I applied Sun Tzu's Art of War and the results were unbelievable

The Art of War is not only a military masterpiece, but also an outstanding work of literature, with famous lines remembered for thousands of years. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. Strike where the enemy is unguarded, and move when he least expects it. That treatise is truly a handbook for the ages. People say The Art of War is a book that rewards every reader. Officials read it to learn politics, and when to advance or retreat in court life. Merchants read it to understand the market and business. Scholars read it for the beauty of its language and writing. Even the less educated can read it and understand strategy, the art of war, and how to conquer the realm. It is not limited to a military handbook for war alone. The Art of War has fascinated people for thousands of years, because its hidden value is endless. Now, here are the most classic quotes, and the sharpest tactics in the work. Which can serve as an excellent guide for modern people. Welcome to Battlecry, Chinese Chronicles. A formation has no fixed shape, and water no fixed form, those who adapt to the enemy's changes and win are called divine. In the original text, a formation has no fixed shape, and water has no fixed form. Those who can win are called divine. This principle comes from the weak and strong chapter of The Art of War. Sun Tzu believed that on the battlefield, the situation is always changing, so you should never cling to any one way of fighting. Like water, which has no fixed shape. Pour it into a round vessel, and it becomes round. Pour it into a square one, and it becomes square. Based on the enemy's numbers, weapons, morale, the commander's skill, and supply lines. You choose flexible tactics, and that is how you win. These words may seem narrow, but they can judge events, weigh the times, and find the best strategy. In life, there are many situations even more dangerous and difficult than the battlefield. Only the shrewd and flexible, who adapt on the fly and never follow old formulas, can succeed. One classic example of this principle is Han Exian's unmatched battle of Back to the River. At this famous battle, Zhao's land was easy to defend and hard to attack. The towering Taihang Mountains formed a natural wall of protection. The only way into Zhao was Jingxing Pass, one of the eight narrow passes through the Taihang Range. There, a deep canyon was squeezed between sheer cliffs on both sides. The road is so narrow that carts cannot pass side by side, horses cannot ride in formation, and one man guarding the pass can keep 10,000 out. To cross this long mountain gorge, the army would have to march in a single file, unable to support one another. If Zhao left only a weak force to guard the exit, an enemy outside could break into Zhao territory. And at the exit of the pass, a fast river also blocked the way. Once inside Zhao land, retreating through Jingxing Pass would not be easy. At the time, Chen Yu was Zhao's general, plotting to wipe out Han Exian's army in one stroke. So he did not send troops to guard the pass. Instead, he massed 200,000 men far to the east, ready to trap the enemy. Once Han Exian's main force had fully crossed Jingxing Pass, Zhao planned to use its superior strength to destroy the Han army. But this perfect plan was spotted by a master strategist. That man was Li Zuecha, a subordinate of Chen Yu and the grandson of the famed warring states' general Li Mu. Li Zuecha believed Han Exian had pressed on from victory after victory, and his momentum could no longer be stopped. But with supplies hauled thousands of miles, the troops were already hungry, forced to gather firewood and cut grass to cook. In other words, when food has to be carried from far away, the rank and file will go hungry and still have to chop wood to cook. The soldiers could never eat their fill. That was the Han army's weakness. The path through Jingxing Pass was narrow, and the Han army's supplies would lag behind. If troops were sent along the side roads to cut the supply lines, wait until Han Exian's army had crossed the pass, then send men to seize the pass and cut off their retreat, then the Han army would be trapped in a dilemma, unable to advance and unable to retreat. In less than 10 days, the Han army would collapse without a fight. But Chen Yu was a scholar at heart. He rejected Li Zuecha's plan to hold out with strategy and wanted a straight fight, so Li Zuecha's advice was brushed aside. When Han Exian heard this, he was delighted and moved at once. At midnight, he sent 2,000 light cavalry with Han red banners to hide near the Zhao camp and ordered the rest to eat breakfast first. Once that was done, they were to set out, and after Zhao was defeated, they would eat breakfast again. Hearing the general's order, the soldiers were all skeptical. The Han army had only 30,000 men and horses. How could it defeat Zhao's 200,000 in one battle? And to say they'd eat breakfast again after the fight? The general must be dreaming. Han Exian ignored the doubtful looks of his officers. He ordered 10,000 troops into the pass and set camp with their backs to the river. He had seen through Chen Yu's plan to wipe out the Han in one stroke. So he