If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt.

The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.

Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him

So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.

Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.