b.孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 3) (Part 24)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 2) (Part 23)

軍形篇

孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以侍敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可 勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝。故曰：勝可知 ，而不可為。
          不可勝者，守也﹔可勝者，攻也。守則不足，攻則有餘 。善守者，藏于九地之下﹔善攻者，動于九天之上。故能自保而全勝也。
          見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也﹔戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。古之所 謂善戰者，勝于易勝者也。故善戰之勝也，無智名，無勇功。故其戰 勝不忒。不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。故善戰者，立于不敗之 地，而不失敵之敗也。是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
          善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。地生度，度生量 ，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。勝者之戰民也，若決積水于千仞之谿者，形也。

Let's continue ...

          善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。地生度，度生量，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。勝者之戰民也，若決積水于千仞之谿者，形也。

Some translation suggested: 
The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success. In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory. Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances. A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.
Moran:   Those who are good at using troops will mend their Dao and protect their laws so that they will be able to conduct a governance that wins out over defeat. 【PEM: The Dao or Way mentioned here is probably the same as that mentioned at the beginning of this book. It is the set of beliefs and aspirations that the ruler has nurtured throughout society. In the world of today this Dao is relevant to laws and to standards of international behavior.】
The components of warfare: The first is called a metric. 【PEM: The character 度 is used to speak of marks inscribed in some artifact such as a bronze measuring rod. So the primary sense would be a linear measure of something.】
The second is called measure. 【PEM: Knowledge about favorable and unfavorable conditions would be obtained by applying some metric to measure some actual situation. While a 度 is a measure of length, a 量 is a measure of volume. There may be some idea of going from abstract characterizations such as length to more concrete characteristics such as the area or the volume of something. Or perhaps the two terms are related in the same general way as distances to travel are related to the volumes of food and water that must be provided for the trip.】
The third is called enumeration (calculation). 【PEM: Planning things out step by step, e.g., how much fodder for the oxen and horses is really required to get from here to there?
【PEM: Knowing what the conditions really are. Using the metrics and real measures to actually determine what is what, and then setting things in some useful order.】
The fourth is called weighing and evaluation. 【PEM: This part is operational and is based on the previous three steps being in place. How are things going at each step? Put the measured conditions of one's troops and the opposition's troops on the balance scale.】
The fifth is called victory. 【PEM: If the above four steps are well handled, one will avoid putting oneself on the offensive when one is not going to be adequately prepared and thereby get defeated.】
Geography (lay of the land, the terrain) produces metrics. 【PEM: It imposes a metric somehow. Maybe Master Sun just means that the distance from my capital to their capital determines how far they must come to attack me, and similar such considerations.】
Metrics produce measures. 【PEM: In addition to being able to make simple measurements of area, volume, weight, etc., one can measure more abstract conditions such as the current effectiveness range of a certain regiment. If one has a metric, a way to measure conditions, then one can form measures of the conditions of one's army, the opposition's army, etc.】
Measure produces enumeration (i.e., calculations). 【PEM: Once the statistics are in, one can do calculations.】
Enumeration produces weighing [one thing against another in the balance]. 【PEM: With the statistics in hand one can do realistic. objective comparisons.】
Weighing (comparisons at each step for each metric) produces victory. 【PEM: The rule is: Do not attack when one is in an inferior position. Attack only when the enemy has already assured his defeat and one knows it. These judgments must be objective. They must be based on empirical evidence and not on wishful thinking.】
Truly, using victorious armies resembles weighing a full measure of gold against 1/24 measure of gold. Using losing armies resembles weighing 1/24th measure of gold against a full measure of gold. 【PEM: This comment validates the notes given above. Master Sun seems to prefer a quantitative superiority, in any battle to be undertaken, of about twenty-four to one.】
The warfare of a victor is like the cutting loose of impounded water over a ravine of a thousand rods depth — the whole thing is thereafter only a matter of the lay of the land. 【PEM: This sentence gives a good example of a 勢 (power configuration.) Having water is not enough. Having impounded water is not, in itself, worth much more. But having impounded water in a location that assures that if released it will deliver irresistible force in a particular direction or against a particular point of opposition gives one a kind of real power in the world. Having introduced the idea here, the next chapter discusses power configurations in detail.】
 
Let's discuss:

善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。:   Good general shall implement dignity into the laws (修道以得人心). These laws shall determine the governance's victory or defeat.
兵法﹕一曰度，:   The components of warfare:   First is length.
二曰量， Second is measure.
三曰數， Third is count.
四曰稱， Fourth is weigh.
五曰勝。 Fifth is victory.
地生度， Land gives length.
度生量， Length gives measure.
量生數， Measure gives count.
數生稱， Count gives weigh.
稱生勝。 Weigh gives victory.
故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。 Therefore, winning army resembles weighing a full measure of gold against 1/24 measure of gold. Losing armies resembles weighing 1/24th measure of gold against a full measure of gold.
勝者之戰，若決積水於千仞之谿者，形也。 The warfare of a victor is conducted like cutting loose a dam of water over a ravine of a thousand rods depth — lay of the land.