would not move until the entire Han army had crossed. As expected, the situation unfolded exactly as Han Exian predicted. The 10,000 troops took up position in perfect order. At dawn, Han Exian led them into the pass, deployed them in four lines by the river, and challenged Zhao to battle. Seeing that the Han force was small and that he held the terrain advantage, with mountains behind and a river ahead, Chen Yu led his elite troops down to attack. After a short fight, Han Exian feigned defeat and fled, leaving his drums and banners all along the road. Seeing this, Chen Yu was sure of victory and ordered his whole camp to attack and capture Han Exian alive. Then 2,000 Han troops, hidden near the Zhao camp, rushed in and replaced every banner with Han red banners. Meanwhile, Han Exian and a few soldiers by the river regrouped and fought hard to hold off the Zhao pursuit. With no way to retreat, the Han troops fought desperately. The two sides fought for more than half a day, still with no clear winner. After repeated failures, Zhao tried to pull back, but when they looked around, Han banners were flying in their camp. Thinking the Han had already taken their camp, the Zhao troops panicked, their formation collapsed, and the soldiers fled in all directions. At that moment, the Han main force, which had withdrawn from the riverbank, turned back to counterattack. With those 2,000 troops, he attacked from both sides, crushed Zhao, killed Chen Yu in battle, captured the Zhao king and Li Zuecha, and occupied Zhao territory. In this battle, Han Exian used the art of war with uncanny mastery. In principle, a commander must never place his army in a dead end with no way back. Yet Han Exian did the opposite, forcing his troops to fight with their backs to the river and waiting to face an enemy many times larger. If they lost, wouldn't they all have been thrown into the river? But as the art of war says, there is no fixed pattern in war. One must adapt to the enemy and act as circumstances demand. Most of Han Exian's troops were recruits, and discipline was poor. But in danger, they would fight to the death to save themselves. So he had to put them in a deadly position first, so everyone would fight for their own survival. Otherwise, as soon as battle begins, they will run every which way and the formation will collapse. Not to mention, most Zhao officers and soldiers are overconfident. If they meet the Han army's determined resistance, they will be stunned and break apart. Han Exian was truly a master of warfare, blending the old with the new and adapting with ease. He who knows when to fight and when not to fight will win. Original Text He who knows when to fight and when not to fight wins. This saying comes from the chapter on planning attacks. A commander must judge the timing, seize the momentum, and know both the enemy and himself. In war, skill lies in using mobile, flexible tactics. Fight only when victory is possible, if not, do not engage. Do not be driven by emotion or act blindly. Then victory will come naturally. In life, those who know how to advance and retreat, move fast or slow, and see reality clearly, think clearly and stay calm, without stubbornness or rigidity, are the ones who can face the most dangerous situations. And stay steady through storms and trials. A classic example is Li Shimin and the battle in which he captured Xue Renguo alive. At the end of the Sui dynasty, warlords rose up and carved out their own territories. Li Yuan's forces seized Chong'an and founded the Tang dynasty. In the south, Xue Zhu and his son Xue Renguo led a huge army to attack Jingzhou, threatening the central plains. The Tang ruler sent his son, Li Shimin, to command the army. But soon after setting out, Li Shimin fell ill. He had to recover in camp and pass command to Generals Ying Kaishan and Lu Wenjing. He ordered them to avoid battle at all costs. The enemy's morale was high, so they should hold the line and wait for him to recover. But the two generals were eager for glory and led the troops out to fight, only to be crushed by Xue Renguo's army. Li Shimin had to retreat with the battered remnants. A few months later, Li Shimin recovered and took the field again. By then, the Tang generals were all eager to go out and avenge the defeat. But Li Shimin still refused to march. He knew Xue's forces were still riding high, while the Tang troops had just been defeated and feared their fierce attack. So he chose to hold firm and wait for their momentum to fade, then deliver a decisive strike. Sure enough, after days of challenge and no response, Xue's troops grew impatient and let their guard down. Only then did Li Shimin commit all his forces and launch a full assault. Xue Renguo was routed and fled. Li Shimin was determined to pursue. His generals hurriedly advised caution, fearing an ambush. Li Shimin explained that the enemy was still in a winning position, so they had to wear them down and make them lose patience. Holding back then was to preserve our strength. Now they have just been defeated and are in panic. We must strike fast. If we let them retreat into the city and regroup, they will be much harder to destroy. So Li Shimin led a few thousand cavalry in pursuit. Xue Renguo had always been brave