He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

Of all those in the army close to the commander, none is more intimate than the secret agent.

One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant.

Don't flail against the world, use it. Flexibility is the operative principle in the art of war.

If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot. If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.