Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into
desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.
Compare the paradoxical saying 亡者存之基死者生之本. These words of
Sun Tzŭ were once quoted by Han Hsin in explanation of the tactics
he employed in one of his most brilliant battles, already alluded
to on p. 28, In 204 B.C., he was sent against the army of Chao,
and halted ten miles from the mouth of the 井陘 Ching-hsing pass,
where the enemy had mustered in full force. Here, at midnight,
he detached a body of 2000 light cavalry, every man of which was
furnished with a red flag. Their instructions were to make their
way through narrow defiles and keep a secret watch on the enemy.
“When the men of Chao see me in full flight,” Han Hsin said, “they
will abandon their fortifications and give chase. This must be the
sign for you to rush in, pluck down the Chao standards and set
up the red banners of 漢 Han in their stead.” Turning then to
his other officers, he remarked: “Our adversary holds a strong
position, and is not likely to come out and attack us until he
sees the standard and drums of the commander-in-chief, for fear
I should turn back and escape through the mountains.” So saying,
he first of all sent out a division consisting of 10,000 men, and
ordered them to form in line of battle with their backs to the
River 泜 Ti. Seeing this manœuvre, the whole army of Chao broke
into loud laughter. By this time it was broad daylight, and Han
Hsin, displaying the generalissimo’s flag, marched out of the pass
with drums beating, and was immediately engaged by the enemy. A
great battle followed, lasting for some time; until at length Han
Hsin and his colleague 張耳 Chang Ni, leaving drums and banner on
the field, fled to the division on the river bank, where another
fierce battle was raging. The enemy rushed out to pursue them and
to secure the trophies, thus denuding their ramparts of men; but
the two generals succeeded in joining the other army, which was
fighting with the utmost desperation. The time had now come for
the 2000 horsemen to play their part. As soon as they saw the men
of Chao following up their advantage, they galloped behind the
deserted walls, tore up the enemy’s flags and replaced them by
those of Han. When the Chao army turned back from the pursuit, the
sight of these red flags struck them with terror. Convinced that
the Hans had got in and overpowered their king, they broke up in
wild disorder, every effort of their leader to stay the panic
being in vain. Then the Han army fell on them from both sides and
completed the rout, killing a great number and capturing the rest,
amongst whom was King 歇 Ya himself.... After the battle, some of
Han Hsin’s officers came to him and said: “In the _Art of War_ we
are told to have a hill or tumulus on the right rear, and a river
or marsh on the left front. [This appears to be a blend of Sun Tzŭ
and T‘ai Kung. See IX. § 9, and note.] You, on the contrary,
ordered us to draw up our troops with the river at our back. Under
these conditions, how did you manage to gain the victory?” The
general replied: “I fear you gentlemen have not studied the Art of
War with sufficient care. Is it not written there: ‘_Plunge your
army into desperate straits and it will come off in safety; place
it in deadly peril and it will survive_’? Had I taken the usual
course, I should never have been able to bring my colleagues
round. What says the Military Classic (經)?—‘Swoop down on the
market-place and drive the men off to fight’ (毆市人而戰之). [This
passage does not occur in the present text of Sun Tzŭ.] If I had
not placed my troops in a position where they were obliged to
fight for their lives, but had allowed each man to follow his own
discretion, there would have been a general _débandade_, and it
would have been impossible to do anything with them.” The officers
admitted the force of his argument, and said: “These are higher
tactics than we should have been capable of.” [See _Ch‘ien Han
Shu_, ch. 34, ff. 4, 5.]