[Daehanjeiguk]

敵近而靜者，恃其險也﹔ (The enemy is near yet remains still, he holds a vital position; )
遠而挑戰者，欲人之進也﹔ (The enemy is far yet seeks battle, he wants us to advance; )
其所居易者，利也。 (The enemy rests on simple ground, he holds an advantage. )
眾樹動者，來也﹔ (The trees are disturbed, he comes; )
眾草多障者，疑也﹔ (The fields are blocked, he instills doubt in us; )
鳥起者，伏也﹔ (The birds fly, he hides; )
獸駭者，覆也﹔ (The animals are startled, he advances under cover; )
塵高而銳者，車來也﹔ (The dust is high yet short, his chariots advance; )
卑而廣者，徒來也﹔ (The dust crawls yet extends broadly, his infantry advance; )
散而條達者，樵采也﹔ (The dust scatters yet stays in lines, he gathers supplies; )
少而往來者，營軍也。 (The dust comes and goes, the army is camped. )
辭卑而備者，進也﹔ (The enemy speaks with modest words yet readies his equipment, he intends to advance; )
辭強而進驅者，退也﹔ (The enemy speaks with harsh words yet advances with haste, he intends to withdraw; )
輕車先出其側者，陣也﹔ (The enemy’s light chariots move to the flanks, he prepares for battle; )
無約而請和者，謀也﹔ (The enemy without defeat yet seeks peace, he is plotting; )
奔走而陳兵者，期也﹔ (The enemy moves around yet displays his arms, he is expecting battle; )
半進半退者，誘也。 (Half advance and half retreat, he is luring us forward. )
杖而立者，飢也﹔ (Armed yet standing still, he is famished; )
汲而先飲者，渴也﹔ (Drawing water yet drinking it first, he is parched; )
見利而不進者，勞也﹔ (An advantage is before him yet he does not take it, he is exhausted; )
鳥集者，虛也﹔ (The birds gather, he is not there; )
夜呼者，恐也﹔ (Cries erupt at night, he is frightened; )
軍擾者，將不重也﹔ (The army is disordered, he lacks respect; )
旌旗動者，亂也﹔ (The banners shift, he lacks control; )
吏怒者，倦也﹔ (The officials are furious, he lacks vitality; )
粟馬肉食，軍無懸缶而不返其舍者，窮寇也﹔ (The horses have grain, the soldiers have rice, the vessels are not returned to their place, the enemy is desperate; )
諄諄翕翕，徐與人言者，失眾也﹔ (The commander gives meek words to his subordinates, he has lost them; )
數賞者，窘也﹔ (Rewards are numerous, he is distressed; )
數罰者，困也﹔ (Punishments are numerous, he is anxious; )
先暴而後畏其眾者，不精之至也﹔ (The commander strikes suddenly then cowers behind his men, he lacks excellence; )
來委謝者，欲休息也。 (The emissary comes with pleasing words, he desires peace. )

(馬 - Ma)
(皇 - Emperor)

皇: I have called for an exercise in battle deployment so that the Imperial Army may be prepared for any future war. I wish to have your expertise in analysis, that I may understand how the excellent commander acts upon the field.

馬: The excellent commander demonstrates skill on and off the battlefield. You only need to look at how the commander manages his life than to assess how he will manage in war.

皇: How is this so? War is a completely different situation than peace, so how can any person act the same in war as in peace?

馬: Life is a confusing tale, but there are few things that I can say – a great portion of a man’s life is dedicated to living, but a greater portion is dedicated to reacting to living. By perceiving how the commander manages his life, in reaction to crises and peaceful circumstances, His Imperial Majesty can gauge how the commander will act in battle. It is always possible that one commander is flawed in his management during battle while he demonstrates excellence in peace, but such an occasion is rare and forgivable. After all, no person is found without flaws, and to expect them is the right assumption.

But whether in war or peace, the excellent commander demonstrates his skill in managing under stress and is capable of recognizing the five criteria and extracting the best attributes available while minimizing his faults, making himself impregnable. He manages the way of peace as he would manage the way of war, because they are the same. The criteria apply equally when pursuing any objective, although the metaphorical language must be analyzed carefully when applying their lessons. The excellent commander is able to make these applications when and where they are needed and thus is able to determine his own position, even as he stands on nothing but firm ground.

皇: Therefore, the art of war is also the art of living?

馬: I have already given you the five criteria; I have given you the ways of war. The masters of history have given us even more. What more can we expect from this?

皇: I may feel that your explanations are gross oversimplifications, but I will try to explain this. The Imperial Army is ready to commence war exercises to enhance their preparedness in war. It is also a useful tool to sort out the excellent commanders from the less capable, to issue rewards and punishments. Are you suggesting that I could just as easily accomplish the latter by reviewing them in life, and issue rewards and punishments based on their non-combat activities?

馬: The truly excellent are always excellent and demonstrate it when needed. They recognize that despite each situation being different, there are common factors that make it similar to other circumstances and thus approachable by those common factors. You would agree that the art of music and the art of pottery are vastly different, but they hold common themes that allow the musician to craft vases and the potter to craft music. In music, you have notations that correspond to sounds; by managing the notations, one can make music. By arranging the notations in patterns, one can craft great music. By mixing the harmony of many instruments, to complement each sound, one can craft excellent music. As with pottery, there is only one way to make a vase round, and by meticulous manipulation of the clay, one can craft a pot. By arranging the pattern of the vase’s outlines, one can make a great pot. And by coordinating the colors of the clay and the glaze, one can craft a great pot.

Of course, as with everything, everything requires practice to maximize excellence. In this manner, you are correct to use war exercises for practice. But to use it to gauge the excellence of your commanders is to survey the work of an artist and not understand how the artist made it, even as great as it may be.

皇: In that case, are war exercises only useful for practice?

馬: Not only so. In times when political tensions are high, military exercises demonstrate to your enemies that your country is prepared for the consequences of war. For some, it may prompt them to back down their own forces and bargain for a more amiable agreement. For others, it may incite a hasty reaction and to their fall.

But as always, whether in exercise or in war, one must always look to maximize their advantage. First, look to the five criteria and determine your advantage. Second, look to their advantages and seek to have them expose their weakness. Master Sun said that it is the attacker to expose weakness in the enemy and it is the defender to make himself impregnable, and the method to maintaining invincibility is to control the field. Therefore, the excellent commander strikes where victory is certain. Where victory is uncertain, the excellent commander makes the field to his advantage, forcing the enemy expose his weaknesses and seizing victory. It is by this method that the field of combat is always to our favor.

皇: In this manner, the art of war is just as the art of peace. And the ways to assure victory on the field are the same as to assure victory off of the field.

SUMMARY
- The actual conversation has little to deal with waging battle, but the most important note is that of character – you are in war what you are in peace, so if you want to have a good reputation, don’t flout it in war or peace.
- The most adept RPers are those who manage peace just as well as they manage war, so practice manage peace before trying to manage war.
- Practice makes perfect, but then always aim for perfection when you’re trying; otherwise, it’s not real practice.
- The most important key when waging battle is to control the field upon which you fight; if you lose control of the field (as it is one of the criteria), you lose access to victory in battle.