Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 7: 23 "The Military Primer says: when ears do not hear, use gongs and drums."

Who remembers the story of Master Sun and the concubines? I'll offer you a link, here, so you can read it in full. When you do, remember today's verse as your read, okay?

welchmaxwell.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/sun…

Here's the key passage:

"If the instructions and words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if commands are clear and the soldiers disobey, then it is the fault of the officers.”

We might call today's lesson, and tomorrow's, and the day after's lessons as well by the name: LOUD SIGNALS! One of the great mandates of leadership is the ability catch, to capture and hold the attention of your followers. Followers do NOT show up with good hearing.

In the story of the concubines, silly tittering was obliterating Master Sun's commands. Imagine. 180 of the most beautiful women in the world, and he's trying to drill them in combat basics. What possible chance does he have of getting their attention?

It's a gruesome tale. The two most gorgeous women in China, each holding all the joy in life of their emperor in their lovely smiles, and yet, Master Sun executes them without hesitation. And at the beginning of his own primer he tells us, war is a grave affair of the state.

It's not merely the remaining 178 concubines whose attention Master Sun seeks. It is indeed the emperor's attention, and the proper relationship between lord and general, yes, that motivates him. But, far more importantly, it is ALL soldiers. He needs their proper attention.

Loud signals. Strong messages. Clear communication. These are the ultimate mandates of leadership. And there is no victory in battle without them. The general cannot fight the battle by himself. He needs soldiers to enter combat at will. Mightily.

Let's back up just a bit. Master Sun tells us that this is what the "Military Primer" says. What in the world is that? We'll need our trusty time machine to figure this out. Master Sun is writing around 500 BC. He clearly has, in hand, a book - a bamboo roll, or such.

The truth is, no one has the slightest idea as to when writing was actually invented in China. Its history reaches back beyond the documentary evidence of history. It can only be guessed at. What we do know is that China, itself, goes back at least 5,000 years.

This is important. We can speculate about India 4,500 years ago, or so. We can speculate about Egypt, 4,000 years ago, or so. We know that the precursors to Mesopotamia and Babylon go back roughly 10,000 years. But their lineage has been interrupted.

There is no nation of Mesopotamia or Babylon today. There is a nation called China, today. It is, bar none, the oldest nation on earth. We must bow in humble awe of that. We must. To fail to do so is to fail at humility, to surrender to hubris. So, when it comes to primers...

Master Sun's Military Primer was possibly 200, 300, maybe 1,000 years old already by the time he was studying it in roughly 500 BC. Sadly, we have no copy. We do not know what book he referred to in this text. Don't let me get started talking about the library at Alexandria.

Okay. Some of you don't know that the greatest collection of Western Wisdom in the ancient world was at the Library of Alexandria, in Egypt. And, you may not know it was burned sometime around 415 AD. It's complicated. It was actually burned many times. Go figure.

Assuming a fire occurred in 415 AD, about 900 years AFTER Mater Sun was writing; he has a book, a primer, in hand, that's much older than he was. I say again, this is an important point. If you go back any less than 10,000 years, everyone had an ancient past to look back upon.

For Master Sun, it was ancient wisdom that if your soldiers can't hear your commands, you must use gongs and drums. Can you hear a snare drum beating time to the marching of a modern military unit, say, a mere 300 years ago? Then you're hearing the same truth.

Let me ask, do you know how to amplify your commands? Can you organize your orders so that they're instantly understood, and in the self-same moment executed? What does a gong mean to you, its reverberating sound? Can you give orders as powerful as a gong?

Turn left. Turn right. Turn around, face the rear. Step forward. Step back. Step to the left. Step to the right. Advance. Retreat. Flank. One, two, three, four, what the hell are we fighting for? Cadence. Sound off 1, 2. Sound off 3, 4. Reveille. Taps. Day is done, gone the sun.

As we rally America for 2020, to win the #WarForAmerica2020, we must be ready to use gongs and drums. Release yourself. Set yourself free. You can do this. Ask yourself, "What are my gongs and drums?"

177 verses completed, 245 to go.

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