If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.
Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.
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