Mental Skills

Mental Skills

Original Text

In order to be a general, one must first treat the mind. Mount Tai collapses in front but remains unchanged, elk rises to the left but does not blink [87], then you can control your interests and harms [88], and wait for the enemy [89].

Every soldier must be righteous[90]; if it is unjust, do not move even if it is beneficial. If you don't make a move for your own benefit, you will be unprepared for something in the future. A husband's righteousness can anger a soldier [91], and a soldier's righteous anger can lead to hundreds of battles.

The way to fight is to nourish your wealth before fighting, to nourish your strength in battle, to nourish your energy in battle, and to nourish your heart in victory. Be careful with the beacons[92] and severely reprimand the farmers[93], so that the cultivators have no scruples, so they can nourish their wealth, and they can be rewarded with abundant rewards and travel leisurely[94], so they can nourish their strength; a small victory will make them more anxious, and a small setback will make them more serious, so Nurturing his spirit; employing people will not do what they want, so nourish their heart. Therefore, scholars often store up their anger and cherish their desires without quenching them. If anger is not exhausted, there will be excess courage; if desire is not exhausted, there will be excess greed. Therefore, even though he united the world, his soldiers never tired of fighting. This is why the Yellow Emperor fought seventy battles without losing his troops. If you don't cultivate your mind, you won't be able to win in one battle.

Every general desires to be wise and strict, while every scholar desires to be foolish[95]. Wisdom is unpredictable, and strictness cannot be violated. Therefore, all soldiers commit themselves to themselves and obey orders. How can I not be stupid? If the husband is just a fool, then both of them will die.

Whenever a soldier moves, he must know the enemy's leader and the enemy's general, and then he can move in danger. Deng Ai's troops [96] sent troops to Shu, but if Liu Chan [97] was not mediocre, then millions of troops could sit and be tied [98], and they would move if they were insulted [99]. Therefore, the wise generals of ancient times were able to defeat the enemy with their troops [100], and they also experienced the enemy themselves, so they could defeat them by leaving.

The way to lead a general is to know the principles and then raise the troops, know the situation and then increase the troops, and know the moral principles and then use the troops. If you know the principles, you will not give in; if you know the potential, you will not be discouraged; if you know the principles, you will not be frustrated. I don't move when I see small gains, and I don't avoid small troubles. Small gains and small troubles are not enough to insult my skills. Then I will use them to support [101] big gains and big troubles. He who cultivates his skills [102] and loves himself will be invincible in the world. Therefore, one patience can support a hundred courages, and one calmness can control a hundred movements.

Soldiers have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the same is true for us and the enemy. Dare to ask: "My strengths, if I come out and use them, they will not compete with me; my weaknesses, I will hide them, and they will take advantage of me. What can I do?" He said: "What are my weaknesses? , I resist and violently attack them [103], and make them doubtful and retreat; my strength is to nourish them secretly [104], and make them fall into it [105]. This is also the technique of long and short."

Those who make good use of soldiers can make them have nothing to worry about and something to rely on. If you have nothing to worry about, you will know that death is not a pity; if you have something to rely on, you will know that defeat will not be inevitable. When the ruler and hammer are used as [106] a fierce tiger, it screams and strikes; when encountering a lizard with bare hands, it changes color and hesitates, this is the human emotion. Those who know this can do it. If he bares his shirt and holds a sword, Wu Huo will not dare to force him; if he lays down close to the soldiers with his crown and armor on, then the boy will bend his bow and kill him. Therefore, those who are good at using military force will solidify their form [109]. If you can solidify it with form, you will have more than enough strength.

Comments

[87] The elk is on the left without blinking: the elk suddenly runs away from the side without blinking. Left: around. Shun: blink of an eye.

[88] Control interests: control interests.

[89]Wait for the enemy: deal with the enemy.

[90] Upper meaning: advocating justice.

[91] Angry Soldier: To stimulate morale.

[92]Jin Feng Sui: Set up alarm beacons carefully.

[93] Strictly patrol and patrol the border.

[94] Reward and travel leisurely: Reward the soldiers with sumptuous food and wine.

[95] Yu: Yu Zhong.

[96] Dropping soldiers: Tie soldiers with ropes and fall from the mountain to the cliff.

[97] Liu Chan: (207-271), the later lord of the Shu Han Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms, with the courtesy name Gongsi and the diminutive nickname Adou. He was a native of Zhuo County (now part of Hebei Province) and the son of Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of the Shu Han Dynasty.

[98] Sitting and binding: captured.

[99]Insult: contempt.

[100] Taste the enemy: test the enemy.

[101] To support: to cope with.

[102] Cultivate skills: exercise skills.

[103] I resisted and was violent: I deliberately exposed myself.

[104]I raise it in the dark: I hide it in secret.

[105] Falling into it: causing the enemy to be careless and fall into a trap.

[106]Dang: face.

[107] Naked and exposed.

[108] Wu Huo: A strong man during the Warring States Period. A native of Qin, he is as famous as Ren Bi and Meng Shuo. King Wu of Qin revered strong men, recruited them to his sect, favored them, and promoted them to high officials. Meng Ke said that he could lift a hundred jun (three thousand catties) and died at the age of more than eighty years. Later used as a general term for strongman.

[109] Shape solid: Preserve oneself.

Translation

The principle of being a general is to first strengthen inner cultivation. Even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of his eyes, he would not change his expression, and the elk would suddenly run away from him without blinking an eye. Only then would he be able to control the stakes and deal with the enemy.

