Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

According to my assessment, even if you have many more troops than others, how can that help you to victory?

Great results, can be achieved with small forces.

They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.

Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another ten times its size, the result will be the flight of the former.

The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.