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On June 5, 2013, The Guardian newspaper published a story based on sensitive documents provided by Edward Joseph Snowden, an American whistleblower of the National Security Agency. The Guardian story exposed a program called PRISM which provided the NSA with court-approved access to the Google and Yahoo accounts of US citizens. Within months, media outlets around the world were reporting on large-scale global surveillance programs conducted by an intelligence alliance known as the Five Eyes. Prior to these revelations, the world had little to no knowledge of the extent to which they were being spied on. With the remarkable advances in information technology, the intelligence community has evolved from the age of James Bond into a new strata of digital data mining. However, our impression of spying remains more or less the same as if they only operate in the shadows beyond the range of public knowledge. But is that truly the case? Well, in the ancient opinion of Sun Tzu, spies come in five categories, and some even function in broad daylight. An enemy's civilians might be hired to share their observations, since they refer to them as native spies. The enemy's officials and counsels can also be bribed to sway key decisions. Consider these the internal spies. Meanwhile, the enemy's own agents can also be somehow persuaded to do our bidding, since they called them converted spies. Some spies might not survive if their job is to feed the enemy with false information, thus they are expendable. Some spies are true survivors. They travel back and forth between opposing camps and yet live to tell the tale. In one of our earlier episodes, we spoke of General Zhao Shi, who, after supplying disinformation to an enemy spy from Qing, then rushed to the border to seize the upper hand in combat. From this, we have an example of how spies in ancient China were something of an open secret. Those were typically high-profile figures pretending to be messengers or emissaries, but they tried to sneak a look at the enemy camp or their war plans whenever they could. While they might survive the mission, they didn't always get the crucial information they sought or they were susceptible to manipulation. The Qing spy, for example, was intentionally misled by Zhao Shi and unwittingly played the part of a converted spy. The history of war reveals that many other spies were fooled in the same vein. Since the types of spies are meaning and their missions intricate, Zhao Shi wrote that managing them requires a whole set of capabilities. He believed that a spy master had to be very smart indeed to sniff out the truth from mission reports. He also had to be highly thorough. When a military operation is mapped out, efforts must be made to gain knowledge about the opposing commander, his staff members, his A's to camp, his gatekeepers and his guards. It is also crucial to detect any enemy spies within our own ranks that would present us the option to either convert them or simply get rid of them. But above all, the most pressing trait of a spy master is charisma. Unlike the cool-headed bosses we see in Hollywood productions, Sun Tzu argued that a spy master must be simultaneously compassionate, benevolent and humane to earn, even deserve, the trust of their agents. In the 3rd century BCE, Tianwen, who later became known as Lord Meng Zhang, was reputed to be the most successful at attracting followers and winning their trust. Even from an early age, Tianwen had advised his father to welcome commoners into his clan to bolster the family's dock of counselors. His father embraced the notion and did it so indiscriminately even people with no skills and ex-criminals came under his protection. By the time Lord Meng Zhang succeeded his father, he was famous for having created a virtual think tank with some 3,000 counselors. The king of Qing heard of his reputation and summoned the young lord to his court. However, Tianwen wasn't elevated to the top rank. Instead, he was placed under house arrest. The king suspected he was more loyal to his home state of Qi than to him. In response, Tianwen's entourage set out to rescue him. The first recruited an internal spy in the form of the king's favorite concubine. The woman asked for the famous snow fox fur coat, which Lord Meng Zhang had already offered to the king. It now set securely in the royal treasury. But that challenge didn't deter Lord Meng Zhang's followers. One of them, a skilled thief, disguised himself as a dog, snuck into the treasury and stole the fur coat. With the expensive bribe at hand, the concubine persuaded the king to release Tianwen. But the young lord wasn't out of the woods yet. He still had to flee the country. By the time he arrived at the Qing border at midnight, the pass was already closed. The guards were ordered not to let anyone pass until the roosters crowed. At this point, another follower skillfully mimicked a rooster and is crowing above all the nearby roosters. Orders were ordered, and upon hearing the roosters, the guards opened the pass. Lord Meng Zhang was finally delivered to safety. All these years later, some Chinese admire Lord Meng Zhang for surrounding himself with the necessary talent when he needed it the most. Others though, questioned if a truly wise leader would enlist the services of dog impersonators and rooster whisperers. It's a tough debate, as neither side is able to convince the other. So what do you think is the right approach to attract and manage people of rare but useful talents? Sadly, Sun Tzu died hundreds of years before Lord Meng Zhang, so we can't quite cite his opinion on this. But I suppose on some level, he would have agreed with the lord, at least on spending. Sun Tzu believed that a spymaster can't afford to be stingy. But instead, very liberal and generous with an intelligence budget. Fighting wars cost many times more than paying spies for information that could prevent or end a war. A smart commander never cuts back on a spy's paycheck. If you listened to all of our earlier episodes, by now you must realize that Sun Tzu's war theories are built on information and espionage. At the earliest stage of the pre-war council meeting, the king and his advisors need information about both sides to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and decide whether to send a diplomat or an army. They must also obtain knowledge of details like the weather and the terrain, to choose a marching route and camping locations. From this foundation of information, they can more confidently misguide the opponent by identifying special agents through whom to spread these fortunes. Even though they didn't have computers or electronics, commanders throughout history couldn't live without intelligence and espionage. And that's why Sun Tzu finished The Art of War with a long commentary about spies. At long last, we've covered all the chapters of Sun Tzu's world-famous book of strategic warfare. Personally, it's been a rather slow and painful process, as I researched, wrote and produced this podcast series. In retrospect though, I feel this arduous journey has given me a fresh perspective on how to go about the business of my life. While I previously tended to let life lead me wherever it would take me, now I find myself more receptive to the notion of planning and preparation. Occasionally, I even surprise myself by thinking of planning long term. I suppose that's one reason why The Art of War has remained so popular so many centuries later. All in all, it's been a pleasure working on this series, and I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thanks so much for listening, until our next series.