Free The Art of War by Sun Tzu & James Clavell Page B

is to be obtained by divination; information in natural science may be sought by inductive reasoning; the laws of the universe can be verified by mathematical calculation; but the dispositions of the enemy are ascertainable through spies and spies alone.
    Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: local spies; internal spies; converted spies; doomed spies; surviving spies.
    When these five kinds are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is called “divine manipulation of the threads.” It is the sovereign’s most precious faculty.
    Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district. In the enemy’s country, win people over by kind treatment, and use them as spies.
    Having inward spies means making use of officials of the enemy. Worthy men who have been degraded from office, criminals who have undergone punishment; also, favorite concubines who are greedy for gold, men who are aggrieved at being in subordinate positions, or who have been passed over in the distribution of posts, others who are anxious that their side should be defeated in order that they may have a chance of displaying their ability and talents, fickle turncoats who always want to have a foot in each boat. Officials of these several kinds should be secretly approached and bound to one’s interests by means of rich presents. In this way you will be able to find out the state of affairs in the enemy’s country, ascertain the plans that are being formed against you and, moreover, disturb the harmony and create a breach between the sovereign and his ministers. But there is a necessity for extreme caution in dealing with inward spies.
Lo Shang, governor of I-chou, sent his general Wei Po to attack the rebel Li Hsiung of Shu in his stronghold at P’i. After each side had experienced a number of victories and defeats, the rebel leader Li Hsiung had recourse to the services of a certain Po-tai, a native of Su-tu. He began by having him whipped until the blood came, and then sent him off to his enemy Lo Shang, whom he was to delude by offering to cooperate with him from inside the city, and to give a fire signal at the right moment for making a general assault.
    Lo Shang, believing the promises of this inward spy, marched out all his best troops, and placed General Wei and others at their head with orders to attack at Po-tai’s bidding. Meanwhile, Li Hsiung had prepared an ambuscade, and Po-tai, having reared long scaling ladders against the city walls, now lighted the beacon fire. Not knowing they were betrayed, Wei’s men raced up on seeing the signal and began climbing the ladders as fast as they could, while others were drawn up by ropes lowered from above. More than a hundred of the soldiers entered the city in this way, every one of whom was forthwith beheaded. The rebel leader Li Hsiung then charged with all his forces both inside and outside the city, and routed the enemy completely.
    Having converted spies means getting hold of the enemy’s spies and using them for our own purposes: by means of heavy bribes and liberal promises, detaching them from the enemy’s service and inducing them to carry back false information as well as to spy in turn on their own countrymen.
    Having doomed spies means doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allowing our own spies to know of them and, when betrayed, report them to the enemy. We do things calculated to deceive our own spies, who must be led to believe that they have been unwittingly disclosed. Then, when these spies are captured in the enemy’s lines, they will make an entirely false report, and the enemy will take measures accordingly, only to find that we do something quite different. The spies will thereupon be put to death.
    Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from the enemy’s camp. This is the ordinary class of spies, who should form a regular part of the army. Your surviving spy must be a man of keen