(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of
the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.
Ts‘ao Kung weakly defines 縻 as 御 “control,” “direct.” Cf. § 17
_ad fin._ But in reality it is one of those graphic metaphors
which from time to time illuminate Sun Tzŭ’s work, and is rightly
explained by Li Ch‘üan as = 絆. He adds the comment:
如絆驥足無馳驟也. “It is like tying together the legs of a
thoroughbred, so that it is unable to gallop.” One would naturally
think of “the ruler” in this passage as being at home, and trying
to direct the movements of his army from a distance. But the
commentators understand just the reverse, and quote the saying of
T‘ai Kung: 國不可以從外治軍不可以從中御 “A kingdom should not be
governed from without, an army should not be directed from
within.” Of course it is true that, during an engagement, or when
in close touch with the enemy, the general should not be in the
thick of his own troops, but a little distance apart. Otherwise,
he will be liable to misjudge the position as a whole, and give
wrong orders.