Chapter 4: Tactical Dispositions
Sun Tzu said:
Skilled warriors first make themselves invincible, then await the enemy’s vulnerability. Invincibility lies within oneself; vulnerability lies with the enemy.
A skilled warrior can ensure invincibility but cannot guarantee the enemy’s vulnerability.
Thus, victory can be foreseen but not forced.
Invincibility is defense; vulnerability is attack.
Defend when resources are insufficient; attack when they are abundant.
Skilled defenders hide beneath the earth’s depths; skilled attackers strike from the heavens’ heights, achieving self-preservation and complete victory.
Seeing victory no greater than common knowledge is not the pinnacle of skill. Winning battles praised by all is not the pinnacle of skill.
Lifting a hair is not strength, seeing the sun and moon is not keen vision, hearing thunder is not sharp hearing.
Ancient skilled warriors triumphed over easily defeated enemies. Their victories bore no fame for wisdom or courage, as they were flawless, defeating already beaten foes.
Skilled warriors stand on undefeatable ground and never miss the enemy’s defeat.
Victorious armies win first, then fight; defeated armies fight first, then seek victory.
Skilled generals cultivate moral influence and uphold discipline, controlling victory or defeat.
Military principles: Measurement, Estimation, Calculation, Balancing, and Victory.
Terrain yields measurement, measurement yields estimation, estimation yields calculation, calculation yields balancing, and balancing yields victory.
A victorious army is like a pound against a grain; a defeated army is like a grain against a pound.
The victorious army’s assault is like water bursting from a thousand-foot gorge—this is disposition.
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