行军
Read the ground and read the enemy: position wisely, and learn to interpret the small signs that betray his true state. Command with humanity but hold discipline — that is the road to victory.
- What this chapter says
- Key lines
- Applied today
- Related stratagems
- Chapters that share ground with this one
What this chapter says
This practical chapter covers moving and positioning an army across different terrain — mountains, rivers, marshes, plains — and, most memorably, reading the enemy from small signs. Dust rising high and sharp means chariots advancing; birds rising means an ambush lies empty; trees moving means the enemy approaches. Envoys with humble words while preparations increase mean an attack is coming; humble words and a sudden truce offer without cause mean a plot. When troops are seen leaning on their spears, they are famished; when those who draw water drink first, they are parched. On discipline, Sun Tzu is precise: soldiers must first be bound to you by humane treatment, then kept in order by iron discipline — command by kindness alone breeds soldiers you cannot use, discipline alone breeds soldiers who will not stay. Numbers are not everything: 'if our troops are no more than the enemy's, that is enough' — do not advance recklessly on strength alone.
Key lines
From 十一家注孫子, the Eleven Commentators edition. The Chinese is verbatim from that text; the English beneath each is ours.
- 曹操 其使來辭卑，使間視之，敵人增備也。 His envoy comes with humble words: send a spy to look, and the enemy is strengthening his preparations.
- 杜牧 言敵人使來，言辭卑遜，復增壘塗壁，若懼我者，是欲驕我使懈怠，必來攻我也。趙奢救閼與，去邯鄲三十里，增壘不進。秦間來，必善食遣之。間以報秦將。秦將果大喜，曰︰「閼與非趙所有矣。」奢旣遣秦間，乃倍道兼行，掩秦不備，擊之，遂大破秦軍也。 Humble words and thickened walls are meant to make us proud and slack before he attacks. Illustrated with Zhao She relieving Yanyu: he halted thirty li from Handan building up his works, fed and released a Qin spy, and once the Qin commander was delighted and convinced, marched by forced double stages and broke him.summary, not a translation
- 梅堯臣 欲進者，外則卑辭，內則益備，款我也。 He means to advance: outwardly humble in speech, inwardly building up his preparations — he is putting us at ease.
- 張預 使來辭遜，敵復增備，欲驕我而後進也。田單守卽墨，燕將騎刼圍之。單身操版插，與士卒分功，使妻妾編行伍之間，散食饗士，乃使女子乘城，約降，燕大喜。又收民金千鎰，令富豪遣使遺燕將書曰︰「城卽降，願無虜妻妾。」燕人益懈。乃出兵擊，大破之。 Illustrated with Tian Dan holding Jimo against Qi Jie: he took up spade and board himself, put his own wives and concubines in the ranks, sent women to man the walls and offered terms, then had the rich write asking only that their families be spared. The Yan army grew slack, and he struck.summary, not a translation
- 曹操 文，仁也；武，法也。 文 is benevolence; 武 is law.
- 李筌 文，仁恩；武，威罰。 文 is kindness and favour; 武 is awe and punishment.
- 杜牧 晏子舉司馬穰苴「文能附衆，武能威敵」也。 Yanzi commended Sima Rangju: 'By the civil he could attach the host; by the martial he could awe the enemy.'
- 王晳 吳起云︰「總文武者，軍之將；兼剛柔者，兵之事也。」 Wu Qi said: 'He who unites the civil and the martial is the army's general; to combine the hard and the soft is the business of war.'
- 杜牧 文武旣行，必也取勝。 With both in force, the victory follows.
- 梅堯臣 令以仁恩，齊以威刑；恩威並著，則能必勝。 Command them with kindness and favour, order them with awe and punishment; where favour and awe are both plain, victory is certain.
- 張預 文恩以悅之，武威以肅之；畏愛相兼，故戰必勝，攻必取。或問曰︰《書》云︰「威克厥愛，允濟；愛克厥威，允罔功。」言先威也。孫武先愛，何也？曰︰《書》之所稱，仁人之兵也。王者之於民，恩德素厚，人心已附，及其用之，惟患乎寡威也。武之所陳，戰國之兵也。霸者之於民，法令素酷，人心易離，及其用之，惟患乎少恩也。 Kindness to please them, authority to steady them; fear and affection together, so the battle is won and the attack takes its object. Someone objects: the Documents say 'where awe overcomes affection there is success; where affection overcomes awe there is none' — putting awe first. Why does Sun Wu put affection first? The answer: the Documents speak of the army of a benevolent man. A true king's favour to his people is long-established and their hearts already attached, so in using them the only worry is too little awe. Sun Wu describes the armies of the Warring States. A hegemon's laws are harsh and his people's hearts easily estranged, so in using them the only worry is too little kindness.
- 曹操 備奇伏也。 He is preparing a surprise force in ambush.
- 李筌 是軍必有奇伏，須謹察之。 This army must have an ambush laid; one must watch it carefully.
- 杜牧 盛怒出陳，久不交刃，復不解去，有所待也，當謹伺察之，恐有奇伏旁起也。 He comes out in full fury but does not cross blades for a long while, and yet will not withdraw either — he is waiting for something. Watch him closely: there may be a surprise force rising on the flank.
- 孟氏 備有別應。 He is prepared with a separate response.
- 梅堯臣 怒而來逆我，久而不接戰，且又不解去，必有奇伏以待我。此以上論敵情。 He comes at us in anger, but for a long time does not engage, and neither does he draw off — he must have a hidden force waiting for us. All the foregoing discusses reading the enemy.
- 張預 勇怒而來，旣不合戰，又不引退，當密伺之，必有奇伏也。 He comes boldly and in anger, yet neither joins battle nor withdraws: watch him in secret, for there is certainly an ambush.
- 曹操 權力均。一云「兵非貴益多」。 It is a matter of matched weight. One reading has 'troops are not prized for being more numerous'.
- 賈林 不貴衆擊寡，所貴寡擊衆。 There is no credit in many beating few; the credit is in few beating many.
- 王晳 晳謂權力均足矣，不以多爲益。 Xi says: matched weight is enough; numbers are not what makes the gain.
- 張預 兵非增多於敵，謂權力均也。 It is not about outnumbering the enemy — it is about matching their weight.
- 曹操 未見便也。 No opening is yet in sight.
- 賈林 武不足專進，專進則暴。 Force cannot advance on its own; advancing on its own, it turns to violence.
- 王晳 不可但恃武也，當以計智料敵而行。 One must not rely on force alone; one should weigh the enemy by calculation and wit, and then move.
- 張預 武，剛也。未能用剛武以輕進，謂未見利也。 武 is hardness. Not yet able to use hard force to press lightly forward — that is, no advantage is yet in sight.
Applied today
Learn to read weak signals: a rival's sudden hiring surge, a partner's unusually humble tone before a renewal, quiet churn in a segment. The small tells reveal a competitor's true state long before the announcement does.
Lead with genuine care first, so people are bound to you — then hold a firm line on standards. Warmth without discipline yields a team you can't rely on; discipline without warmth yields one that won't stay.