enemy’s camp.
[This is the ordinary class of spies, properly so called, forming a
regular part of the army. Tu Mu says: "Your surviving spy must be a man
of keen intellect, though in outward appearance a fool; of shabby
exterior, but with a will of iron. He must be active, robust, endowed
with physical strength and courage; thoroughly accustomed to all sorts
of dirty work, able to endure hunger and cold, and to put up with shame
and ignominy." Ho Shih tells the following story of Ta’hsi Wu of the
Sui dynasty: "When he was governor of Eastern Ch’in, Shen-wu of Ch’i
made a hostile movement upon Sha-yuan. The Emperor T’ai Tsu [? Kao Tsu]
sent Ta-hsi Wu to spy upon the enemy. He was accompanied by two other
men. All three were on horseback and wore the enemy’s uniform. When it
was dark, they dismounted a few hundred feet away from the enemy’s camp
and stealthily crept up to listen, until they succeeded in catching the
passwords used in the army. Then they got on their horses again and
boldly passed through the camp under the guise of night-watchmen; and
more than once, happening to come across a soldier who was committing
some breach of discipline, they actually stopped to give the culprit a
sound cudgeling! Thus they managed to return with the fullest possible
information about the enemy’s dispositions, and received warm
commendation from the Emperor, who in consequence of their report was
able to inflict a severe defeat on his adversary."]