no forethought but makes light of his
opponents is sure to be captured by them.

[Ch`en Hao, quoting from the TSO CHUAN, says: "If bees and
scorpions carry poison, how much more will a hostile state! Even
a puny opponent, then, should not be treated with contempt."]

42. If soldiers are punished before they have grown
attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless
submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the
soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not
enforced, they will still be unless.
43. Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first
instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron
discipline.

[Yen Tzu [B.C. 493] said of Ssu-ma Jang-chu: "His civil
virtues endeared him to the people; his martial prowess kept his
enemies in awe." Cf. Wu Tzu, ch. 4 init.: "The ideal commander
unites culture with a warlike temper; the profession of arms
requires a combination of hardness and tenderness."]

This is a certain road to victory.

44. If in training soldiers commands are habitually
enforced, the army will be well-disciplined; if not, its
discipline will be bad.
45. If a general shows confidence in his men but always
insists on his orders being obeyed,

[Tu Mu says: "A general ought in time of peace to show
kindly confidence in his men and also make his authority
respected, so that when they come to face the enemy, orders may
be executed and discipline maintained, because they all trust and
look up to him." What Sun Tzu has said in ss. 44, however, would
lead one rather to expect something like this: "If a general is
always confident that his orders will be carried out," etc."]

the gain will be mutual.

[Chang Yu says: "The general has confidence in the men
under his command, and the men are docile, having confidence in
him. Thus the gain is mutual" He quotes a pregnant sentence
from Wei Liao Tzu, ch. 4: "The art of giving orders is not to
try to rectify minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty
doubts." Vacillation and fussiness are the surest means of
sapping the confidence of an army.]

[1] "Aids to Scouting," p. 26.

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X. TERRAIN

[Only about a third of the chapter, comprising ss. ss. 1-13,
deals with "terrain," the subject being more fully treated in ch.
XI. The "six calamities" are discussed