Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 13 · Espionage · 用間

Passage 13-6

故三軍之事, 莫親於間, 賞莫厚於間, 事莫密於間, 非聖智不能用間, 非仁義不能使間, 非微妙不能得間之實. 微哉! 微哉! 無所不用間也. 間事未發, 而先聞者, 間與所告者皆死.

In military affairs, no one is closer than spies, no rewards greater, no business more secret. Only supreme wisdom can employ spies. Only supreme virtue can direct spies. Only supreme subtlety can extract the truth from spies. Subtle! Subtle! There is nowhere spies cannot be used. If spy operations leak before launch, both the spy and those informed must die.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 13-6:

The Difficulty of Armed Struggle Passage 7-1 孫子曰: 凡用兵之法, 將受命於君, 合軍聚衆, 交和而舍,... 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... Victory Without Fighting Passage 3-3 是故, 百戰百勝, 非善之善者也; 不戰而屈人之兵, 善之善... The Attack Hierarchy Passage 3-4 故上兵伐謀, 其次伐交, 其次伐兵, 其下攻城.

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 13-2: To stand in confrontation for years, striving for victory in a single day, yet b... 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 13-7: 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...