p.楚漢傳奇 (Part II)

The last part is here:   Show - 楚漢傳奇

This a second part discussion of  韩信 (Han Xin):

After Xiang Yu's death, China was unified under Liu Bang's rule, and Liu granted Han Xin the title of "King of Chu" in recognition of his contributions. Months later, Liu Bang declared himself Emperor of China and later became known as Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. 

In 202 BC, Zhongli Mo (one of Xiang Yu's generals), who was wanted by the Han government, came to Han Xin and requested for refuge. On account of their past friendship, Han Xin protected Zhongli Mo and let him stay in his house. When Emperor Gaozu heard that Zhongli Mo was hiding in Han Xin's fief, he ordered Han to arrest Zhongli, but Han refused. 

A year later, Gaozu heard rumours that Han Xin was plotting a rebellion. Chen Ping proposed to Gaozu to lure Han into a trap and capture him, on the pretext of ordering him to attend a meeting in Chen (present-day Huaiyang, Henan). Meanwhile, Zhongli Mo committed suicide to prevent Han Xin from getting into trouble. Han Xin brought Zhongli Mo's severed head to meet Gaozu later and explain his innocence, but Gaozu ordered Han to be arrested. Han Xin exclaimed, "It is true when people say: The hunting dog becomes food as well after it is used to hunt game; a good bow is discarded when there are no birds left for shooting; an advisor dies after he helps his lord conquer a rival kingdom. Now that the empire is in place, I no longer serve any purpose!" Although Gaozu pardoned Han Xin and released him later, he still demoted Han from "King of Chu" to "Marquis of Huaiyin".

After his demotion, Han Xin knew that Emperor Gaozu was beginning to distrust him and become more wary of him, because Han Xin had proven himself to be such a brilliant military leader that he even had the ability to seize Gaozu's empire for himself. Hence, Han Xin claimed to be ill and stayed at home most of the time to reduce Gaozu's suspicions. Around 197 BC, Chen Xi (Marquis of Yangxia) met Han Xin before leaving for Julu, requesting for Han's support in an uprising against the Han Dynasty. Not long later, Chen Xi rebelled and Gaozu personally led an army to suppress the rebellion. 

While Gaozu was away, Empress Lü Zhi heard rumours of Han Xin's involvement in the rebellion, and she plotted with Xiao He to lure Han into a trap. Han Xin was arrested and executed in a torturous manner in Changle Palace, along with his mother, wife and close relatives. Han Xin's clan was exterminated on the empress's orders as well. Upon his return from his campaign, Gaozu expressed both glee and regret when he learnt of Han Xin's death. He asked the empress for Han Xin's last words, which were, "I regret not listening to Kuai Tong's advice." 

In legend, Gaozu once promised Han Xin that if he "faced Heaven and stood firm on Earth" (頂天立地; i.e. remained loyal) to the Han Dynasty, he would not have Han Xin killed by any weapon used by soldiers. Hence, when Han Xin was executed, he was hung inside a great bell and pierced to death with swords made from wood or bamboo. As such, when he died, Han Xin was neither "facing Heaven" (because his body was covered by the bell) nor "standing firm on Earth" (because he was suspended inside the bell), and was not killed by any weapon used by soldiers (soldiers do not use wooden or bamboo swords).

My Comment 

Han Xin was a beautiful strategist and a master of warfare. But, as a general and user of man, he must be able to foretell his own fortune. He must never be an employee for all his life. No master would tolerate an over-powering or bearing subordinate. Once the empire is secured, he would be removed.

Therefore no matter how strong you are in the big organisation, you will meet your end when the time is nigh. If you want to build an business empire, make sure you depend on nothing for that success. Only then, you will find peace and happiness. Han Xin was a good guy, but he trusted the wrong boss. Sometimes, you are classified as sexy by the boss only simply because you are still useful and non-replaceable or you have something the boss needs to execute his business tasks. I know that sounded ruthless in managing bosses. But how many bosses are not pure fuckens?  If you trust your boss, there is only one permanence, i.e., he will simply bite your ass when the time is right. 

