| Condemnation of Offensive War...: |
Now that the armies are intended for mutual destruction, it is evident: If the general be not courageous, if soldiers be not brave, if weapons be not sharp, if drills be not frequent, if the force be not large, if generals be not harmonious, if power be not august, if a siege be not enduring, if an assault be not speedy, if people be not strongly bound together, if determination be not firm - if this be so, the (other) feudal lords will suspect. When feudal lords entertain suspicion, enemies will be stirred up and cause anxiety, and the morale will be weakened. On the other hand, if every preparation is in good shape and the state goes out to engage in war, then the state will lose its men and the people will neglect their vocations. Have we not heard it said that, when a warring state goes on an expedition, of the officers there must be several hundred, of the common people there must be several thousand, and of the soldiers and prisoners there must be ten thousand, before the army can set out? It may last for several years, or, at the shortest, several months. So, the superior will have no time to attend to government, the officials will have no time to attend to their offices, the farmers will have no time to sow or reap, the women will have no time to weave or spin: that is, the state will lose its men and the people will neglect their vocations. Besides, the chariots will break and horses will be exhausted. As to tents, army supplies, and soldiers' equipment - if one-fifth of these can remain (after the war) it would already be beyond expectation. Moreover, innumerable men will be missing and lost on the way, and will become sick from the long distances, meagre rations, hunger and cold, and die in the ditches. Now the calamity to the people and the world is tremendous. Yet the rulers enjoy doing it. This means they enjoy injuring and exterminating the people; is this not perversity? The most warring states in the empire to-day are Qi, Jin, Chu, and Yue. These four states are all successful in the world. Even if their people be increased tenfold, still they could not consume all that their land could produce. That is, they are in need of men while they have a surplus of land. Still they strove against each other to possess more land. This is to neglect what is needed and to value what is already in plenty. |
