Cryptocurrency Exchange - Detailed Explanation of "The Art of War" - The Military Form Chapter

Sun Tzu said:

In ancient times, those skilled in warfare would first make themselves invincible and wait for the enemy to be vulnerable. Being invincible depends on oneself; victory over the enemy depends on the enemy’s weakness. Therefore, a good strategist can make himself invincible but cannot ensure the enemy’s defeat. Hence, it is said: Victory can be foreseen but cannot be forced. Invincibility is about defense; victory is about attack. Defense leads to insufficiency; attack leads to surplus. The best defenders hide beneath the ground; the best attackers move above the nine heavens. Thus, they can protect themselves and achieve complete victory. Seeing victory that is obvious to others is not the mark of true excellence; winning and being praised as wise is not the highest form of excellence.

Raising a single hair does not require great strength; seeing the sun and moon does not require sharp eyesight; hearing thunder does not require keen ears. The ancient masters of warfare, those who excelled in winning easily, did so by winning with ease. Therefore, the victories of the truly skilled in war are achieved without relying on wisdom or bravery, which is why their victories are not mistaken. Mistakes occur when they overreach or when victory is achieved through defeat. The truly skilled in warfare establish themselves in a place of no defeat and do not miss opportunities to defeat the enemy.

Hence, victorious armies win first and then seek battle; defeated armies fight first and then seek victory. The wise use of soldiers involves cultivating the Way and safeguarding the laws, thus enabling control over victory and defeat in warfare.

The Art of War: the first principle is Measurement; the second is Quantity; the third is Number; the fourth is Calculation; the fifth is Victory. Land produces Measurement; Measurement produces Quantity; Quantity produces Number; Number produces Calculation; Calculation produces Victory. Therefore, victorious armies are like using a weight to measure a tael; defeated armies are like using a tael to measure a weight.

The army that wins by measuring the people is like deciding the flow of accumulated water in a thousand-foot-deep creek—this is form.