Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 13 · Espionage · 用間

Passage 13-7

凡軍之所欲擊, 城之所欲攻, 人之所欲殺; 必先知其守將, 左右, 謁者, 門者, 舍人之姓名, 令吾間必索知之.

To attack an army, besiege a city, or assassinate an individual—first learn the names of the defending commander, his aides, attendants, gatekeepers, and guards. Direct your spies to obtain this information.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 13-7:

The Attack Hierarchy Passage 3-4 故上兵伐謀, 其次伐交, 其次伐兵, 其下攻城. The Shuai-Jan Serpent Passage 11-31 夫霸王之兵, 伐大國則其衆不得聚, 威加於敵, 則其交不得合... 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,...

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 13-6: In military affairs, no one is closer than spies, no rewards greater, no busines... 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...