. Such transportation inevitably leads to poverty among the civilians. Prices soar near the garrison, leading to resource depletion, which in turn increases taxes and labor services.
On the battlefield, military strength is depleted, domestic finances are exhausted, and seven-tenths of private property is lost. Public property, due to damaged vehicles, exhausted horses, and lost armor, bows, spears, shields, and ox-carts, diminishes by six-tenths.
Therefore, a wise commander must obtain provisions from the enemy country. One clock of grain obtained there is equivalent to twenty clocks transported from one's own country, and one measure of forage obtained locally is equivalent to twenty measures transported from home.
To make soldiers fight to the death, they must be enraged and motivated. To make them brave in seizing enemy supplies, they must be rewarded with captured wealth.
In chariot warfare, those who seize more than ten chariots are rewarded with the first captured chariot, which is immediately adorned with one's own flags and incorporated into one's own fleet.
Treat captives kindly to win their loyalty. This is the way to defeat the enemy and strengthen oneself.
Therefore, the most important and advantageous aspect of warfare is swift victory; what is least desirable is prolongation.
True generals who understand the art of warfare and are deeply aware of its pros and cons hold the lives of the people in their hands and dominate the safety of the nation.
