Chapter 6
Sun Tzu said: "He who arrives first at the battlefield and awaits the enemy is at ease; he who arrives late and has to hasten to engage is weary and distressed. Therefore, the skilled leader always seeks to engage the enemy's plans and never allows his own plans to be engaged. To lure the enemy, offer him bait; to keep him away, present a threat. Thus, if the enemy is relaxed, make him toil; if well fed, starve him; if at ease, harass him.
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. March a thousand miles without fatigue by advancing in the enemy's rear areas; strike and you will conquer, because the enemy is unprepared; defend and your position will be secure, because the enemy cannot attack. Hence, the skilled attacker knows where to strike and the skilled defender knows where to stand firm. How subtle! How profound! The strategies of war are like water; they avoid the high and attack the low. How mysterious! How wonderful! For they are without form, yet they overcome the enemy. Thus, you become the master of your enemy's fate. When attacking, the enemy cannot resist; when retreating, the enemy cannot pursue. If I wish to engage the enemy, even if he is entrenched behind high walls and deep moats, he will have to come out and fight me, because I will attack what he holds dear. If I do not wish to engage him, I can simply draw a line on the ground and hold him there, unable to challenge me, because I have induced him to follow a different course.
By displaying false images and concealing true intentions, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy must divide theirs. My forces are united as one, while the enemy's are divided into ten. This creates a situation where I have ten times the enemy's strength at the point of attack, making me numerically superior and the enemy numerically inferior. When the enemy does not know where I will attack, he must defend everywhere, and his defenses will be weakened. If he focuses on the front, the rear will be weak; if on the rear, the front will be weak; if on the left, the right will be weak; if on the right, the left will be weak. To defend everywhere is to defend nowhere effectively. This weakness arises from dividing one's forces, while concentration of forces arises from compelling the enemy to defend everywhere against us.
Knowing where and when to fight, even a thousand miles can be traversed and the engagement met on schedule. Not knowing where and when to fight, the left wing cannot come to the aid of the right, nor the right to the left; the front cannot come to the aid of the rear, nor the rear to the front; especially when distances are great, whether in tens of miles or mere kilometers. In my estimation, the multitude of the enemy's forces is of no benefit to their victory. Though numerous, they can be rendered ineffective.
By analyzing the enemy's situation, one can discern the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. By probing the enemy, one can ascertain their plans. By reconnaissance, one can determine the terrain's suitability for attack and defense. By engaging the enemy with small forces, one can discern their disposition and whether they are strong or weak. When the art of deception is employed to its utmost, it conceals all traces and leaves no clues. Even deeply embedded spies cannot uncover the truth, and even the most clever cannot devise plans against it. When victories achieved through deception are presented to the masses, they cannot fathom the reasons behind them. They see only the outer manifestations of our victories, not the inner strategies that led to them. Thus, our methods of victory are never repeated, and our strategies for deception are infinite, adapting to the ever-changing enemy situation.
The principles of war are like the principles of water. Water flows away from high places and seeks low places; in war, avoid the enemy's strengths and attack their weaknesses. Water adapts its course to the terrain, and in war, one adapts strategies to the enemy's situation. War has no fixed patterns, just as water has no fixed course. He who can adapt his strategies to the enemy's changing circumstances is the one who is truly unfathomable. Remember, the five elements have no constant victory, the four seasons change incessantly, and the days have varying lengths, as does the moon in its phases."
