If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.

Without local guides, your enemy employs the land as a weapon against you.

Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

Know thy self, know thy enemy.

Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.

The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.

Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength.