第 11 章 九地篇

Sunzi said, the places of warfare can be divided into nine types.

The first type is dispersed land, which is where the feudal lords fight the enemy on their own territory.

The second type is light land, which is where the army enters enemy territory, but does not go deep.

The third type is contested land, which is where whoever occupies it first gains an advantage.

The fourth type is intersecting land, which is where both armies can come and go.

The fifth type is thoroughfare land, which is where it connects with other feudal states, and arriving there first can gain assistance from other states.

The sixth type is heavy land, which is where the army goes deep into enemy territory, passing through many enemy cities.

The seventh type is difficult land, which is where there are mountains, forests, dangerous roads, and marshes, making it hard to traverse.

The eighth type is encircled land, which is where the entry path is narrow, the exit path is far, and the enemy can defeat our large forces with few troops.

The ninth type is death ground, which is where one must fight quickly to survive, and if not fighting quickly, will be annihilated.

Therefore, in a scattered area, one should not fight.

In a light area, one should not linger.

When encountering a contested area, one should occupy it before the enemy.

If the enemy has already occupied it first, do not attack forcefully.

In a connecting area, the deployment of the army should be interconnected to prevent the enemy from cutting it off.

In a thoroughfare area, one should make friends with neighboring countries.

In a heavy area, one should seize the enemy's supplies and use the enemy's supplies to replenish oneself.

In a collapsed area, one should pass through quickly.

If trapped in a surrounded area, one should devise clever methods.

In a death ground, one must fight quickly and bravely, striving to survive.

In ancient times, those skilled in commanding battles could make the enemy's forces unable to assist each other from front to rear, large and small units unable to rely on each other, and officers and soldiers unable to rescue each other.

In this way, the enemy's ranks will be scattered and unable to gather together.

Even if they gather, they will not be orderly.

In such a situation, one must also adhere to the principle of acting when it is advantageous and stopping when it is not.

Someone asks: If the enemy is numerous and their ranks are orderly as they attack me, what should be done?

The answer is: First seize the enemy's most important place.

In this way, the enemy will obey my command.

The principle of using troops is that speed is most important.

One must take advantage of when the enemy is unprepared, take a route the enemy does not expect, and attack where the enemy is not defended.

The principle of entering an enemy country to fight is: If one penetrates deep into the enemy country, the soldiers' hearts will be united, and the enemy will be unable to defeat us.

Seize grain in fertile places, so that the entire army has enough food.

Pay attention to letting soldiers rest, do not let them get too tired, raise their morale, and accumulate strength.

Arrange troops, design strategies, so that the enemy cannot guess our plans.

Place the army in a place with no retreat, so that soldiers will not retreat even if they die.

If soldiers are not afraid of death, they will fight with all their might.

When soldiers are in dangerous places, they will not be afraid.

With no retreat, the morale of the army will be stable.

Upon entering enemy territory, the morale of the army will not scatter.

When there is no way out, soldiers will fight desperately.

Therefore, such an army does not need special reorganization; the soldiers themselves will be cautious and vigilant.

No special encouragement is needed, soldiers themselves will fight with all their might.

No special restraint is needed, soldiers themselves will help each other.

No special orders are needed, soldiers themselves will obey discipline.

Prohibit superstition and eliminate soldiers' doubts, so that even if they die in battle, soldiers will not retreat.

Soldiers discard excess property, not because they do not like property.

Soldiers are not afraid to sacrifice their lives, not because they do not want to live long.

When the battle order is issued, seated soldiers have tears soaking their clothes, and lying soldiers have tears flowing down their faces.

Place the army in a desperate situation with no retreat, and soldiers will be as brave as Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui.

Therefore, those who are good at using troops can make the army like Shuai Ran.

Shuai Ran is a type of snake in Changshan.

Hit its head, and the tail comes to rescue.

Hit its tail, and the head comes to rescue.

Hit its middle, and both the head and tail come to rescue.

Someone asked: Can we make the army like Shuairan?

The answer is: Yes.

The people of Wu and Yue hate each other, but when they sit in the same boat to cross a river and encounter strong wind, they can also help each other, just like a person's left hand and right hand.

Therefore, trying to stabilize the army by tying up horses and burying wheels is unreliable.

To make the whole army unite and strive, it depends on good command.

To make both strong and weak soldiers exert their efforts, it depends on making good use of terrain.