This is the meat part of the chapter. Everything else are more airy-fairy.

In business, SunTzu said that good dignified laws should be implemented into the business organization. The business market shall provide the dimensions (length) of the business focus. These dimensions are measured and counted as factors. Each factor is weighed against each other to evaluate the chance to victory. A winning evaluation is a strength study of 24 : 1, overwhelming strong.

I feel that SunTzu is getting more and more kiasu and kiasi. Unless he evaluated the chance of absolute 24 is to 1, he would not attack. Any chance of losing a battle, I would presume he would not fight. Such conservation. It was the same advice of not borrowing from the banks by my dad long time ago. I didn't realise that as age catches up, the old guy will get more and more risk adverse. Very interest indeed.

韩信 (Han Xin) didn't even bother to save his boss until he grew numerically and technically way stronger than Xiang Yu. Only then Han Xin would supply the army to conduct a joint-attack on Xiang Yu. A Han 600,000 troopers against Xiang Yu's 150,000 crack troopers. This was done using a 10-face ambush. Han Xin won convincingly.

My dad didn't explain his reason for not-borrowing from the banks many years ago. I didn't take note of this advice until years later. Borrowing from banks was so easy and quick way to business possibilities. But, as business grew, these bank borrowings became heavier and heavier on my neck. I couldn't even move a single step until I got ride of these fucking loans. Looking back, if I had not borrowed my business would have grown much much slower in the beginning, but would fly way past my current achievement. Borrowing from banks is like getting 諸侯 to lend army troopers for war. Han Xin never trusted the support of 諸侯, he grew the army on his own, never once trusted support from any 諸侯. When the going gets tough, 諸侯 would withdraw their troops from engaging, leaving the general venerable to failures. I was like that. When the going gets tough, all loans were recalled, leaving me stark naked to face my enemies, exposing my absolute weaknesses. Luckily I survived. Unfortunately, such lesson was learned the hard way.

So, it is 欲速则不达. I have learned this very valuable lesson.

For those of you still on borrowings, be very careful. Your strength is no match to the bank's recall of loans. Once recalled, you can almost assume a very negative status. Not only you can't start from square 0 or 1, you start from square negative 20, i.e., you need to first repay your failures, save again your starting daily expenses, before allowing to restart like any 21yo kiddo with zero dollar. This is the grim reality of life's failure. It is never a free lunch. You have to pay with your life.

b.孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 2) (Part 23)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 1) (Part 22)

軍形篇

孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以侍敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可 勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝。故曰：勝可知 ，而不可為。
          不可勝者，守也﹔可勝者，攻也。守則不足，攻則有餘 。善守者，藏于九地之下﹔善攻者，動于九天之上。故能自保而全勝也。
          見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也﹔戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。古之所 謂善戰者，勝于易勝者也。故善戰之勝也，無智名，無勇功。故其戰 勝不忒。不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。故善戰者，立于不敗之 地，而不失敵之敗也。是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
          善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。 兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。地生度，度生量 ，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。 故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。 勝者之戰民也，若決積水于千仞之谿者，形也。

Let's continue ...

          見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也﹔戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。古之所 謂善戰者，勝于易勝者也。故善戰之勝也，無智名，無勇功。故其戰 勝不忒。不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。故善戰者，立于不敗之 地，而不失敵之敗也。是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。

Some translation suggested: 
To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!" To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Moran:   The ability to see "victory" does not exceed what the multitudes are able to understand, and it is not the best of all good abilities. When a battle is won everyone on earth says that is good, but it is not the best of all good outcomes. Now lifting a hair taken from the winter pelt of an animal is not deemed an extreme of strength. Seeing the sun or the moon is not credited as having acute vision. Hearing crashes of thunder is not called acute hearing. Those in antiquity who were good at warfare won under circumstances where it was easy to win. Therefore those who won good wars did not get a name for being wise, nor were they praised for their bravery. So their war victories came from their not making errors. The plans executed by those who did not err had to have succeeded. They won out over those who were already defeated. So those who are good at warfare first establish themselves in an invincible position, and then take care not to let go of the defeat of their enemies [if it is offered to them]. For that reason, victorious armies will first win and only then seek warfare. Losing armies will first go to war and only later seek [the way to achieve] victory.

