1. 孫子曰凡用兵之法全國爲上破國次之全軍爲上破軍次之全旅爲上破旅次之全卒爲上破卒次
之全伍爲上破伍次之
Sun Tzŭ said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to
take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it
is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than
to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire
than to destroy them.
A 軍 “army corps,” according to the _Ssŭ-ma Fa_, consisted nominally
of 12500 men; according to Ts‘ao Kung, a 旅 contained 500 men, a 卒
any number between 100 and 500, and a 伍 any number between 5 and
100. For the last two, however, Chang Yü gives the exact figures
of 100 and 5 respectively.