the art of war and child care chapter 5
II: DOING BATTLE
Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war,
where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots,
as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand
mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them
a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front,
including entertainment of guests, small items such as
glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor,
will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day.
Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.
Childcare is expensive.
When you engage in actual fighting, if victory
is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and
their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town,
you will exhaust your strength.
Conflict must be resolved quickly. Fight, win and move on.
Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources
of the State will not be equal to the strain.
The days entertainment may not all be free, but cannot all be payed for.
Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped,
your strength exhausted and your treasure spent,
other chieftains will spring up to take advantage
of your extremity. Then no man, however wise,
will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war,
cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
There is no instance of a country having benefited
from prolonged warfare.
You can win a battle through sheer fluke if you do it quickly, but the longer a battle goes on the more depleting it is on the participants.
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted
with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand
the profitable way of carrying it on.
Be aware of the consequences of battle. Discipline is a double edged sword which might come back to bite you in the ass later on when they are all grown up and in control.
The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy,
neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.
Take the right toys with you.
Bring war material with you from home, but forage
on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough
for its needs.
You supply the toys, but the kids should supply the sweets.
