[That is, as Mei Yao-ch’en says, "Is it possible to make the front and
rear of an army each swiftly responsive to attack on the other, just as
though they were part of a single living body?"]
I should answer, Yes. For the men of Wu and the men of Yüeh are
enemies;
[Cf. VI. § 21.]
yet if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a
storm, they will come to each other’s assistance just as the left hand
helps the right.
[The meaning is: If two enemies will help each other in a time of
common peril, how much more should two parts of the same army, bound
together as they are by every tie of interest and fellow-feeling. Yet
it is notorious that many a campaign has been ruined through lack of
cooperation, especially in the case of allied armies.]