Zeng Guofan and The Art of War

Author: Shangguan Jueren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: How many strategies of war are hidden in life? The great masters of war are always superior in every aspect, the mediocre masters are weak at every turn, and those who do not use war strategies are defeated in everything. Zeng Guofan deeply understood the principles, so in his, he repeatedly discussed the《Sun Tzu's Art of War》 in detail. Zeng Guofan's military strategies have always been a great secret, but those who wish to explore them never stop. Because when it comes to Zeng Guofan, if given multiple choices, the first answer people might recognize is "Zeng Guofan is the leader of the Xiang Army," because Zeng Guofan's battlefield image has left too deep an impression on people. Following this line of thought, it is very necessary to pay attention to Zeng Guofan's military strategies. Zeng Guofan experienced over a hundred battles in his lifetime, using flexible tactics, balancing offense and defense, and achieving victory through surprise. He was the master of the army. Especially his repeated warnings to his brother Zeng Guofan about the pitfalls of warfare were the essence of his combat experience. "Water has its source, trees have their roots." If we delve deeper, we will find that Zeng Guofan's military strategies are in harmony with《Sun Tzu's Art of War》, and even can be said to be identical. 《Sun Tzu's Art of War》 is a book of wisdom that advocates strategic attack. The so-called "not advancing can be called advancing" and "not retreating can be called retreating" are the techniques of "tying down the army"; on the contrary, knowing when to advance and when to retreat is the way of the "victorious army." Especially the so-called "those who know when to fight and when not to fight will win" demonstrate a kind of strategy: do not fight recklessly, but fight after knowing. Zeng Guofan was good at hiding his strengths, often thinking of retreat when advancing and thinking of advance when retreating, with absolute control over the line between advance and retreat. This was the guarantee of his success, and more importantly, his mindset for invincibility. He had a life motto, "Three armies hide without revealing a single word," which is the embodiment of this mindset. How can this be achieved? Of course, it requires "knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, and you will not be in danger in a hundred battles." It can be said that it transforms the strategic attack of《Sun Tzu's Art of War》 into a practical mindset.