On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up;
and high prices cause the people’s substance to be drained away.
近, that is, as Wang Hsi says, before the army has left its own
territory. Ts‘ao Kung understands it of an army that has already
crossed the frontier. Capt. Calthrop drops the 於, reading 近師者,
but even so it is impossible to justify his translation “Repeated
wars cause high prices.”