- 交地吾將謹其守衢地吾將固其結
- 重地吾將繼其食圮地吾將進其塗
- 圍地吾將塞其闕死地吾將示之以不活
48. On open ground, I would keep a vigilant eye on my defences.
As Wang Hsi says, 懼襲我也 “fearing a surprise attack.” The T‘ung Tien reads here 固其結 (see next sentence).
On ground of intersecting highways, I would consolidate my alliances.
The T‘ung Tien reads 謹其市, which Tu Yu explains as “watching the market towns,” 變事之端 “the hotbeds of revolution.” Capt. Calthrop translates 固其結 by the same words as 合交 in § 12: “cultivate intercourse.”
49. On serious ground, I would try to ensure a continuous stream of supplies.
The commentators take this as referring to forage and plunder, not, as one might expect, to an unbroken communication with a home base. One text, indeed, gives the reading 掠其食. Cf. § 13. Capt. Calthrop’s “be careful of supplies” fails to render the force of 繼.
On difficult ground, I would keep pushing on along the road.
Capt. Calthrop’s “do not linger” cannot be called a translation, but only a paraphrase of the paraphrase offered by Ts‘ao Kung: 疾過去也 “Pass away from it in all haste.”
50. On hemmed-in ground, I would block any way of retreat.
意欲突圍示以守固 “To make it seem that I mean to defend the position, whereas my real intention is to burst suddenly through the enemy’s lines” [Mêng Shih]; 使士卒必死戰也 “in order to make my soldiers fight with desperation” [Mei Yao-ch‘ên]; 懼人有走心 “fearing lest my men be tempted to run away” [Wang Hsi]. Tu Mu points out that this is the converse of VII. § 36, where it is the enemy who is surrounded. In 532 A.D., 高歡 Kao Huan, afterwards Emperor and canonised as 神武 Shên-wu, was surrounded by a great
