Book 2: Planning
Translated by Nicholas Novitski
In war, up to 1,000 chariots and 1,000 carriages may be needed in the field. Provisions may have to be sent great distances. There are, besides these, numerous other daily direct and indirect expenses, such as monies for diplomatic and intelligence operations, equipment, supplies, and maintenance. Only after all costs are paid and all requirements met is the 100,000-strong army ready for war.
In brief: "An army is not a chess piece! War is money, time is money, and money is not infinite!" It's interesting to note that the distinction between diplomatic operations and intelligence operations (spying, that is) was my own, and not the author's. The line between the two can be very fine indeed. I always thought that the main difference between a man who is just a diplomat and a man who is in addition to that a spy is that the diplomat hasn't been caught yet. Also, I'd like to say that Ancient Chinese Writers tended to use phrases like "A thousand" and "A hundred thousand" to express a concept that we would call "A whole f***in' boatload." That is, it's more
-It is my understanding that it will require both time and money (or rice, as it seems) to raise armies, and further more that a given province can only work on making one unit at a time, an act that could very well take several years to complete. Thus, it pays to consider what a conscription excercise will cost you as far as _choices_, in addition to rice.
The ultimate purpose of any army or military action is to win. A prolonged or delayed battle will dampen the vigor and morale of any army. A protracted war will empty the pockets of any nation.
Arms are tools of ill omen. It is said that only people who fight lose, and only people who enjoy fighting lose badly. Do not (as said earlier) enter into war lightly.
-You may well ask yourself, "Self, barring some piddling morale and fatigue rules, how on earth can all this affect me? After all, the game is all about fighting! My armies really are chess pieces! There are no _real_ people involved, right?" Your self would do well to answer "I don't know about you, buddy, but I see at least one real person fighting on our side." Beyond the simulated fatigue and morale of your men is yours. A strategy game, as anyone who read Book I can tell you, is one that deals with big-picture and long-term plans. It takes time, and time means effort. I know I have played Alpha Centauri and Age of Kings sessions that went on far more than was strictly necessary, and that my judgement suffered for it. This is not a joke. This is serious advice for those people who are truly playing to win, as Sun Tsu did. Play when you are able to play well. Of course, morale is a slightly different issue. It is true that doing the same kind of "Attack...Defend" dance every turn can quickly become tiresome, but that is probably emptying your country's economic reserves faster than it is your personal mental ones.
When your forces are dulled, your edge blunted, your strength exhausted, and your supplies used, your enemies will recognize an opportunity to defeat you. Even the most skilled tactician can do nothing to save such a situation.
Therefore I have heard of military operations that were clumsy and swift, but I have never known one that was both skillful and lengthy.
Summation: Fight to win _quickly_. Other points: Some people may comment that Sun Tsu always gave his enemies the benefit of the doubt, always assumed that they were just as smart as he was, if not smarter. He did this, as he did almost everything, because it makes good strategic sense, most of the time.
-Length is subjective. Each turn in Shogun is a season. Thus can the average man become a veritable tortoise in his patience, and a terrier in determination. But this cuts both ways. It becomes harder to realize when a war has become lengthy. There is little I can say to help, except to encourage the reader to learn quickly. ;)
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
That is to say, quickly :)
A good commander will never raise troops twice or provide food three times.
That is to say, one conscription exercise or draft is not followed by another, and don't arrange more than three trips to carry the army's food. Which is not to say parts of large armies should go hungry, as you'll see.
-I do not know if there is a special penalty applied to a province that builds unit after unit. It would please me greatly if this was the case, for several reasons. Besides making Mr. Sun's aphorisms true in yet another situation, it could also be an effective anti-rush feature. Err, Haha?
Any shortage of food should come from the enemy.
The transportation of supplies to a distant place will impoverish the populace. The purchase of food in that distant place will do the same.
When resources are exhausted, taxation is resisted and the homeland is drained.
Therefore, a wise general seeks to feed off the enemy.
-I don't see stealing the opposing army's food as an option, but stealing the opposing _Nation's_ food could be another matter entirely. Capture, capture, capture! Destroying your enemies doesn't necessarily mean destroying everything that belongs to them.
In order to kill the enemy, men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating they must have their rewards.
Reward the first to capture 10 chariots.
Motivate them to kill by angering them, and motivate them to _capture_ by offering rewards for such actions. Thus, all of your men will do the proper thing for the army on their own behalf.
Change the colors of the chariots and deploy them alongside our own. Likewise treat captured soldiers well and give them opportunities to join you as well.
This is how to use your enemy's strength against him.
In war, let your final and highest ojective be to win, and not to fight.
The leader of a nation's armies determines it's fate. He holds in his hand the future, and his failure means the failure of all.
Ho Shih (who is far less important than Sun Tzu) once said "War is not a thing to be trifled with." The old Japanese Teacher in Fist of Legend (who is almost on a par with Sun Tzu), hearing Chen Zen's (Jet Li's) statement that the purpose of Martial Arts is to defeat your opponent, responds "The best way to defeat someone is with a gun." The lesson is that when you fight a war with less than your full skill and complete attention, you will take hits, and that means people's lives will be lost, and that is bad. Even if you don't care about those people, consider that their continued existence means your continued military strength. Remember then, that all Generals treasure their men. At least, as much as is necessary
-Hey man, look at that last part again. You are the only one to blame if you lose. Period. Regardless of lag, regardless of weather, regardless of anything else beyond your control: You would have won if you had been better.