and battle-hardened. Yet his morale collapsed, and he was forced to surrender to the Tang. Attack where the enemy is unguarded, strike where he least expects it. In the original text, attack where the enemy is unguarded, and strike where he does not expect it. The core of this saying lies in the planning chapter. Strike while the enemy is unguarded. Use surprise to launch the attack. In battle, choose the place where the enemy is weakest. Strike when he is most careless. When the enemy is unprepared, a sudden attack can bring a surprise victory. Sometimes you must feign east and strike west, draw the enemy's main force away, then hit where he is least prepared. The best-known example is Han Exian's two unprecedented victories. Openly repair the plank roads, secretly cross at Qianshan, at Jingxing, fight with your back to the river, and cross the river by wooden rafts. Going back in time, when Liu Bang marched into Hanzhong to hide his strength and keep Xiang Yu's vassals from attacking him too easily. Liu Bang followed Zhang Liang's advice and had all the plank roads in the Qinling mountains destroyed, leaving Hanzhong completely cut off from the central plain. These roads were built by cutting into cliffs and bridging sheer mountain slopes. Even with them, marching an army through was already extremely difficult. Without them, crossing the Qinling mountains and returning to Guangzhou was even harder than reaching the sky. Among those routes, the plank roads through Baoxia and Qiansong were the two most important. But both had already been badly damaged by Han forces. After Liu Bang entered Hanzhong, he had the Baoxia plank road, over 600 li long, burned down. Rebuilding it would take time. Only the Qiansong plank road remained barely usable. But on the far side, Zhang Han's army was waiting there, one of the toughest forces in the three Qin's garrisons. Before even thinking about how to cross it, any force that got through and met Zhang Han's troops would be slaughtered. But none of this could stop Han Exian. He already had his own plan. Han Exian immediately sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to make a show of force and repair the Baoxia road, as if the Han army meant to march out that way. When Zhang Han got the news, he quickly sent more troops to guard the Baoxia road. Because the route was so narrow and dangerous. It was like a gate that 10,000 men could not force through. So once he held that pass, Zhang Han could sleep easy. When Han Exian heard that Zhang Han had sent troops to defend Baoxia, it was as if a heavy load had been lifted from his shoulders. From here, the Han army could march on Guangzhou, and Lu Bang could contend for the empire. And Han Exian himself now had a chance to prove his genius to the world. Borders were as binding as mountains. The troops dared not delay, and under Han Exian's command they marched straight for Qiansong. The Han army successfully crossed the mountain range, reversed its advance, and struck Zhang Han's rear in a surprise attack. Qiansong was poorly defended, because Zhang Han's main army had already moved toward Baoxia. So Han Exian and the Han army seized it quickly and with little effort. That night, Han Exian led the Han army through Qiansong, and the news reached Zhang Han. It left him as white as a sheet. By then, Qiansong was no longer just a road linking Guangzhou and Hanzhong. It was also a vital granary for the three Qing. Taking Qiansong not only opened the way for the Han army into Guangzhou, it also gave them a solid rear base in the fight for supremacy. When news came that Qiansong had fallen overnight, Zhang Han lost all sleep, and immediately ordered a full retreat back to Qiansong. The Han troops, long pent up and furious, won the opening clash, and morale soared like a tiger descending from the mountains. Zhang Han rushed to respond, but his army was already unsettled. As the two armies clashed, Fan Kui and Zhou Bo led their troops to join Han Exian. Hit from three sides, Zhang Han was defeated and forced back to defend Feichou. With victory after victory, Han Exian would not let up. That very night, he ordered an assault on Feichou. He finally took the city, and Zhang Han was pushed to the brink, forced to retreat in defeat. Tuma Exian and Dong Yi were also cornered, and eventually surrendered. In his first campaign, Han Exian defeated three famed Chu generals and made his name. He brought the Han army back from the brink and pacified a vast region in just four months. From then on, Guanzhong became Lu Bang's base for defeating Xiang Yu and unifying the realm. Next came the campaign at Linjin and the wooden raft crossing of the river. Earlier, when Lu Bang had just pacified the Three Qin, King Bao was among the first vassals to lead Chu for Han. But after the 560,000-strong army was crushed, he quickly defected, feigned a retreat to Yuan, and planned to join Xiang Yu in attacking Han. His territory lay east of the Yellow River. If he moved west, he threatened Guanzhong, if he moved south, he could cut the link between Guanzhong and Xinyang. For Wei, allying with Xiang Yu would be like opening the road into the Han capital. That would be no different from handing their heads to the Chu army's blade. So the first