Chapter 5 - Energy

https://www.solgood.org - Check our our Streaming Service for our full collection of audiobooks, short stories, & 10 hour sounds for sleep at our website

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Chapter five Energy. One Swinter said, the control of a large force is
the same principle as the control ofa few men. It is merely a
question of dividing up their numbers.Two. Fighting with a large army under

(00:25):
your command is no wise different fromfighting with a small one. It is
merely a question of instituting signs andsignals three to ensure that your whole host
may withstand the brunt of the enemy'sattack and remain unshaken. This is effected

(00:49):
by maneuvers direct and indirect. Four. That the impact of your army may
be like a grindstone ashed against anegg. This is effected by the signs
of weak points and strong Five.In all fighting, the direct method may

(01:12):
be used for joining battle, butindirect methods will be needed in order to
secure victory. Six. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible. As
heaven and earth, an ending asthe flow of rivers and streams, Like

(01:36):
the sun and moon, they end, but to begin anew, like the
four seasons, they pass away toreturn once more. Seven. There are
not more than five musical notes.Yet the combinations of these five give rise
to more melodies. Then can everbe heard. Eight there are not more

(02:02):
than five primary colors blue, yellow, red, white, and black,
yet in combination they produce more huesthan can ever be seen. Nine there
are not more than five cardinal tastessour, acrid, salt, sweet,

(02:28):
better, Yet combinations of them yieldmore flavors than can ever be tasted.
Ten. In battle, there arenot more than two methods of attack,
the direct and the indirect. Yetthese two, in combination give rise to

(02:51):
an endless series of maneuvers. Eleven. The direct and the indirect lead on
to each other in turn. Itis like moving in a circle. You
never come to an end. Whocan exhaust the possibilities of the combination Twelve

(03:15):
The onset of troops is like therush of a torrent, which will even
roll stones along in its course.Thirteen. The quality of decision is like
the well timed swoop of a falcon, which enables it to strike and destroy
its victim. Fourteen. Therefore,the good fighter will be terrible in his

(03:44):
onset and prompt in his decision.Fifteen. Energy may be likened to the
bending of a crossbow, decision tothe releasing of a trigger. Amid the
turmol and tumult of battle. Theremay be seeming disorder, and yet no

(04:09):
real disorder at all. Amid confusionand chaos. Your array may be without
head or tail, yet it willbe proof against defeat seventeen. Simulated disorder
postulates perfect discipline. Simulated fear postulatescourage. Simulated weakness postulates strength eighteen.

(04:45):
Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorderis simply a question of subdivision. Concealing
courage on the show of timidity presupposesa fund of latent energy. Mask and
strength with weakness is to be effectedby tactical dispositions nineteen. Thus, one

(05:11):
who is skillful at keeping the enemyon the move maintains deceitful appearances according to
which the enemy will act. Hesacrifices something that the enemy may snatch at
it. Twenty By holding out bates, he keeps him on the march.

(05:32):
Then, with a body of pickedmen, he lies in wait for him.
Twenty one. The clever combetant looksto the effect of combined energy and
does not require too much from individuals, hence his ability to pick out the

(05:54):
right men and utilize combined energy.Twenty two. When he utilizes combined energy,
his fighting men become, as itwere, like until rolling logs or
stones. For it is the natureof a log or stone to remain motionless

(06:18):
on level ground, and to movewhen on a slope, if four cornered,
to come to a standstill, butif round shaped, to go rolling
down twenty three. Thus the energydeveloped by good fighting men is as the

(06:39):
momentum of a round stone rolled downa mountain thousands of feet in height.
So much on the subject of energy, end of Chapter five