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[Li Ch'uan cites the case of Fu Chien, prince of Ch'in, who in

383 A.D. marched with a vast army against the Chin Emperor. When

warned not to despise an enemy who could command the services of

such men as Hsieh An and Huan Ch'ung, he boastfully replied: "I

have the population of eight provinces at my back, infantry and

horsemen to the number of one million; why, they could dam up the

Yangtsze River itself by merely throwing their whips into the

stream. What danger have I to fear?" Nevertheless, his forces

were soon after disastrously routed at the Fei River, and he was

obliged to beat a hasty retreat.]

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in

every battle.

[Chang Yu said: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the

offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the

defensive." He adds: "Attack is the secret of defence; defence is

the planning of an attack." It would be hard to find a better

epitome of the root-principle of war.]

Chapter IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS