more difficult.
[I have departed slightly from the traditional interpretation of Ts’ao
Kung, who says: "From the time of receiving the sovereign’s
instructions until our encampment over against the enemy, the tactics
to be pursued are most difficult." It seems to me that the tactics or
manœuvers can hardly be said to begin until the army has sallied forth
and encamped, and Ch’ien Hao’s note gives color to this view: "For
levying, concentrating, harmonizing and entrenching an army, there are
plenty of old rules which will serve. The real difficulty comes when we
engage in tactical operations." Tu Yu also observes that "the great
difficulty is to be beforehand with the enemy in seizing favourable
position."]
The difficulty of tactical manœuvering consists in turning the devious
into the direct, and misfortune into gain.
[This sentence contains one of those highly condensed and somewhat
enigmatical expressions of which Sun Tzŭ is so fond. This is how it is
explained by Ts’ao Kung: "Make it appear that you are a long way off,
then cover the distance rapidly and arrive on the scene before your
opponent." Tu Mu says: "Hoodwink the enemy, so that he may be remiss
and leisurely while you are dashing along with utmost speed." Ho Shih
gives a slightly different turn: "Although you may have difficult
ground to traverse and natural obstacles to encounter this is a
drawback which can be turned into actual advantage by celerity of
movement." Signal examples of this saying are afforded by the two
famous passages across the Alps—that of Hannibal, which laid Italy at
his mercy, and that of Napoleon two thousand years later, which
resulted in the great victory of Marengo.]