Translated by Nicholas Novitski
In the practice of war, the capture of the enemy's country whole and intact is the very best thing, with the shattering and destruction of it being a distant second. Likewise, the capture of an army is to be sought before its death.
A good friend tells me that Wei Liaozi said once, "When practicing Martial Arts (meaning conflict in general, not Karate), assess your opponents; cause them to lose spirit and direction so that even when intact they are useless - This is winning by the Tao. Destroy the army, execute the generals, mount the ramparts shooting, gather a mob and usurp the land - This is winning by force." The good friend agreed with me when I said that force is by far the easier method.
-I'm sure you'll agree that, in Shogun, force is the only method. Mostly. More follows.
Thusly, to always be victorious is good, but not perfect. To be perfect, you win without fighting.
Of course, perfection (along with winning by the Tao) is often beyond our means. On the other hand, we all need goals.
Thus, the highest form of generalship is to attack the enemy's plans;
The use of "attack" here was a hard choice to make. "Thwart" or "foil" may seem more natural, but the force of the chinese word used implies an policy of active counter-attack. When you hear the enemy is going to attack, Master Sun says, attack _first_.
-Knowing your computer opponents plans can be difficult, but not impossible. Consider, for instance, the Shimazu. At the start of the game, they will want to increase their income by unifying Kyushu and to take control of Shikoku in order to be able to exterminate the Ronin Menace (
The next highest is to attack the enemy's alliances.
Divide allies, whether physically or otherwise. "Two working with eachother make trouble. Two working against each other make opportunity."
-Certain clans ::coughcoughMoricoughcough:: make nasty habits of signing treaties they don't intend to keep. If you notice them _not fighting the Takeda, for instance, suspect something. Or better yet, follow the Master's advice. Introduce a weakness in the Takeda border. Conquer a few of their western provinces, assassinate a Rank 3 general. Trust me, on medium skill and up, computers are very good at taking advantage of momentary weaknessess. Then, of course, while the Mori expend attention and men on bringing the bewildered Takeda to task, your real plan goes into effect. Bwahahaha!!
The next highest is to attack the enemy himself, in the field.
That is to say, when he is prepared for you. Someone once said, "A man who looks for victory in front of bared steel is not a good general."
-One might very well assume this is the "level" of generalship that most of us will use most of the time in Shogun. In single player, anyway. Until we get better. :)
The lowest is to attack the enemy in his castle.
The rule is, do not besiege a fortification if it can possibly be avoided.
Any military historian can tell you what good advice this is. Of course, you shouldn't have to ask. After all, a castle or fortress is, by definition, a place where the enemy is most prepared to meet an attack. Attacking it head on is a waste of men and time.
-"But wait!" you say, "I want the province, there's a castle, I'm supposed to not attack the castle?" Exactly. Read on.
The preparation of the various necessary seige engines should take three months, and the piling of earthen mounds against the walls three months more.
There is some confusion among translators and commentators as to whether the Master is saying that doing these things will take that long, or that one should take that long to do them. I chose the latter, since it makes sense in the context, specifically the next sentence.
-So, what does he advise for us Shogun players? Simple! Patience! Take a seat outside the castle and wait for those inside to either give up or bet on a final desperate battle! Strike quickly, he says, but know when patience is necessary.
A general who cannot control his impatience, launching his men to assault like swarming ants, will find one third of them lost and the city not yet taken. This is the disaster hiding in any siege.
Huh-huh. Ants.
-In my opinion, one third is a generous estimate for Shogun. Castle's are a _huge_ tactical advantage, especially if used properly.
Therefore, a truly great leader defeats the enemy's troops without fighting them, captures his cities without laying siege to them, and conquers their kingdom without wasting time.
That is to say, he ruins the enemy's plans, spoils alliances, steals supplies, and generally making a nuisance of himself. He "attacks" with his strategy, not his forces.
-Obviously, the last piece of advice (not wasting time) is the one we should focus on.
