Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them;
Chia Lin enumerates several ways of inflicting this injury, some
of which would only occur to the Oriental mind:—“Entice away the
enemy’s best and wisest men, so that he may be left without
counsellors. Introduce traitors into his country, that the
government policy may be rendered futile. Foment intrigue and
deceit, and thus sow dissension between the ruler and his
ministers. By means of every artful contrivance, cause
deterioration amongst his men and waste of his treasure. Corrupt
his morals by insidious gifts leading him into excess. Disturb and
unsettle his mind by presenting him with lovely women.” Chang Yü
(after Wang Hsi) considers the 害 to be military chastisement: “Get
the enemy,” he says, “into a position where he must suffer injury,
and he will submit of his own accord.” Capt. Calthrop twists Sun
Tzŭ’s words into an absurdly barbarous precept: “In reducing an
enemy to submission, inflict all possible damage upon him.”
make trouble for them,
業 is defined by Ts‘ao Kung as 事, and his definition is generally
adopted by the commentators. Tu Mu, however, seems to take it in
the sense of “possessions,” or, as we might say, “assets,” which
he considers to be 兵衆國富人和令行 “a large army, a rich exchequer,
harmony amongst the soldiers, punctual fulfilment of commands.”
These give us a whip-hand over the enemy.
and keep them constantly engaged;
役, literally, “make servants of them.” Tu Yu says 令不得安佚
“prevent them from having any rest.”
hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.
Mêng Shih’s note contains an excellent example of the idiomatic
use of 變: 令忘變而速至 “cause them to forget _pien_ (the reasons
for acting otherwise than on their first impulse), and hasten in
our direction.”