He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.
Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle .... They conquer by strategy.
When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.
If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.
Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.