neighbourhood territory, you find yourself on critical ground.
[This "ground" is curiously mentioned in VIII. § 2, but it does not
figure among the Nine Situations or the Six Calamities in chap. X.
One’s first impulse would be to translate it distant ground," but this,
if we can trust the commentators, is precisely what is not meant here.
Mei Yao-ch’en says it is "a position not far enough advanced to be
called ‘facile,’ and not near enough to home to be ‘dispersive,’ but
something between the two." Wang Hsi says: "It is ground separated from
home by an interjacent state, whose territory we have had to cross in
order to reach it. Hence, it is incumbent on us to settle our business
there quickly." He adds that this position is of rare occurrence, which
is the reason why it is not included among the Nine Situations.]
When there are means of communication on all four sides, the ground is
one of intersecting highways.