11.Military Actions Do Not Avoid Deceit

According to Sun Wu (孙武), a war is a fight by means of deceit.Honesty is not a norm for a commander facing an enemy.To conduct deceit when we are strong, we should hide our best troops but show the old, weak, and sick soldiers to the enemy.When we decide to attack a city, we must pretend to strike at another city far away.Keep in mind that our opponent is not a fool.

To realize our schemes, we must make use of all our possible means and the enemy's weakness.For example, if the enemy is greedy for benefits, then we induce them with interests in sight.If the enemy is strong, then we must take steps in advance, and approach them in secret, to launch sudden attacks on his“head, ”“middle”and“tail”at the same time, so as to cut off their connections and kill them one by one.When the enemy has high morale, we should avoid them, and intentionally fail in some small battles to increase their pride.If the enemy are a coward, then we harass them frequently.When the enemy are in a state of relaxation, we try to strike them here and there to make them march from place to place and get tired.When the enemy appear united, then we try to make their commanders turn against each other.When we are ready to launch an attack on the enemy, we should seek an opportunity when they are not prepared, and our actions should be beyond the enemy's expectation.

Before taking action, if we make a careful scheme at the headquarters, then we can take more details into account, and we have more chance of winning.

New Words and Expression

Exercise One

Directions:Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1.According to Sun Wu, honesty is not a norm for a commander facing an enemy.

2.According to Sun Wu, when we decide to attack a city, we must pretend to strike at another city far away.

3.According to Sun Wu, if the enemy are greedy, then we induce them with interests in the long run.

4.According to Sun Wu, when the enemy are in high spirits, we should try our best to win and defeat them.

5.According to Sun Wu, when the enemy appear united, then we will try to make their commanders turn against each other.

Exercise Two

Directions:Answer the following questions.

1.What should be done if the enemy are strong according to Sun Wu?

2.When the enemy are in a state of relaxation what should be done according to Sun Wu?

3.What is the main idea of this passage?