He wins his battles by making no mistakes.
Ch‘ên Hao says: “He plans no superfluous marches, he devises no
futile attacks.” The connection of ideas is thus explained by
Chang Yü: “One who seeks to conquer by sheer strength, clever
though he may be at winning pitched battles, is also liable on
occasion to be vanquished; whereas he who can look into the future
and discern conditions that are not yet manifest, will never make
a blunder and therefore invariably win.” Li Ch‘üan thinks that the
character 忒 should be 貳 “to have doubts.” But it is better not to
tamper with the text, especially when no improvement in sense is
the result.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for
it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
The _T‘u Shu_ omits 必. 措 is here = 置. Chia Lin says it is put for
錯 in the sense of 雜; but this is far-fetched. Capt. Calthrop
altogether ignores the important word 忒.