-random
quote from the Thirty-six
Strategies as trans. by
Thomas Cleary; author unknown
Creating
a Buffer Zone
In
the pursuits of conquest, it is a wise venture to
establish areas of control in provinces
surrounding your capital. In this idea, conquer
the regions closest to you in order to create a
"ring of padding" between you and your
enemies. Set up puppet governments in these
neighboring states, control them from within but
not letting it show through to your adversaries.
The enemy will be hesitant to attack a
"neutral" faction and thus you have
encased yourself in a temporary coat of political
armor.
Make
Complimentary Alliances
It
is wise to ally with another state in order to
defeat a mutual opponent, but be sure that your
newfound friends are complimentary to your cause.
That is, always pick partners who can offer to
make up for what you lack, be it wealth,
strength/ diversity of troops, or political
clout. It is useless for your alliance to have
two identically matched parts, as that benefits
no one and only doubles the deficit that hindered
you in the first place. Be careful to have
something that will help complete your ally's
assets as well!
Never
Underestimate Your Adversary
This
is perhaps the greatest folly of all time. Its
pitfalls are painfully obvious... overconfidence
leads to bad judgement and subsequent defeat. If
anything, overestimate the strength and skill of
your opponent: you will be over-prepared
at worst. Until the enemy has proven their power
or incompetence in combat, make no assumptions;
do not let pride detract from careful planning.
Who knows if the mouse will roar?
Eliminate
the Leader and the Pillar Will Fall
This
means, simply, rid your your enemy of his
leadership, and the entire organization will
crumble. The quickest and most effective method
is to commission an assassin to pull that
strongest unit from the house of cards, so that
when the time comes to face the enemy on the
battlefield, he will be in disarray and at a loss
for morale. In the idyllic case, there will be no
battles fought: your enemy will simply abdicate
to you, willingly, after their commander is out
of the scenario.
