All warfare is based on deception.
By the same author and on kindred topics.
The best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.
To fight and conquer in a hundred battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in subduing the enemy without fighting.
Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on your own readiness to receive him.
Many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all!
Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.
Advance where no one can stop you; retreat where you cannot be overtaken.
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