Being an employee is alright. But, after having served and getting slaughter at the end is not my idea of retirement. Build some self-esteem! At least we determine our own fate. Fuckens are always there. Don't ever believe fuckens will think of you. They will praise you, use you, promote you, pamper you and kill you because you are getting too expensive to keep. Remember Boxer in the Animal Farm. He was Han Xin. Sad. Self-preservation is key.

b.孫子兵法 (計篇第一) (Chapter 1 - 9) (Part 10)

始 計 篇 第 一 

孫 子 曰 ： 兵 者 ， 國 之 大 事 ， 死 生 之 地 ， 存 亡 之 道， 不 可 不 察 也 。

　 　 故 經 之 以 五 事 ， 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 ， 一 曰 道 ，二 曰 天 ， 三 曰 地 ， 四 曰 將 ， 五 曰 法 。
　 　 道 者 ， 令 民 與 上 同 意 ， 可 與 之 死 ， 可 與 之 生 ， 而 不 畏 危 也 。 天 者， 陰 陽 ， 寒 暑 ， 時 制 也 。 地 者 ， 遠 近 ， 險 易 ， 廣 狹 ，死 生 也 。 將 者 ，智 ， 信 ， 仁 ， 勇 ， 嚴 也 。 法 者 ， 曲 制 ， 官 道 ， 主 用 也。 凡 此 五 者 ， 將 莫 不 聞 ， 知 之 者 勝 ， 不 知 者 不 勝 。

　 　 故 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 。 曰 ： 主 孰 有 道 ， 將 孰 有 能 ， 天 地 孰 得 ，法 令 孰 行 ， 兵 眾 孰 強 ， 士 卒 孰 練 ， 賞 罰 孰 明 ， 吾 以 此 知 勝 負 矣 。 將 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 勝 ， 留 之 ； 將 不 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 敗 ， 去 之 。

　 　 計 利 以 聽 ， 乃 為 之 勢 ， 以 佐 其 外 ； 勢 者 ， 因 利 而 制 權 也 。

　 　 兵 者 ， 詭 道 也 。 故 能 而 示 之 不 能 ， 用 而 示 之 不 用， 近 而 示 之 遠 ，遠 而 示 之 近 。 利 而 誘 之 ， 亂 而 取 之 ， 實 而 備 之 ， 強 而 避 之 ， 怒 而 撓 之， 卑 而 驕 之 ， 佚 而 勞 之 ， 親 而 離 之 。 攻 其 無 備 ， 出 其 不 意 ， 此 兵 家 之勝 ， 不 可 先 傳 也 。

　 　 夫 未 戰 而 廟 算 勝 者 ， 得 算 多 也 ； 未 戰 而 廟 算 不 勝 者 ， 得 算 少 也 ；多 算 勝 ， 少 算 不 勝 ， 而 況 於 無 算 乎 ？ 吾 以 此 觀 之 ， 勝負 見 矣 。 

Some translation suggested: 
"Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought."
"The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: How much more no calculation at all!"
"It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose." 

SunTzu put this as the last statement. This is the most important statement which I concur totally. 

In business terms: On the average, I spent at least 8 hours a day discussing with my business partner on the strategic direction of the business. It was through these discussions that new strategic directions were found and executed.

Sometimes, we found our daily routines did affect our discussions. We would then take long trips into the countryside, away from the madding crowd. Amazingly, these long trips gave us one of the best enlightenments in our business direction. Without fail, we always find strong and new action plans. The plans were beautiful and well-conceived.

The amount of time we took to discuss did affect our daily work. But, the sacrifice was well worth it. The daily tasks might take a longer time to complete, but due to correct long term strategic direction, this was our shortest path to success.

Another important aspect of this statement is council. If there is no council, then the business will not work. It is through council that I can find peace. Peace in business is very important as it portraits calmness, strength and resilience.

Many times, I was questioned as why can't a business be absolutely run by a single and strong proprietor? Whenever a business hits a road block, the proprietor needs council and a good listening ear. This sole proprietor will turn to his closed friends to seek solace. Initially these friends will respond, but not for long. These friends' directions are not aligned with that of the sole proprietor's. If the business does well because of the friends' council, the proprietor wouldn't bother to share his spoils with his friends as these friends owned no part of the business; at most he just provides a meal or two. In the longer term, these friends due to their own commitment or constraint or might even feel used, will stop to provide council. The goodwill of these friends has been exhausted fully by the sole proprietor. He will then be shunt by all his closed friends and relations.

