Carefully study the well-being of your men,
謹養, according to Wang Hsi, means: 撫循飮食周謹之 “Pet them, humour
them, give them plenty of food and drink, and look after them
generally.”
and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your
strength.
Tu Mu explains these words in a rhyming couplet: 氣全力盛一發取勝;
and Ch‘ên Hao recalls the line of action adopted in 224 B.C. by the
famous general 王翦 Wang Chien, whose military genius largely
contributed to the success of the First Emperor. He had invaded
the Ch‘u State, where a universal levy was made to oppose him.
But, being doubtful of the temper of his troops, he declined all
invitations to fight and remained strictly on the defensive. In
vain did the Ch‘u general try to force a battle: day after day
Wang Chien kept inside his walls and would not come out, but
devoted his whole time and energy to winning the affection and
confidence of his men. He took care that they should be well fed,
sharing his own meals with them, provided facilities for bathing,
and employed every method of judicious indulgence to weld them
into a loyal and homogeneous body. After some time had elapsed,
he told off certain persons to find out how the men were amusing
themselves. The answer was, that they were contending with one
another in putting the weight and long-jumping (投石超距). When
Wang Chien heard that they were engaged in these athletic
pursuits, he knew that their spirits had been strung up to the
required pitch and that they were now ready for fighting. By this
time the Ch‘u army, after repeating their challenge again and
again, had marched away eastwards in disgust. The Ch‘in general
immediately broke up his camp and followed them, and in the
battle that ensued they were routed with great slaughter. Shortly
afterwards, the whole of Ch‘u was conquered by Ch‘in, and the king
負芻 Fu-ch‘u led into captivity. [See _Shih Chi_, ch. 73, f. 5 _r_^o.
It should be noted that, 楚 being a taboo character under the Ch‘in
dynasty, the name figures as 荆 throughout.]
Keep your army continually on the move,
In order that the enemy may never know exactly where you are. It
has struck me, however, that the true reading might be, not 運兵,
but 連兵 “link your army together” [cf. _supra_ § 46, 吾將使之屬],
which would be more in keeping with 併氣積力. Capt. Calthrop cuts
the Gordian knot by omitting the words altogether.
and devise unfathomable plans.
Ch‘ang Yü’s paraphrase is: 常爲不可測度之計.