Let's discuss:

見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也﹔   Able to foresee "victory" no keener than the common public perception is not good enough.
戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。:   Winning a battle and gain praises of everyone is not good enough.
故舉秋毫不為多力，:   Therefore, able to lift newly-grown down is not termed "great strength",   見日月不為明目，:   Able to spot the sun or moon is not termed "keen vision",   聞雷霆不為聰耳。:   Able to hear the thunderclap is not termed "acute hearing".
古之所謂善戰者，勝於易勝者也。:   The ancient warriors are good at choosing where it was easy to win.
故善戰之勝也，無智名，無勇功。:   Therefore, those good warriors won battles that did not get themselves a name for being wise, nor were they praised for their bravery.
故其戰勝不忒。:   Hence, their battle victories come from not erring.
不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。:   Those that don't err would execute particular plans to victory and would have won over those who were already defeated.
故善戰者，先立於不敗之地，而不失敵之敗也。:   Therefore, good warriors first establish themselves in an indefeasible position and then, not miss the opportunity to take defeat of enemies.
是故勝兵 , 先勝而後求戰，敗兵 , 先戰而後求勝。 Hence, for that reason, victorious army will seek victory before going into battle. Losing army will go into battle before seeking victory.

Wow ... The translation is still very weak.

SunTzu obviously drew lessons from seasoned campaigners. He explained any clever warrior must first make himself totally indefeasible and attack only if he has the certain victory opportunity, only then will he attack.

This is absolutely true in business. In business, forget about invading other competitor's products. Stay focused and concentrate on developing the product's quality. Only with quality, your product will not perish in the market (indefeasible). The price of the product is not an issue. If it is really that good, it can be priced higher. The market penetration may be slower but your competitors will not be able to kill you simply because their products are currently not as good as yours. Consumers are not dumb. They are great at discerning quality. They are just cheapskate, wanting great quality with zero price. But, pushed to the corner, the consumers will consume the best price-value product.

By retaining an indefeasible position, i.e., your product has a loyal following. Once the competitors show weakness, you can now attempt the attack and attain complete victory. But, in other chapters, this form of attacking is not the most ideal form of warfare.

Any attack on enemy's territories must be done in such a way that it is silent and of assumingly little effort. Any victory must look and sund effortless so that the public place is not alerted of your victory, but assume that the enemy has perished due to ill market conditions and not due to attacks.

At the end of the day, SunTzu still advocated non-battles or battle with easy wins.

So too in business, try to minimize attacks and just mind your own fucking business. If forced to attack, choose those already defeated. If you have read the book: 48 Laws of Power (highly recommended), you would have understood the best form of power must come from seemingly effortless attempts. Enemies will fear your presence and refuse to engage you into battle. Your existence would be assured. Only assured existence ensures life and longevity. Victory over territory and enemy is only a matter of patience and time.

b.孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 1) (Part 22)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (謀攻篇第三) (Chapter 3 - 5) (Part 21)

軍形篇

孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以侍敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可 勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝。故曰：勝可知 ，而不可為。
          不可勝者，守也﹔可勝者，攻也。守則不足，攻則有餘 。善守者，藏于九地之下﹔善攻者，動于九天之上。故能自保而全勝也。
          見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也﹔戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。古之所 謂善戰者，勝于易勝者也。故善戰之勝也，無智名，無勇功。故其戰 勝不忒。不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。故善戰者，立于不敗之 地，而不失敵之敗也。是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
          善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。 兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。地生度，度生量 ，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。 故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。 勝者之戰民也，若決積水于千仞之谿者，形也。

Let's continue ...

This chapter is about military shape.

孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以侍敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可 勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝。故曰：勝可知 ，而不可為。
          不可勝者，守也﹔可勝者，攻也。守則不足，攻則有餘 。善守者，藏于九地之下﹔善攻者，動于九天之上。故能自保而全勝也。