Therefore, it is a requirement to have a business partner to participate and share in the business venture. It doesn't need to have many, just ONE.

b.孫子兵法 (計篇第一) (Chapter 1 - 8) (Part 9)

始 計 篇 第 一 
孫 子 曰 ： 兵 者 ， 國 之 大 事 ， 死 生 之 地 ， 存 亡 之 道， 不 可 不 察 也 。

　 　 故 經 之 以 五 事 ， 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 ， 一 曰 道 ，二 曰 天 ， 三 曰 地 ， 四 曰 將 ， 五 曰 法 。
　 　 道 者 ， 令 民 與 上 同 意 ， 可 與 之 死 ， 可 與 之 生 ， 而 不 畏 危 也 。 天 者， 陰 陽 ， 寒 暑 ， 時 制 也 。 地 者 ， 遠 近 ， 險 易 ， 廣 狹 ，死 生 也 。 將 者 ，智 ， 信 ， 仁 ， 勇 ， 嚴 也 。 法 者 ， 曲 制 ， 官 道 ， 主 用 也。 凡 此 五 者 ， 將 莫 不 聞 ， 知 之 者 勝 ， 不 知 者 不 勝 。

　 　 故 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 。 曰 ： 主 孰 有 道 ， 將 孰 有 能 ， 天 地 孰 得 ，法 令 孰 行 ， 兵 眾 孰 強 ， 士 卒 孰 練 ， 賞 罰 孰 明 ， 吾 以 此 知 勝 負 矣 。 將 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 勝 ， 留 之 ； 將 不 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 敗 ， 去 之 。

　 　 計 利 以 聽 ， 乃 為 之 勢 ， 以 佐 其 外 ； 勢 者 ， 因 利 而 制 權 也 。

　 　 兵 者 ， 詭 道 也 。 故 能 而 示 之 不 能 ， 用 而 示 之 不 用， 近 而 示 之 遠 ，遠 而 示 之 近 。 利 而 誘 之 ， 亂 而 取 之 ， 實 而 備 之 ， 強 而 避 之 ， 怒 而 撓 之， 卑 而 驕 之 ， 佚 而 勞 之 ， 親 而 離 之 。 攻 其 無 備 ， 出 其 不 意 ， 此 兵 家 之勝 ， 不 可 先 傳 也 。

　 　 夫 未 戰 而 廟 算 勝 者 ， 得 算 多 也 ； 未 戰 而 廟 算 不 勝 者 ， 得 算 少 也 ；多 算 勝 ， 少 算 不 勝 ， 而 況 於 無 算 乎 ？ 吾 以 此 觀 之 ， 勝負 見 矣 。 

Some translation suggested: 
"Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
"Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."
"If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him."
"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."
"If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them."
"Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."
"These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand." 

SunTzu ranked this into the first chapter. Other than the most important last statement in the first chapter, this is one of the most important contributions of SunTzu. The message is very clear here: Essentially in war, one must never be predictable nor give one's enemy rest. 

SunTzu had already summarized the actions well. I shall not dwell into it.

In business terms, I have not done this well in the past. That is because to execute SunTzu's statements, one needs absolute strength. To be able to pretend to be weak, one already must be strong. To be able to attack when enemy is unprepared, one already must be well-prepared for attack. To be able to irritate the enemy of choleric temper, one already must be prepared for engagement. In another words, if one wishes to exercise any of the options suggested by SunTzu, one must be of great strength. Only with strength can one do proper battles and execute appropriate battle plans at a moment's notice.

If one does not currently have great strength, lie low all the time. Never be quick to anger. Patience is the only vocabulary in one's dictionary. Stay low and grow one's strength. Time is an easy factor to have.

Some suggested that this is of cunning and deceit value. My answer is NO. In world war II, the allied forces have to plan loads of misinformation and deception before they can land on Normandy was because the relative strength of Allied forces versus the Germans was inferior or at most parity. To attack the well-entrenched Germans in defence, one needs more than parity (3-to-1) to even hope for success. That's why the Germans were full of themselves that the Allied even if landed will have a hard time driving towards Berlin. That one lucky strike on Normandy had brought about a massive defeat for the Germans. Deceit in this case was a good servant for that one-time chance for the Allied. If the same conditions of war were to repeat themselves elsewhere, I am sure the enemy will be less likely to be fooled.

During that battle, the outcome could go either way. One can't do the same for business. In business, one does battles every day. Each battle draws its own outcome. One can never hope to use deceit or disinformation all the time to pass the day.

The strategy of not-giving-enemy-rest by SunTzu is well-founded on established principle of human nature. All gals know this principle well, but guys are hopeless in this appreciation. Do you not recall the last courtship with your gal friend? During the initial encounters, the gal will always create "problems" for the guy. No matter how hard the guy tries to please the gal by buying her valuable gifts, the gal will only be happy for a very brief period. Thereafter, she will still give him hell by asking: Why are you late? Why didn't you call? Where were you last night? Why didn't you volunteer to pick me up after my gals-night-out? Plenty of useless questions centred around needlessness, but yet the guy will have to answer her earnestly all the time. Some guys called her aptly a "drama-queen". When she is finally satisfied with his answer or gift, recalled that the truce period is at most 2 weeks to a month, the gal would then on some silly pretext throw another horrific tantrum by saying that the guy didn’t love her enough and the whole cycle repeats.

