Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.
It is through the dispositions of an army that its condition may be discovered. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory,; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.
Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.