Some translation suggested: 
Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. 
Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.  
Moran:   SunTzu said:   Those in antiquity who were good at warfare first made sure that they could not be overcome in order to wait for such time as the enemy could be overcome. Being unconquerable is something that one can arrange on one's own behalf. Their being susceptible to conquest depends on them. Truly, those who are good at warfare can make themselves unconquerable, but they cannot make it so that the enemy must fall in defeat. So it is said:   One can comprehend victory, but one cannot make it happen. Being invincible is a matter of self protection. Vulnerability is a matter of oneself going on the attack. 【PEM: In hand-to-hand combat, "protecting oneself" has at least two aspects. On the one hand, one can wall oneself off from attack by always staying barricaded at home or something of that sort. The problem with that approach is that one becomes one's own prisoner. Going about town in a tank is not much better.  
【PEM: Walking down the street one can do much toward self protection by things such as not giving off victim vibrations, not walking into obviously threatening situations, not flashing a great amount of cash, etc. That kind of protection can go on right up to the moment that an assailant gets to within striking distance. At the point that one's back is to the wall, at the point when there is no way of escape, if the assailant persists in preparations for attack (and those preparatory moves may only take an additional second or so) it is not at all clear that one can be invincible. One's "mistake" was not to have stayed at home, having come to the aid of a damsel in distress, etc. 
【PEM: This is the situation that is specific to the training of a martial artist. Many people will have other kinds of preparation to avoid attacks, and their ways will succeed or fail depending on circumstances. Many people will carry a pistol or other defensive weapon. But pulling a pistol puts one in the situation of possibly having to use it — and of then hesitating to use it due to psychological manipulation by one's assailant, awareness of a possible felony charge, etc.
【PEM: Massad Ayoob says to always make sure that any witnesses hear you say: "Don't threaten me! Put that gun down!" etc., not only in the hope that they may intervene but also, in case you hurt your assailant, so that it does not appear to witnesses that you were the felon.
【PEM: The key point that SunTzu is making, I think, is that there are disadvantages to going on the attack. The reason, especially in a self defense situation on the street, is that whoever attacks first has to commit and the person who awaits the attack has great freedom of movement with no countervailing momentum to overcome. One the attacker is in motion (or, if the defender is good enough to do a sen no sen defense as soon as the attacker's mind is in motion to attack), then the attacker is committed to one course of action an d changing his course of action will require resisting his own inertia. The defender, however, can go to either side, can step back, or can even step forward and totally disrupt most unarmed attacks. The mongoose knows how to defeat the cobra. (A sen no sen or "before the before" defense is one in which the attacker starts before the defender begins to move, but the defender still makes a counter - strike that connects before the original attack can be completed.)】
In the case of self protection there may be [a perceived] insufficiency. In the case of attack there may be [a perceived] excess in capacity. 【PEM: Self-protectiveness can be an indication that one does not believe oneself to have tactical superiority. Leaders faced with the need to defend their own territory often fear they may not be able to provide a sufficient defense. 【PEM: Aggressiveness can be an indication that one believes oneself to have the upper hand. On the other hand, it may be bluster. It is easier to overestimate one's capacities when it is the enemy's territory that is perceived as being placed at risk.】
Those who are good at self protection treasure resources away in all quadrants of the country. 【PEM: Resilience.】
Those who are good at attack move over all the land (as though travelling in the heavens). 【PEM: Mobility.】
So [by having the two strengths] one is able to protect oneself and also have complete victory. 【PEM: One is not tied down to any heavy defenses in one's own country but can melt and reform, never far from known caches. In a complementary way one has the mobility to permit one to strike anywhere within or around that domain.】 

Let's discuss:

孫子曰﹕   SunTzu said:
昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以待敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可勝在敵。:   Seasoned warriors will ensure first they could not be overcome, while lie in wait for the time to overcome the enemy. One can make thyself unconquerable, but only the enemy can allow the conquest to be won.
故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵必可勝。:   Therefore, good warriors are those who are good at making themselves unconquerable, however they can never make sure victory of the enemy.
故曰﹕勝可知，而不可為。:   So it is said:   One can deduce victory, but one cannot make it happen.
不可勝者，守也﹔  If the battle cannot be won, defend.
可勝者，攻也。:   If the battle can be won, attack.
守則不足，攻則有餘。:   If defending, there is a perceived insufficiency. If attacking, there is a perceived excess.
善守者，藏於九地之下﹔   One is good in defence, military resources will be concealed in the deepest abysses.
善攻者，動於九天之上。:   One is good in attack, military resources will be summoned as if from the highest heavens.
故能自保而全勝也。:   Hence, in defence, one can totally self-preserve; on attack, victory is wholesome.

The translation is fucking weak. The translators have totally misunderstood the passage.

SunTzu obviously drew lessons from seasoned campaigners. He explained any clever warrior must first make himself invincible and totally defensible and attack only if he has the opportunity, only then can he be assured of full victory.

This is absolutely true in business. In business, forget about invading other competitor's products. Stay focused and concentrate on developing the product's quality. Only with quality, your product will not perish in the market. The price of the product is not an issue. If it is really that good, it can be priced higher. The market penetration may be slower but your competitors will not be able to kill you simply because their products are currently not as good as yours. Consumers are not dumb. They are great at discerning quality. They are just cheapskate, wanting great quality with zero price. But, pushed to the corner, the consumers will consume the best price-value product.

By retaining an invincible position, i.e., your product has a loyal following. Once the competitors show weakness, you can now attempt the attack and attain complete victory. But, in other chapters, this form of attacking is not the most ideal form of warfare.

SunTzu was unusually hateful of full battle engagement. I wonder why?