Therefore, a person skilled in using troops commands the whole army as easily as commanding one person.

This is because the soldiers are placed in a situation where there is no way out.

In commanding an army, one must think calmly, be serious and organized.

One must be able to blindfold the soldiers' eyes and ears, making them unaware of the military plans.

The methods of warfare must be constantly changed, and strategies must be continuously updated, so that others cannot understand.

The location where the army is stationed must be frequently changed, and the route of advance must be winding, so that others cannot guess the purpose of the action.

When a general gives a task to the army, it should be like making someone climb to a high place and then pulling away the ladder, forcing them to only advance and not retreat.

When leading an army deep into another feudal state, it should be like drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, making them continuously move forward.

Burning the ships and smashing the cooking pots shows the determination to fight to the end.

Like herding sheep, drive the soldiers back and forth, making them unsure of where they are actually going.

Placing all the soldiers in a dangerous place and making them fight desperately is the responsibility of the general.

According to different places, adopt different methods of action, adapt to the situation, advance or retreat, grasp the psychology of soldiers under different circumstances.

These are all things that a general cannot but seriously study and carefully consider.

The rule of fighting deep into an enemy country is: the deeper one enters the enemy country, the more focused the soldiers become.

If the entry is shallow, soldiers are prone to flee.

A place where one leaves one's own country, passes through another country, and enters the enemy country to fight is called "desperate ground".

A place that is accessible in all directions is called "intersection ground".

A place deep into the enemy country is called "heavy ground".

A place shallow into the enemy country is called "light ground".

A place with danger behind and narrowness in front is called "encircled ground".

A place with nowhere to go is called "death ground".

Therefore, in scattered ground, I will make the army concentrate and be unified.

In light ground, I will make the troops connect with each other.

When encountering contested ground, I will quickly advance to its rear.

When encountering intersecting ground, I will carefully defend.

In thoroughfare ground, I will consolidate the alliance with the feudal states.

When entering heavy ground, I will ensure the army has a continuous supply of food.

When passing through difficult ground, I will quickly pass through.

When trapped in encircled ground, I will block the gaps.

When reaching death ground, I will show the determination to fight to the death.

The psychology of soldiers is: when surrounded, they will resist together; when there is no way out, they will fight desperately; when in dangerous places, they will obey commands.

If you do not understand the plans of other feudal states, you cannot make friends with them.

If you are not familiar with terrain such as mountains, forests, dangerous roads, and marshes, you cannot march.

If you do not use guides, you cannot get the help of the terrain.

If there is one of the advantages and disadvantages of the nine types of terrain that you do not understand, you cannot be considered a strong army.

A strong army, when attacking a large state, can make its soldiers and civilians have no time to prepare and gather.

Applying power over the enemy can make it unable to make friends with other countries.

Therefore, there is no need to rush to make friends with other feudal states, nor to cultivate one's own influence in other feudal states.

As long as you rely on your own strength and apply power over the enemy, you can seize the enemy's cities and destroy the enemy's state.

You can give rewards that exceed regulations, and issue orders that break conventions, commanding the entire army as if commanding one person.

Make soldiers carry out tasks, but do not tell them the purpose.

Only tell them the favorable side, do not tell them what dangers there are.

Place soldiers in dangerous places in order to preserve them, let soldiers fall into a desperate situation and then they can survive.

Soldiers fall into dangerous situations, and then they can strive to win victory.

Therefore, in commanding warfare, it lies in pretending to follow the enemy's ideas.

Once there is an opportunity, concentrate forces to attack one point of the enemy.

In this way, even if advancing a thousand miles, one can capture or kill the enemy's general.

This is the meaning of what is called cleverness being able to accomplish great things.

Therefore, when deciding to go to war, one must blockade the passes, destroy travel documents, and stop communications with the enemy country's envoys.

Repeatedly discuss and research to decide the major plan for warfare in the court.

Once discovering that the enemy has weaknesses, one must quickly seize the opportunity to attack.

First, seize the enemy's most important place, and do not agree with the enemy on a time to fight.

Implement the plan based on changes in the enemy's situation and continuously adapt it to strive for victory.

Therefore, at the start of the war, be like a quiet girl, not revealing any traces, to make the enemy relax their vigilance.

After the war starts, act quickly like a fleeing rabbit, so the enemy has no time to resist.