Maneuvering

Sun Tzu said: According to the general principles of warfare, when a commander receives orders from the sovereign, assembles the people, organizes the army, and faces off against the enemy, there is nothing more difficult than contending for the conditions of victory between the two armies. The difficulty in such contention lies in achieving direct results through indirect means and in transforming adversity into advantage. By adopting indirect paths, enticing the enemy into inertia, initiating actions later but reaching the objective first, one demonstrates the mastery of transforming indirectness into directness.   Contending for advantages in warfare is beneficial but also perilous. When the entire army moves with all its baggage to compete for advantages, it will be slow and unable to keep up. If the army discards its heavy equipment to compete, it will lose its supplies. Rolling up armor and moving swiftly, day and night without rest, doubling speed and traveling long distances to seize advantages over a hundred li, the leaders of the three armies may all...