He will defeat his enemy with his forces intact, and without losing a man, his victory will truly be perfect.
That last part could also mean "with the blade not blunted from use, the sharpness remains." No, really.
This is the way to attack by use of strategy.
These are the rules of war: If you outnumber the enemy 10 to 1, surround him. If 5 to 1, attack at once. If 2 to 1, divide your forces and attack from 2 different directions. If your forces are equal, then fight him if you can. If your force is smaller, then avoid him if you can. If your force is worse than his in all ways, then run away. If you can.
Many people note that this is not merely a discussion of numbers. "Outnumber" is a simplification, though it is the word that Sun Tzu used. What he _meant_, however, was a comparison of Strength, which is composed of innumerable factors besides raw numbers.
Therefore, the smaller force that is obstinate will become the captive of the larger force.
A weaker country that does not know its limitations can pick fights it cannot win. The "Spring and Autumn Annuals" (another old Chinese book) says: "If you cannot be strong, and yet cannot be weak, you will find yourself beaten."
The general is the pillar of the State. If he is skilled, the State is strong. If he is weak, the State follows.
-The application here is obvious. You make all descisions for your clan. As I have said before, if you lose, it is your fault.
There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:
The conflict and balance and interplay of rulers and generals was very important to Sun Tzu. Him being the greatest tactician of the age (more or less), every statesman or ruler who had an opinion differing from his on the subject of warfare was almost certainly wrong, and almost just as certainly sure of themselves.
-Note that while Sun Tzu is assuming here that the Ruler and the General are two different people, the following points can be read otherwise. An analogy that helps (me) is the "Agent Theory" of consciousness. Imagine (it shouldn't be to hard) that you have several different little people in your head, each representing a facet of your overall thought process. Imagine that one of these (we'll call him "General") is the one that learns all of the lessons that Sun Tzu teaches us. Imagine that another one (called "Bob," natch) thinks about more tangible and simple goals than victory in some computer game. Obviously, there are going to be conflicts here.
First, by commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the physical situation. This is called hobbling the army.
Second, by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the social situation. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.
Chang Yu (don't worry about him) says: "Humanity and justice are the principles on which to govern a state, but not an army; opportunism and flexibility, on the other hand, are military rather than civil virtues."
Third, by giving officership without proper discrimination, being ignorant of their mental situation. This destroys the soldier's confidence.
Tu Mu (thinking perhaps of the _General_ in the third situation above, says: "The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man. For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death." Which I think is awesome.
With these things being done, and the army restless and distrustful, other rulers who are not so stupid will be quick to seize advantage. Thus, the hands of a "hands-on approach" do nothing but throw victory awau.
Sun Tzu is saying (sortof) that getting orders from your leader on a battleplan is like getting orders when you see a fire. You don't wait and see what should be done, you exercise your judgement and put the damn thing out!
Thus we know that there are five essentials for victory.
Wang Tzu says (boy, are you sick of quotes yet?): "It is the sovereign's function to give broad instructions, but to decide on battle it is the function of the general."
-Focus on 1, 2, and 4, natch.
ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION!
If you know your opponent and know yourself, you will never be in danger, even after a hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your opponent, your odds are 50/50. If you know neither yourself or your opponent, you're pretty much screwed.
Chang Yu says: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive." He adds: "Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack."
Well, the Basics concepts are pretty much handled. Now we need some more nitty-gritty!
General: "Sun Tzu teaches us that great generals first seek victory and then seek battle."
Bob: "WTF! He killed my level 5 ninja! That bastard! Oh, it's on now!"
General: "Bob, think carefully before..."
Bob: "Shove it!"
1. Knowing when and when not to fight.
2. Knowing when and how to use large and small forces.
3. Uniting all ranks of an army in purpose.
4. Facing the unprepared with preparation.
5. Having free reign and uncontested authority over the military.
SUPER-DUPER IMPORTANT BIG-TIME SECRET OF THE MASTER COMING UP!
This is, if you'll forgive rhyming, the Heart of the Art.