故兵闻拙速，未睹巧之久也。
Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

夫兵久而国利者，未之有也。
There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

故不尽知用兵之害者，则不能尽知用兵之利也。
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

善用兵者，役不再籍，粮不三载，
The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.

取用于国，因粮于敌，故军食可足也。
Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

国之贫于师者远输，远输则百姓贫；
Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.

近师者贵卖，贵卖则百姓财竭，
On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.

财竭则急于丘役。
When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.

力屈中原、内虚于家，百姓之费，十去其七；公家之费，破军罢马，甲胄矢弓，戟盾矛橹，丘牛大车，十去其六。
With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated; while government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.

故智将务食于敌，食敌一钟，当吾二十钟；□①杆一石，当吾二十石。
Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

故杀敌者，怒也；取敌之利者，货也。
Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

车战得车十乘以上，赏其先得者而更其旌旗。车杂而乘之，卒善而养之，是谓胜敌而益强。
Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

故兵贵胜，不贵久。
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

故知兵之将，民之司命。国家安危之主也。
Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

【注：】①：“忌”加“艹”头。

谋攻第三
III. Attack by Stratagem

孙子曰：夫用兵之法，全国为上，破国次之；全军为上，破军次之；全旅为上，破旅次之；全卒
为上，破卒次之；全伍为上，破伍次之。
Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

是故百战百胜，非善之善也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

故上兵伐谋，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。
Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

攻城之法，为不得已。修橹□①□②，具器械，三月而后成；距堙，又三月而后已。
The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.

将不胜其忿而蚁附之，杀士卒三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之灾也。
The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

故善用兵者，屈人之兵而非战也，拔人之城而非攻也，毁人之国而非久也，
Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

必以全争于天下，故兵不顿而利可全，此谋攻之法也。
With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

故用兵之法，十则围之，五则攻之，倍则分之，
It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.

敌则能战之，少则能逃之，不若则能避之。
If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.

故小敌之坚，大敌之擒也。
Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

夫将者，国之辅也。辅周则国必强，辅隙则国必弱。
Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

故君之所以患于军者三：
There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--

(1) 不知军之不可以进而谓之进，不知军之不可以退而谓之退，是谓縻军；
(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.