Spies and War: A Brief History of Ancient Chinese Military Espionage

Author: Yu Yanzhou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: If ten thousand soldiers are mobilized and sent a thousand miles away, the cost to the people and the state's expenditure will amount to a thousand gold pieces daily; the entire country will be in turmoil, with those unable to engage in their regular work numbering seventy thousand households. To defend for years and strive for a single day's victory, yet love one's rank and (salary) and gold, while being ignorant of the enemy's situation, is the ultimate lack of benevolence. Such a person is not a capable general, not a loyal minister, nor a master of victory. — The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Therefore, the wise ruler and the capable general, who can move and defeat others, achieve success beyond the ordinary, rely on foreknowledge. Foreknowledge cannot be obtained from deities or spirits, cannot be imitated from past events, nor can it be verified through calculations. It must be obtained from people who understand the enemy's situation. Among the affairs of the army, no one is closer to espionage than the spy; no reward is greater than that for the spy; no matter is more confidential than espionage. Without wisdom, one cannot use spies; without benevolence and righteousness, one cannot employ spies; without subtlety, one cannot obtain the truth of espionage. How subtle! There is nothing that espionage cannot be used for.