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Chapter 6 of the Art of War, Zhongxin on the practical applications of Ji and Zhong, which you might remember from the last episode, means using flexible tactics backed by a solid defense. In this episode, we'll talk about another pair of related concepts, shu and shi, strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to shu and shi, the first figure that comes to mind is Zhuge Liang, a strategist and politician in the second to third century. He was a real guy who lived and breathed, but the Chinese classical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, elevated him to the status of a godlike figure of strategy and tactics. Who could make battle plans so well, it was as if he had seen it play out in advance. Of course we don't want to mistake fictional stories for real history, but we know that many other generals throughout history practice similar tactics. So I think it is fair to examine Zhuge Liang's tactics. Once Zhuge Liang was preparing an ambush against Cao Cao, the leader of the rival regime. At a strategic pass, he had a choice to make. He had enough troops to cover the main road or the small side trail, but not both. He decided to deploy his soldiers on the small trail and told them to make smoke for the enemy to see. Cao Cao was a rather competent commander himself, smarter than most, but quite conceited. In fact, it was his self-confidence that led him to suffer a major defeat, which had him on the run. As he approached the pass, he saw the smoke rising above the small trail. He said, The strategy books advise that we disguise our strengths and weaknesses. The main road looks peaceful, but we could walk right into a trap. The small trail appears to be guarded, but they can't fool me. I bet the smoke is just a hoax and there's actually nobody there. And so with that, Cao Cao led his forces down the small trail into the ambush and was dealt another humiliating defeat. Here we see that Zhuge Liang disguised his own strengths and weaknesses while at the same time taking advantage of the rival commander's personality flaw, namely his overconfidence. In a later skirmish with a different foe, Zhuge Liang changed his tactics and took a gamble on deliberately exposing his vulnerability. One of Zhuge Liang's generals suffered an unexpected defeat that left the army's command center vulnerable. Lacking an army that could put up a plausible defense and knowing that there wasn't time to evacuate safely, Zhuge Liang asked his officers to hide whatever troops they had left. He then ordered that the city gates be left wide open and let the civilians go about the business like it was a regular day during peacetime. Zhuge Liang himself climbed to the top of the city wall, sat back, and practiced playing the guqing, which is a kind of stringed musical instrument. Zhuge Liang was up on the wall when the enemy troops neared the city. The rival commander, knowing that Zhuge Liang was a prudent and successful leader, saw the open gates, civilians milling around, and Zhuge Liang cranking out tunes from his perch up on the wall, figuring that his foe wouldn't be so relaxed unless he had a good defense ready. He ordered his troops to pull back while he worked out what was going on. By the time he did work it out, Zhuge Liang's forces had already moved to safety. In the second story, Zhuge Liang bet that his cautious and distrustful opponent would pause rather than risk stumbling into a trap. It was a rather risky move because he placed the commander in jeopardy without the guarantee of safety. In other words, Zhuge Liang relied solely on G, flexible tactics, without having Zhong, a reliable defense, to back it up. The practice of projecting strengths or weaknesses according to the needs of the situation was very much in line with what Sun Tzu advocated, although he'd probably tell Zhuge Liang that he needs a stronger real defense. Sun Tzu compared the ideal state of an army to the trace of water. Water of course was a common theme for ancient civilizations. Working folks in antiquity felt strongly about this natural element. The Egyptians worshipped the annual cycle of the Nile that enriched their soil. Thales of the Greek city Miletus believed that water was at the root of all matter. According to the Old Testament, the world as we know it was repopulated by Noah's family and their pets after a great flood. In China, Laozi believed water represented the highest form of virtue, as it nourishes everything but demands nothing in return. Sun Tzu drew inspiration from water. He said, a commander must shape his army like water. Water shines high rocks and flows in the shallow valleys. Like water, a commander must direct his army away from the enemy's strong points and strike at their weaknesses. Water takes its shape from the terrain just as an army must adapt its strategy according to its enemy. The flexible and adaptive nature of water makes it very difficult to define its true form. When our army is flexible and adaptive like the water, our enemy will find it hard to know our strengths and weaknesses. The way to victory requires clever manipulation of the shu and shu, the strengths and weaknesses. This way, we deny the enemy the initiative in battle and claim the advantage for ourselves. We've touched on the issue of initiative in our earlier episodes. Remember the part about deception. Sometimes a commander has to show incompetence in order to hide what they are capable of and feign inaction to hide preparations for battle. When approaching the enemies, a commander must convince their opponent that they are far away. And when he decides to fall back, he should appear to be fully engaged in the fight. He must be evasive when the enemy is overwhelmingly strong. He must wear them down when the enemy is fully rested. He must lure when the enemy is greedy. And he must attack when the enemy is in disorder. There are both defensive and proactive ways to make use of shu and shu, the strengths and weaknesses. Generally speaking, a commander props up their defense by accentuating their strengths and hiding their weaknesses. They also try to ensure that they take advantage of their enemy's weak points and avoid clashing head on with their strong points. The goal is to create a situation where concentrated battle-ready soldiers outnumber their scattered and exhausted enemy. That's what shu and shu cause having a waning momentum. With this episode, I think we covered everything about shu and shu's ideas about flexible tactics. Next up, we'll visit his chapter on troop maneuvering in his science of war.