This type of not-giving-him-rest engagement is very effective for the gal. There are two desirable outcomes: one is to test if the guy likes her enough to continue humoring her (i.e., after the fucking, there is no chucking), and two is train the guy to obey her and satisfy her whims. This exercise however cannot continue if the gal is not going to give a little in herself, like letting the guy kiss her occasionally, touch her sporadically and so on. The end result is one of absolute obedience and perfectly dog-trained.

The same principle must be applied to business enemies. I was not able to fully engage my enemies this way and gave them absolutely no rest, as I was not absolutely strong then. But, I noticed that whenever I attack their turf, they had no time to engage in mine. The good news is my turf always remains untouched while potentially I have a chance to share his pie by attacking. Over some time, their pies were effectively shared, while keeping most of my pies intact. This way, growing within the market structure although slow, steady and stable, it was very effective ground gaining. Attacks from enemies on my turf after a while were non-existent as smaller players fear to incur my wrath. They were simply too busy dealing with their falling shares within their own turfs.

To summarize:  Once one has acquired sufficient strength, one must always be engaging the enemies by attacking their turfs. Initially the enemies can defend their turfs quite effectively; but after a while, I will also learn the dos and don’ts of how to gain market share within their turfs, the game will tip in my favour. Since gaining their market share is by using my spares, these attacks give my enemies no rest and when the time is right, i.e., during deep freezes, they will fall off immediately, granting me their entire pies. I have done this often enough to make this into an exact science.

Deep freezes are frequent and fun to deal with if one is strong. Deep freezes injure me deeply, but deliver mortal blows to my weaker enemies. Whenever I improves my rank, the guy that I outranked is always my next immediate target of interest. The guy has become weaker than me in relative terms. How sweet!

b.孫子兵法 (計篇第一) (Chapter 1 - 7) (Part 8)

始 計 篇 第 一 

孫 子 曰 ： 兵 者 ， 國 之 大 事 ， 死 生 之 地 ， 存 亡 之 道， 不 可 不 察 也 。

　 　 故 經 之 以 五 事 ， 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 ， 一 曰 道 ，二 曰 天 ， 三 曰 地 ， 四 曰 將 ， 五 曰 法 。
　 　 道 者 ， 令 民 與 上 同 意 ， 可 與 之 死 ， 可 與 之 生 ， 而 不 畏 危 也 。 天 者， 陰 陽 ， 寒 暑 ， 時 制 也 。 地 者 ， 遠 近 ， 險 易 ， 廣 狹 ，死 生 也 。 將 者 ，智 ， 信 ， 仁 ， 勇 ， 嚴 也 。 法 者 ， 曲 制 ， 官 道 ， 主 用 也。 凡 此 五 者 ， 將 莫 不 聞 ， 知 之 者 勝 ， 不 知 者 不 勝 。

　 　 故 校 之 以 計 ， 而 索 其 情 。 曰 ： 主 孰 有 道 ， 將 孰 有 能 ， 天 地 孰 得 ，法 令 孰 行 ， 兵 眾 孰 強 ， 士 卒 孰 練 ， 賞 罰 孰 明 ， 吾 以 此 知 勝 負 矣 。 將 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 勝 ， 留 之 ； 將 不 聽 吾 計 ， 用 之 必 敗 ， 去 之 。

　 　 計 利 以 聽 ， 乃 為 之 勢 ， 以 佐 其 外 ； 勢 者 ， 因 利 而 制 權 也 。

　 　 兵 者 ， 詭 道 也 。 故 能 而 示 之 不 能 ， 用 而 示 之 不 用， 近 而 示 之 遠 ，遠 而 示 之 近 。 利 而 誘 之 ， 亂 而 取 之 ， 實 而 備 之 ， 強 而 避 之 ， 怒 而 撓 之， 卑 而 驕 之 ， 佚 而 勞 之 ， 親 而 離 之 。 攻 其 無 備 ， 出 其 不 意 ， 此 兵 家 之勝 ， 不 可 先 傳 也 。

　 　 夫 未 戰 而 廟 算 勝 者 ， 得 算 多 也 ； 未 戰 而 廟 算 不 勝 者 ， 得 算 少 也 ；多 算 勝 ， 少 算 不 勝 ， 而 況 於 無 算 乎 ？ 吾 以 此 觀 之 ， 勝負 見 矣 。 

Some translation suggested: 

"All warfare is based on deception." 

