Three Strategies — The Middle Strategy三略 中略

The Three Sovereigns said nothing, and their transforming power flowed out to the four seas, so that all under Heaven had nowhere to give the credit. The Emperor (帝) took Heaven for his body and Earth for his model. He had words and he had commands, and all under Heaven was at great peace. His many ministers yielded the credit to one another, his transforming power went out to the four seas, and the hundred families did not know how it came to be so. Therefore he used his ministers without waiting for ritual and reward, and when there was merit, it was admirable and did no harm. The King (王) governed men with the Way. He humbled his heart and brought wills to submit; he set up the measuring square and made ready against decay, and the four seas gathered to him while the king's office was never left undone. He had armor and weapons in readiness, yet had no trouble of battle. The ruler did not doubt his ministers and the ministers did not doubt their ruler, so the state was settled and the ruler at ease, and ministers withdrew in right. This too was admirable and did no harm. The Hegemon (霸) governed his officers with power, bound them with good faith, and used them with reward. When good faith declines, officers grow distant; when reward falls short, officers do not obey command.

The Military Power says, "When the army goes out and takes the road, the general must be his own master. If his advance and retreat are controlled from within, merit is hard to bring about."

The Military Power says, "Use the wise, use the brave, use the greedy, use the foolish. The wise delight in setting up merit, the brave love to carry out their will, the greedy run after gain, and the foolish do not look back at death. To use each man according to his deepest feeling is the subtle power of an army."

The Military Power says, "Do not let a man of ready speech talk of what is good in the enemy, for he will confuse the multitude. Do not let a kind man take charge of goods, for he gives much away and attaches himself to those below."

The Military Power says, "Forbid shamans and prayer masters, so that they may not divine the fortune of the army for the officials and the soldiers."

The Military Power says, "Do not use a righteous officer with goods. For the righteous will not die for a man who is not kind, and the wise will not plan for a benighted ruler."

A ruler must not be without virtue, for without virtue his ministers turn against him. He must not be without awe, for without awe he loses his power. A minister must not be without virtue, for without virtue he has no way to serve his ruler. He must not be without awe, for without awe the state grows weak. Yet when his awe is too great, he himself is brought down.

Therefore, when the sage kings ruled the age, they looked at rise and decay, measured gain and loss, and made their institutions by them. So the lords had two armies, the regional overlords three armies, and the Son of Heaven six armies. When the age falls into disorder, rebellion is born; when the king's bounty runs dry, men swear oaths and then attack one another.

When virtue is equal and momentum is matched, so that neither side can bring the other down, then win the hearts of heroes and share your likes and dislikes with the multitude, and after that add the shifting of power. Therefore, without plans there is no way to settle a suspicion or put a doubt to rest. Without deceit and surprise there is no way to break the crooked and put an end to bandits. Without hidden schemes there is no way to bring merit to completion.

The sage takes Heaven for his body, the worthy take Earth for their model, and the wise take the old times for their teacher. Therefore the Three Strategies was made for an age in decay. The Upper Strategy sets out ritual and reward, marks off the crooked hero, and makes plain what succeeds and what fails. The Middle Strategy grades the conduct of virtue and looks into the shifting of power. The Lower Strategy sets forth the Way and virtue, examines safety and danger, and makes clear the fault of harming the worthy. Therefore, when a ruler is deeply versed in the Upper Strategy, he can give charge to the worthy and take the enemy captive. When he is deeply versed in the Middle Strategy, he can hold his generals in check and lead the multitude. When he is deeply versed in the Lower Strategy, he can make clear the source of rise and decay and look into the guiding threads of governing a state.

When a minister is deeply versed in the Middle Strategy, he can keep his merit whole and preserve his own person. When the high-flying bird is dead, the good bow is put away; when the enemy state is destroyed, the minister who planned it is undone. To be undone is not to lose his life. It means that his awe is taken from him and his power is done away with. He is enfeoffed at court and set in the highest place a minister can hold, so that his merit is made plain. He is given a good domain in the central land, so that his household is made rich. He is given beautiful women and rare playthings, so that his heart is made glad.

A multitude of men once joined cannot be parted all at once, and awe and power once given cannot be moved away all at once. Turning the army back and disbanding it is the stair of survival or ruin. Therefore he is made weak by a position and stripped by the gift of a domain. This is called the strategy of a hegemon. So in what a hegemon does, the reasoning is mixed.

To preserve the altars of the land and to net the heroes is the momentum of the Middle Strategy, and therefore the rulers of the age keep it secret.