>>439774Harmonizing People
Harmonizing people is ESSENTIAL in military operations. When people are in harmony, they will fight on their own initiative, without exhortation. If the officers and the soldiers are suspicious of one another, then warriors will not join up. If no heed is paid to the strategies of the loyal, then small-minded people will backbite. When the sprouts of hypocrisy arise, even if you HAVE THE WISDOM of the great warrior kings of old, you will NOT BE ABLE TO PREVAIL over an ordinary man, much less a whole group of them. Therefore tradition says, "A military operation is like fire; if it is not stopped, it burns itself out.
The Condition of a General
According to the code of generalship, generals do not say they are thirsty before the soldiers have drawn from the well; generals do not say they are hungry before the soldiers' food is cooked; generals do not say they are cold before the soldiers fires are kindled; generals do not say they are hot before the soldiers' canopies are drawn. Generals do not use fans in summer, do not wear leather in winter, do not use umbrellas in the rain. They do as everyone does.
Order and Disorder
When a nation is perilous and disorderly, and the people are not secure in their homes, this is because the ruler has made the mistake of neglecting to find wise people.
When the wise are disaffected, a nation is in peril; when the wise are employed, a nation is secure. When offices are chosen for persons, there is disorder; when persons are chosen for offices, there is order.
