One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him.

Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow.

You can ensure the success of your attacks if you only attack places that are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Therefore, that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

It is ten thousand times cheaper to pay the best spies lavishly than even a tiny army poorly.

Sweat more during peace: bleed less during war

This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object is to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair. After that, you may crush him.

Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions.