Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuver. What is difficult about maneuver is to make the devious route the most direct and to turn misfortune to advantage.

If a battle can not be won do not fight it.

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

The nature of war is constant change.

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.