This is the saddest part of SunTzu's conclusion.

SunTzu said that every battle must involve employment of cunning or trickery. China has followed this advice for two and half thousand years, maybe that's the reason why China had never make it in the world arena: A dragon trapped in the shallows. The strength NEVER can come from deception.

SunTzu has placed this advice here in the very first chapter implied its paramount importance. This is so very sad. Over his latter years, I assumed that he must have reflected on this statement many times and decided that it was so important that it must be placed first. I can feel his pain. He lived in a cunning society -  a society full of croaks. To survive, he thought that he needs to outfox everybody every day. What a sad existence!

This idea did not get him very far. His legs were lobed off during a lost battle.

Employing cunning simply don't work. In the game of Texas Hold'em poker, one would have realized that being honest may not have gained much money in a short run. But, in the long run, the accumulation of money is although slow but very stable. I have seen many big risk-takers losing their pants and never recover. Reflecting this game of poker over one's life is so uncanningly similar. Those people who never take risk actually ended up so strong that it is unbelievable.

Employing cunning is only a short-term advantage, but never the long-term success. One easily gets addicted to these short-term risk-taking so much so that one loses sight of the long-term goal that one is just a mere 浮萍 (a floating water weed) floating down one's life journey.

The two great world wars were started by the Germans. It was never intended to start as a world war. It was a domestic issue. It was the intention of the Germans to exterminate the Jews from their country and her neighbours. Over long periods, the Jews had been extremely nasty to their host countries. They wheeled and dealt. They spread by wild fire. Every non-Jewish gal they married must become a Jew and follow their religious belief. Every Jewish gal cannot marry someone outside the Jewish community. They only traded among themselves. They controlled the food, the banks and the newspapers. Even cultural scenes were full of Jews. They lured customers through very intelligent sale schemes. They never give back to their hosts but leeched them high and dry. They controlled almost every aspect of the economy.

The Jews were once rated as the most intelligent race. Almost nobody can outfox them. They were not only intelligent but extremely hard-working. They deserved the success they worked for. The only mistake was the Jews never share their spoils. This has brought very deep resentment and the host country felt extremely disadvantaged and felt that their hospitality had been foolish. This led to a call for arms.

The Germans did not feel justified that the Jews were doing so well while they were not. The Germans were also an extremely hardworking people. They worked hard and they worked straight. They were never late for appointments and work precisely and accurate on their tasks.

Their cars, engineering and heavy industries to date are still unrivalled. Although the Germans may have lost the world wars, they are still the richest country in the world. They still controlled Europe absolutely.

By not employing cunning, they lost out to the Jews. Over the years, the Germans felt cornered. Nevertheless, the honest Germans prevailed in the end. Right now, their economy is the strongest in the world. They owed nobody, everybody owed them.

Where are the Jews today? A nobody. Unless and otherwise they employed no deceit, will they see the daylight. They are like vampires living in the dark. Strong, vicious, always attacking, but cannot live in daylight.

In business terms, at first I have employed cunning too in my business. I started fast and furious. I wheeled and dealt. In a very short time, I received so much fun that I always attributed that to beginner's luck. Since I was so successful, being young and brash, I showed off and I spent and treated my so-called friends as if there was no tomorrow. The end-results, you guessed it right, was easy-come, it MUST BE easy-go. I lost all my true friends and capital.

Things cannot be so simple. If it is, then there would be no poor souls in the market. The fact remains that only a very select few made it means they must be something special about these winners. It is still 1-99 ratio.

Slowly I removed my wayward ways, I only employed honesty as my only banner. I regained trust once more. I believe hard work as the only honest business. I learned to distrust all get-rich schemes. I relied on no one but yet handsomely rewarding those who helped me along the way. I punished those who disrespect me by removing my time with them. No complaints, no explanations. I don't teach nor alert the uninitiated. For those who respect me, I reward them with my time and a listening ear.

After awhile, little by little, success starts to restart on me again. This time, interestingly I no longer need to show off, as that was a former sign for my lack of confidence. If for anything, I kept this success very closed to my heart. No show-offs, no fanfares, just an assuring smile to those whom I trusted. 

In this instance, SunTzu didn't see the much bigger picture. Why? He revealed and contradicted this statement of employing cunning later in his writings, betraying his unwavering faith in falsehood.

The entire teaching of SunTzu was founded on falsehood and deception. How sad!