priority in Han's campaign against the feudal lords was to win over Wei. And if Wei could not be won over, it would be destroyed, clearing the road to the central plain. Since King Wei Bao had once submitted to Xiang Yu, the first step was to send Li Shici to persuade him. They hoped to bring Wei over without a fight. But when Li Shici arrived, King Wei Bao had already decided to break with Han and refused to see him. Even Wei's troops looked down on the envoy. Li Shici had no choice but to return empty-handed. Lu Bang then immediately ordered Han Xi'an to march out. After a day and night advance, his troops soon reached the Yellow River bank. Across the river, King Wei Bao knew Lu Bang's attempt to win him over had failed and that an attack was coming, so he built a strong defense along the Yellow River. He also posted strict guards day and night, making it hard for even a fly to get through. And beyond that line, the Han army still had to cross the wide Yellow River. They had only a few old boats and almost no experience in river fighting. A forced crossing would only lead to a Wei ambush and unimaginable losses. Just as the battle reached a deadlock, Han Xi'an came up with a brilliant feint. He chose the feint east, strike west tactic to defeat the enemy. His move was to split the Han army into two columns, one visible and one hidden. Guan Ying led the main force toward Puban with more than 10,000 troops and nearly all the Han warships, making it look like the crossing would happen there. The hidden force marched the other way, about 100 li north, to the old Xi'an crossing, now Han Qing and Shang Xi, and gathered there to prepare the crossing. Seeing Guan Ying's Han main force heading for Puban, tell him the Han army will cross here. He will immediately mobilize the main force to rush here and fortify the defenses. And never let the Han army cross the river. When Han Xi'an learned that Wan Bao had taken the bait, he immediately ordered the Han troops to cross the river from Xi'an that night. But all the warships had already been sent off, following Guan Ying, to Puban. So how would the Han army cross the river? The Han army gathered to cross the Yellow River at Xi'an, an ancient bend in the river with a wide, open surface, low banks, and calm water, easy to move through. The riverbed here was not too deep and the water was very still, making it ideal for the Han army to cross. Han Xi'an ordered his soldiers to find water jars, then cut down trees and split them into wooden slats. They lashed the jars together into large rafts and secretly ferried the soldiers across. On the far bank, all the way troops had been sent to Puban, so no one was left to guard it. The Han army crossed easily under Han Xi'an's plan, with no resistance at all. Once the main Han force had successfully assembled on the other side, under Han Xi'an's command, they immediately launched a swift assault and captured Ani. At the time, Ani was not only a Wei military strongpoint, but also a vital granary in the struggle between Wei and Han. Han Xi'an's capture of Ani was like driving a fatal spear into Wang Bao's back. The news of Ani's fall quickly reached Puban. When Wang Bao heard it, he turned pale as death and, without weighing the pros and cons, he immediately led his troops north from Puban, determined to fight a decisive battle and retake Ani. But unfortunately, he had fallen into Han Xi'an's trap again. Guan Ying had already received Han Xi'an's orders. As soon as the Wei army withdrew, deadly gaps opened up. Han Xi'an ordered 10,000 troops to board the boats at once and cross the Yellow River. Han Xi'an's ruse was a complete success. Both wings crossed safely and launched a pincer attack on the Wei army. Attacked from both sides, the Wei troops could not hold. The Han army, under Han Xi'an's command, went on the offensive and crushed the Wei army at Tongyuan, capturing Wei Qingbao alive. After wiping out Wei's main force, Han Xi'an split his troops in all directions. In less than a month, the powerful state of Wei was completely destroyed. Because of Han Xi'an's brilliant feint, people later renamed Shiyang Ferry as Wooden Canteen Ferry. Wood refers to the planks, and canteen refers to the water jars Han Xi'an used to cross the river. The story of Wooden Canteen crossing the river has been passed down ever since. The Wooden Canteen crossing the river campaign became a classic in military history. It was not only a special way to cross a river, but also an even more brilliant strategic sequence. First, feint east and strike west. After hitting west, strike east again, leaving the enemy at a disadvantage. This feint reached a level of endless variation, enough to make even ghosts and gods fear it. Together with repair the roads openly, secretly cross at Qiansong, these two stratagems are among the sharpest ever devised, unmatched under heaven. Though he was a famed strategist and wrote a classic on warfare, Sun Tzu was not, in fact, a warmonger. He believed war was the worst possible option. Taking up arms is a strategy of last resort. War is only a means, not an end. On the contrary, pacifying the people and securing the state is war's highest purpose. Likewise, struggle and strife are not the main way to sustain life.