Six Secret Teachings, Dragon Teaching — The Force of the Army六韜 軍勢
1To fight before the shape is seen is to lose, however many the men
武王問太公曰：「攻伐之道奈何？」太公曰：「勢因敵之動，變生於兩陳之間，奇正發於無窮之源。故至事不語，用兵不言。且事之至者，其言不足聽也；兵之用者，其狀不足見也。倏而往，忽而來，能獨專而不制者，兵也。夫兵，聞則議，見則圖，知則困，辨則危。故善戰者，不待張軍；善除患者，理於未生；善勝敵者，勝於無形；上戰，無與戰。故爭勝於白刃之前者，非良將也；設備於已失之後者，非上聖也；智與眾同，非國師也；技與眾同，非國工也。事莫大於必克，用莫大於玄默，動莫神於不意，謀莫善於不識。夫先勝者，先見弱於敵，而後戰者也。故事半而功倍焉。聖人徵於天地之動，孰知其紀，循陰陽之道而從其候，當天地盈縮，因以為常。物有死生，因天地之形。故曰：『未見形而戰，雖眾必敗。』善戰者，居之不撓，見勝則起，不勝則止。故曰：『無恐懼，無猶豫。』用兵之害，猶豫最大。三軍之災，莫過狐疑。善者，見利不失，遇時不疑。失利後時，反受其殃。故智者從之而不釋，巧者一決而不猶豫。是以疾雷不及掩耳，迅電不及瞑目。赴之若驚，用之若狂，當之者破，近之者亡，孰能禦之？夫將，有所不言而守者，神也；有所不見而視者，明也。故知神明之道者，野無橫敵，對無立國。」武王曰：「善哉！」
King Wu asked Taigong, "What is the way of attack and conquest?" Taigong said, "Force follows the movement of the enemy. Change is born between the two battle lines. The unorthodox and the orthodox come out of an endless source. Therefore the utmost matters are not spoken of, and the use of troops is not talked about. Moreover, when a matter is at its utmost, its words are not worth hearing, and when troops are in use, their shape is not worth seeing. Going in an instant and coming in a moment, alone and entire and ruled by no one — such is an army. An army heard of is debated over; seen, it is schemed against; known, it falls into hardship; made out, it stands in danger. Therefore one who fights well does not wait to draw up his army, one who clears away trouble well sets it in order before it arises, one who beats the enemy well wins where there is no shape, and the highest fighting is to fight with no one. So one who contends for victory before the bare blade is no good general, one who sets his defenses after the loss is already made is no highest sage, one whose wisdom is the same as the crowd's is no teacher of the state, and one whose skill is the same as the crowd's is no craftsman of the state. No affair is greater than the certainty of winning, no use is greater than dark silence, no movement is more marvelous than the unlooked-for, and no plan is better than the one that cannot be known. He who wins beforehand shows weakness to the enemy first and fights after, and so his work is half and his merit double. The sage takes his proof from the movement of Heaven and Earth. Who knows the thread that orders it? He follows the way of yin and yang and goes after its signs, and matching the filling and the shrinking of Heaven and Earth, he makes them his constant rule. That things die and live follows the shape of Heaven and Earth. Therefore it is said, 'To fight before the shape is seen is to be beaten for certain, however many the men.' One who fights well stays where he is and is not shaken; when he sees victory he rises, and when he cannot win he stops. Therefore it is said, 'Have no fear, and have no hesitation.' Of the harms in using troops, hesitation is the greatest, and of the disasters of the three armies, none is worse than the doubt of a fox. The good man does not let slip a gain he sees, and does not doubt when his moment comes. Lose the gain and miss the moment, and the calamity comes back on him. So the wise man follows it and does not let it go, and the skilled man decides at one stroke and does not hesitate. Thus the swift thunder gives no time to cover the ears, and the quick lightning gives no time to close the eyes. Rush as though startled, use them as though mad; whoever stands against them is broken and whoever comes near them perishes. Who then can hold them off? There is that which a general keeps without speaking, and that is the marvelous; there is that which he watches without seeing, and that is the bright. So for one who knows the way of the marvelous and the bright, there is no enemy standing across the field and no state that stands against him." King Wu said, "Good."