The Nine Grounds — Chapter Eleven

Sun Tzu said: In the methods of employing troops there are nine kinds of ground: scattered ground, light ground, contentious ground, intersecting ground, main-road ground, serious ground, difficult ground, encircled ground, and death ground. When a state fights within its own territory, that is scattered ground. When one enters another’s territory but not deeply, that is light ground. Ground that benefits both sides when either gains it is contentious ground. Ground that I can go to and the enemy can come to is intersecting ground. Where a state’s territory branches in three directions, and the first to arrive secures the larger number of people, that is main-road ground. When one penetrates deeply into another’s land and has many cities to his rear, that is serious ground. Mountain forests, obstacles, marshes and all difficult routes are difficult ground. Where the approach is narrow and the return route roundabout, and the enemy in smaller force can strike our larger force, that is encircled ground. Where swift battle preserves life but delay destroys it, that is death ground. Therefore on scattered ground there is no fighting; on light ground there is no lingering; on contentious ground there is no direct attack; on intersecting ground there is no severance; on main-road ground forces converge and join; on serious ground there is plundering; on difficult ground there is movement; on encircled ground there must be stratagem; on death ground there must be fighting.

The ancient masters of war could make it so that the enemy’s front and rear could not aid each other, the many and the few could not depend on each other, the high and the low could not rescue each other, the upper and lower could not gather; troops would separate and not assemble, units would combine without alignment. Move when it is to your advantage; stop when it is not. Asked: “If the enemy comes with massed, orderly forces, how should one wait?” The answer: “First seize what he loves, and he will obey.” Therefore speed is the ruling factor in warfare: take advantage of the enemy’s lack of preparedness, go by unexpected routes, and attack where he is unguarded.

The way of the invading force is that the deeper it goes the more it concentrates; the home ruler cannot withstand it. Forage in abundant countryside so the three armies have enough to eat. Tend them carefully and do not overwork them; conserve spirit and accumulate strength; employ movement and stratagem so that the enemy cannot predict. Drive them so they have nowhere to go, and they will fight to the death. If they cannot die, the soldiers will give their utmost. When troops are very pressed they are fearless; with nowhere to go they stand firm; deeply inside enemy territory they feel constrained; if there is no alternative they will fight. Thus their troops can be alert without drill, obtain without asking, attach without promise, and trust without orders. Remove omens and expel doubt; when death is the only road there is nowhere else to go. My soldiers without private property do not disdain wealth; without spare life they do not disdain longevity. On the day of departure, seated soldiers weep on their collars and those who lie down shed tears along their cheeks. Those driven with nowhere to turn display the courage of Zhu and Gui.

Therefore the skillful commander is likened to a single living organism. The comparison is to the serpent of Changshan: strike its head and the tail comes; strike its tail and the head comes; strike it in the middle and both head and tail come together. Asked: “Can troops be made to act like that serpent?” The answer: “Yes. The peoples of Wu and Yue hated each other, yet when they shared a boat in a storm they rescued one another like left and right hands.” Hence a harnessed chariot with its wheels buried is not yet reliable; common courage like one is the way of governance; both firmness and flexibility depend on terrain. The skilled commander binds hands so they act like one man when necessity demands it.

The affairs of the general require calm secrecy, correctness and order. He must dull the soldiers’ ears and eyes so they have no knowledge; change their duties and alter their plans so people cannot perceive; change their billets and lengthen their routes so they cannot calculate. When the commander departs, remove the ladder as one who climbs a height; when he leads them deep into the enemy’s country and then reveals his purpose, he burns the boats and breaks the kettles—like driving a flock of sheep. Drive them forward and drive them back so no one knows where they are bound. Gather the three armies and hurl them into danger: that is the work of the general. The transformations of the nine grounds, the gains of extension and contraction, and the principles of human feeling must all be observed.

In general, as a guest: deep implies concentration, shallow implies dispersion. When an army leaves its country and crosses a border, that is absolute ground; where roads reach in all directions, that is main-road ground; where one goes deep, that is serious ground; where one goes shallow, that is light ground; when rear is secure but front is narrow, that is encircled ground; when there is nowhere to go, that is death ground. Therefore on scattered ground I will unite their will; on light ground I will make them belonging; on contentious ground I will press from the rear; on intersecting ground I will guard carefully; on main-road ground I will secure the junctions; on serious ground I will maintain their supplies; on difficult ground I will improve the routes; on encircled ground I will block their gaps; on death ground I will show them there is no life. Thus the condition of troops: when surrounded, defend; when forced, fight; when past, pursue.

Therefore one who does not know the counsels of the princes cannot make plans for alliances in advance; one who does not know mountain forests, difficult passes and marsh forms cannot march an army; one who does not use local guides cannot gain the ground advantage. If four or five of these are lacking and one does not know even one, that is not the army of a hegemon. The hegemon’s army, when attacking a great state, prevents its forces from gathering; with威 impressed upon the enemy, their alliances cannot unite. Therefore do not contend for the world’s alliances nor cultivate sway for the world; rely on your own interests; impose威 on the enemy and cities can be taken and states overthrown. Administer rewards without fixed law and hang decrees without governance. Make the multitudes act as one person. Strike them into action by deeds, not by words; strike them with gain and do not announce the harm. Cast them into a lost ground and then they will live; plunge them into death ground and then they will die. Only when a host is driven into danger can victory and defeat be decided. Thus the affairs of war lie in feigning compliance with the enemy’s intent, compressing the enemy’s direction into one, slaying commanders a thousand miles away—this is the cunning that achieves results.

Therefore on the day one mobilizes, level the passes and break the tally-chits so their envoys cannot get through; be severe on the altars and in halls to punish deeds. When the enemy opens and closes, rush in quickly; first seize what he loves; give him little time; press close on his heels to decide the engagement. Therefore at first be like a maiden when the enemy opens his door; later be like a rabbit from which there is no escape and the enemy cannot resist.