Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.

Birds rising in flight is a sign that the enemy is lying in ambush; when the wild animals are startled and flee he is trying to take you unaware.

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.

Attack the enemy's strategy.

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.

Those who excel in war first cultivate their own humanity and and maintain their laws and institutions. By these means they make their governments invincible.