When using troops, justice must be upheld. If it is not in accordance with justice, do not act even if it is beneficial.

It's not that the action is harmful, it's that it will lead to an unmanageable situation later. Only justice can inspire morale. Once morale is inspired by justice, it can win every battle.

The principle of all wars is roughly as follows: before the war occurs, you must save financial resources; when the war is about to occur, you must recuperate your energy; when the war has already started, you must boost morale; after the war is won, , to maintain fighting spirit. Cautiously setting up alarm beacons and strictly patrolling the borders so that farmers have no worries and can accumulate wealth with peace of mind; rewarding soldiers with sumptuous food and wine to keep them well-groomed, this is how to cultivate combat effectiveness. When a small victory is achieved, the soldiers should be more inspired; when a small setback is encountered, the soldiers should be motivated to build morale. When using warriors don't satisfy all their desires, keep their fighting spirit alive. Therefore, soldiers always have strong fighting spirit and have desires in their hearts that cannot be fully realized. If the anger is not gone, you will have courage, and if the desire is endless, you will continue to pursue it. Therefore, even if the world is conquered, the soldiers will not hate war. This is why Huangdi's army did not slack off after more than 70 battles. If you don't cultivate your character, even if you can win a battle, you won't be able to fight for a long time.

Generals must be wise and strict, and soldiers must be foolish and loyal. If you are wise, you are unpredictable, and if you are strict, you cannot offend. Therefore, if a soldier obeys orders regardless of himself, how can he not be foolish and loyal? Only soldiers who are loyal and loyal can sacrifice their lives together with the general.

Whenever you lead an army in a war, you must understand the enemy's commander and generals before you can send troops to dangerous places. Wei general Deng Ai led his troops to attack Shu. He tied his soldiers with ropes and fell off the cliff. Because he knew that Liu Chan, the queen of Shu, was so stupid and incompetent that even if Shu had a million troops, he could still be captured. Deng Ai originally despised it. Liu Chan, that's why he dared to take the risk and send troops. Therefore, good generals in ancient times could use a certain amount of troops to test the enemy's strength and weakness, and at the same time use the enemy's situation to measure themselves, so that they could make their own decisions.

The way to be a general is: understand the principles and then use troops, understand the situation and then go into battle, understand the moderation and then direct the battle. If you understand the truth, you will not give in; if you understand the situation, you will not be frustrated; if you know moderation, you will not get into trouble. Don't be tempted when you see small gains, don't avoid small troubles. Small gains and small troubles are not worth humiliating my abilities before I can deal with big gains and big troubles. Only those who are good at exercising their skills and love themselves can be invincible in the world. Therefore, a moment of patience can resist hundreds of bravery, and a moment of calmness can control hundreds of actions.

The army itself has its own strengths and weaknesses, whether it is our enemy or our own. I would like to ask: "I use our strengths, but the enemy does not compete with me; I hide our weaknesses, but the enemy insists on confronting me. What should I do?" He replied: "Our strengths are hidden by me, but the enemy insists on confronting me." I deliberately expose my weaknesses to make my enemies doubtful and retreat; I hide our strengths secretly so that my enemies are careless and fall into a trap."

A person who is good at directing a war should make the soldiers have nothing to worry about but something to rely on. Soldiers have no scruples, that is, they understand that even if they sacrifice, it is not worth pity; they have something to rely on, that is, they know that they will not necessarily fail. Holding a foot-long wooden stick in hand, facing a tiger, you dare to shout and hit it with the stick; if you encounter a lizard with bare hands, you will be so frightened that your face will change and you will retreat. This is human nature. Once you understand these principles, you can lead troops. If he is naked with his arms exposed and holding a sword in his hand, a strong man like Wu Huo will not dare to approach; if he is wearing a helmet and armor and sleeping with a weapon, a child will dare to bend his bow and shoot him. Therefore, a person who is good at using troops uses various conditions to protect himself; when he can use various conditions to protect himself, his ability is sufficient.

Analysis

This article is one of Su Xun's "Book of Quan". As a theory of military strategy, this article emphasizes "governing the mind", that is, the commander's thoughts and military qualities, so it is titled "Mind Skills". This article elaborates on the strategic and strategic thoughts of war from eight aspects: governing the mind, advocating righteousness, cultivating scholars, being wise and foolish, predicting the enemy, assessing the situation, taking surprise, and defending. It contains some simple dialectical views, but also "having one's desires" Feudal power tactics such as "Not enough" and "Scholars want to be foolish".

Each section of this article is its own paragraph, each with its own center and internal connections, and the logic is very strict. The article touches on many important issues in the war and gives people profound enlightenment with the brilliance of simple dialectics. Reading this article gives people a sense of confusion and frustration, which is due to the skillful use of a large number of parallel sentences in the article. The use of paired sentences in prose not only absorbs the sonorous tone and graceful form of parallel prose, but also uses paired sentences and long and short sentences alternately, and has the effect of connecting categories and concentrating on one another. Effect.

This article is less than a thousand words, but there are more than ten parallel sentences. Like "Mountain Tai collapses in front but remains unchanged, elk rises to the left but does not blink", "If anger is not exhausted, there will be more courage, if desire is not exhausted, there will be more greed", "One forbearance can support a hundred braves, one calm can control a hundred Couple sentences such as "moving" are not only sonorous and powerful, but also extremely philosophical aphorisms. Mao Kun said "there are many famous quotes in this article" (Volume 7 of "Su Wengong Wenchao"), which was in view of the large number of paired sentences in the article. These sentences have refined language and rich connotations, which add a lot of color to the article.