When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak,
the result is _insubordination_.
弛 “laxity”—the metaphor being taken from an unstrung bow. Capt.
Calthrop’s “relaxation” is not good, on account of its ambiguity.
Tu Mu cites the unhappy case of 田布 T‘ien Pu [_Hsin T‘ang Shu_,
ch. 148], who was sent to 魏 Wei in 821 A.D. with orders to lead an
army against 王廷湊 Wang T‘ing-ts‘ou. But the whole time he was in
command, his soldiers treated him with the utmost contempt, and
openly flouted his authority by riding about the camp on donkeys,
several thousands at a time. T‘ien Pu was powerless to put a stop
to this conduct, and when, after some months had passed, he made an
attempt to engage the enemy, his troops turned tail and dispersed
in every direction. After that, the unfortunate man committed
suicide by cutting his throat.
When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the
result is _collapse_.
Ts‘ao Kung says: 吏强欲進卒弱輒陷 “The officers are energetic and
want to press on, the common soldiers are feeble and suddenly
collapse.” Note that 弱 is to be taken literally of physical
weakness, whereas in the former clause it is figurative. Li Ch‘üan
makes 陷 equivalent to 敗, and Tu Mu explains it as 陷沒於死地
“stumbling into a death-trap.”