220. Warfare

Always seek to put yourself in a position that is beyond the possibility of defeat and then wait for the opportunity to defeat your enemy. He will provide the opportunity. If nothing happens offer the enemy a decoy opening in your defences and when he moves to exploit it, close your trap rapidly and destroy him utterly and without mercy.

Always know your enemy and know yourself.

Practice, practice, practice and again, practice for it is possible to know how to defeat the enemy without being able to actually do it.

When meeting, either for social, business or battle purposes, always arrive first at the field. You will then be fresh for the fight and the other will have to hasten and be exhausted. Arriving first helps you to detect any traps and ambushes prepared by the enemy. Arriving early is the temporal equivalent of taking the high ground. Impose your will on him.

Appear where you are unexpected.

Only attack places that are undefended.

Only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

Do not apply locks or seiges to your enemy for a long time. Once you have applied a painful lock, be satisfied with the pain you have caused and move on to your next technique before the opposition realises what you are doing.

Direct all your forces, strongly united, against a small fraction split off from the enemy main force and destroy it. Use the hard against the soft, the strong against the weak.

Seek to discover your enemy's plans. Use every method at your disposal, your own spies, their traitors, communications intercepts, tapped telephones opened post etc.

Avoid what is strong and attack what is weak.