Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 13 · Espionage · 用間

Passage 13-2

相守數年, 以爭一日之勝, 而愛爵祿百金, 不知敵之情者, 不仁之至也. 非人之將也, 非主之佐也, 非勝之主也.

To stand in confrontation for years, striving for victory in a single day, yet be unwilling to spend a hundred gold pieces on intelligence and remain ignorant of the enemy’s situation—this is the height of inhumanity. Such a person is not fit to be a general, not fit to assist a ruler, not fit to be master of victory.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 13-2:

No Profit, No Move Passage 12-7 夫戰勝攻取, 而不修其功者凶, 命曰費留. 故曰: 明主慮之... Anger Is Not Strategy Passage 12-9 怒可以復喜, 慍可以復悅, 亡國不可以復存, 死者不可以復生... Win First, Then Fight Passage 4-9 故善戰者, 立於不敗之地, 而不失敵之敗也. 是故勝兵先勝,... Temple Calculation Passage 1-15 夫未戰而廟算勝者, 得算多也; 未戰而廟算不勝者, 得算少也...

More from Chapter 13: Espionage (用間)

Passage 13-1: Sun Tzu said: Raising an army of one hundred thousand and campaigning a thousand... Passage 13-3: The reason wise rulers and brilliant generals move and conquer, achieving succes... Passage 13-4: There are five types of spy: local, internal, double, expendable, and living. Wh... Passage 13-5: Local spies: recruited from the enemy’s population Internal spies: recruited fro... Passage 13-6: In military affairs, no one is closer than spies, no rewards greater, no busines... Passage 13-7: To attack an army, besiege a city, or assassinate an individual—first learn the ... Passage 13-8: Identify enemy spies sent against us. Win them over with benefits, guide and acc... Passage 13-9: Through double agents, gain intelligence that allows expendable spies to deliver... Passage 13-10: The ruler must understand all five types of spies. The key lies with double agen... Passage 13-11: In ancient times, the rise of Yin was aided by Yi Zhi, who was in Xia. The rise ... Passage 13-12: Only wise rulers and brilliant generals who employ the highly intelligent as spi...