1. Laying Plans
13
(1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? #
I.e., "is in harmony with his subjects." Cf. ss. 5.
(2) Which of the two generals has most ability? #
(3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? #
See ss. 7,8
(4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? #
Tu Mu alludes to the remarkable story of Ts`ao Ts`ao (A.D. 155-220), who was such a strict disciplinarian that once, in accordance with his own severe regulations against injury to standing crops, he condemned himself to death for having allowed his horse to shy into a field of corn! However, in lieu of losing his head, he was persuaded to satisfy his sense of justice by cutting off his hair. Ts`ao Ts`ao's own comment on the present passage is characteristically curt: "when you lay down a law, see that it is not disobeyed; if it is disobeyed the offender must be put to death."
Morally as well as physically. As Mei Yao-ch`en puts it, freely rendered, "ESPIRIT DE CORPS and 'big battalions.'"
(6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? #
Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: "Without constant practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand."
(7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment? #
On which side is there the most absolute certainty that merit will be properly rewarded and misdeeds summarily punished?