| Policies: |
Of old, the one who could regulate the empire was he, who regarded as his first task the regulating of his own people; the one who could conquer a strong enemy was he, who regarded as his first task the conquering of his own people. For the way in which the conquering of the people is based upon the regulating of the people is like the effect of smelting in regard to metal or the work of the potter in regard to clay; if the basis is not solid, then people are like flying birds or like animals. Who can regulate these? The basis of the people is the law. Therefore, a good ruler obstructed the people by means of the law, and so his reputation and his territory flourished. What is the cause of one's reputation becoming respected and one's territory wide, so that one attains sovereignty? (It is because one conquers in war.) What is the cause of one's reputation becoming debased and one's territory diminished, so that one comes to ruin? It is because one is worn out by war. From antiquity to the present time, it has never happened that one attained supremacy without conquest, or that one came to ruin without defeat. If the people are brave, one conquers in war, but if they are not brave, one is defeated in war. If one can unify the people for war, they are brave, but if one cannot unify the people for war, they are not brave. A sage-king obtains the kingship through the efforts of his soldiers. Therefore, he rouses the country and charges it with the obligation of military service. If one enters a state and sees its administration, it is strong if its people are of use. How does one know that the people are of use? If they, on perceiving war, behave like hungry wolves on seeing meat, then they are of use. Generally, war is a thing that people hate; he who succeeds in making people delight in war, attains supremacy. With the people of a strong state, the father, in making a parting bequest to his son, the elder brother to his younger brother, the wife to her husband, all say: 'Do not return unless you win.' And further they say: 'If you incur death by failing in obedience to the law or by transgressing orders, we too shall die.' If in the villages they are governed in an orderly manner, then deserters from the ranks will have no resort and stragglers will have nowhere to go. By the order in the ranks they should be organized into bands of five; they should be distinguished by badges and controlled by mandates, so that there would be no place for bungling and no danger that exhaustion would arise. Thus the multitudes of the three armies obeyed the mandates like running water, and in danger of death they did not turn on their heels. |
