Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 7: 44 "These are the axioms of the Art of War: do not advance uphill. Do not oppose an enemy with his back to a hill. Do not pursue an enemy feigning flight. Do not attack keen troops. Do not swallow a bait. Do not thwart a returning army....

Continued: "Leave a passage for a besieged army. Do not press an enemy at bay."

Oh the tactics! It's SO tempting to follow up each one of these delicious rules with tactical descriptions, and those of you who read the ancient commentaries know how much those guys loved these commandments. They're all awesome, and rich in history and interpretation.

On a technical note, I must confess, I just don't get Minford's verse structure on this one. Everything I posted above is just one verse. Wait till I give you Giles on the same passage. Point to Giles on this one. Here we go...

Lionel Giles, #SunTzu 7: 33 "It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill."

Lionel Giles, #SunTzu 7: 34 "Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen."

Lionel Giles, #SunTzu 7: 35 "Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home."

Lionel Giles, #SunTzu 7: 36 "When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard."

Still picayune technical guy that I am, I'd split up Giles' verses 34 & 35, each into two. But everyone knows I like my logic pure. Those seem a bit cramped up together, two ideas in each. For me a verse should have just one idea holding it together. Just one!

So, you can see why I prefer Giles' versification to Minford's on this one, yes? Minford lumps them all together, all these rules, into just one verse. Go figure. Okay, now we get to go tactical over just one of these wonderful rules! Well, maybe two.

"Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy." That's Giles, there. Who knows where Sicilian wisdom statements are gathered? Being The Consigliori, of course I've read everything Mario Puzo ever wrote. I think he tells us, "never accept what your enemy offers."

You knew we'd go there, right? The Trojan Horse? Come on, it's so obvious you had to see it coming, right? "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." Wait! That ties to: "Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight." Here's our horse. We're gone now, it's safe to bring our horse inside!

Do you remember in this chapter, verses 5 - 10, how Master Sun used the phrase: for some gain? You do this, march that far, etc., for some gain. That gain is what your enemy offered you. It's bait. You're going to be ambushed. Don't take the bait.

Here's a 21st century equivalent. Your boss offers you your third promotion in a row. New title. New responsibilities. New opportunities for training. But NO raise. Start working on your resume right now. Sure, to placate your boss you can take the new job. But do not be happy.

Here's our second tactical focus: "Do not press an enemy at bay." That one is Minford's. At bay. What a powerful term. When something is "at bay," it has no means of escape. The only way out...is through. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Have you noticed? The left is at bay right now, with their last best hope being racism. If a black legislator or media personality attacks @realDonaldTrump, counter-puncher that he is he attacks back, he's demonstrating his racism. Mexico doesn't send its best people. Racism.

@realDonaldTrump Antifa confronts White Supremacists in Charlottesville, but it is ONLY the White Supremacists' fault. Trump says both sides were at fault, he's racist. Racism is their bay. It's where they go to fight their last stand, and they are indeed deadly here. Racism. At bay.

@realDonaldTrump Surely I've shared before that I lived for 5 years in Mexico, and love that nation with all my heart. I dare you to tell me I'm racist. Yet, I know perfectly well that Mexico does NOT send its best people North. It keeps them. And yes, it is the drug cartels sending people North.

@realDonaldTrump I lived in Maryland for 11 years. I used to adore Baltimore, and go there every chance I could. Then, it declined. It had its problems before, but they got worse and worse. Now, I'll likely never go to Baltimore again. Oh, I'm racist? Not for a Baltimore minute, I'm not racist.

@realDonaldTrump Back in 2016, when I came out of the closet for Trump, friends and clients I'd served for years started accusing me of being racist. I have a mulatto granddaughter whom I love with all my soul. Her black father lived in my home for many years. No, no matter, I'm racist.

@realDonaldTrump Think of a cornered badger. Can you say the word "unhinged?" That is the left today. Martin Luther King Jr is my hero. No, not for his life. Rather, for his influence. He was not faithful to his wife. I judge that. But, his dream? That we judge character not skin color?

@realDonaldTrump I tried, and failed, to explain to my soon-to-be former friends in 2016, that no matter how little I supported his policies, I was THRILLED, beyond thrilled, when we elected Obama. I thought maybe we'd put racism behind us as a people.

@realDonaldTrump Foolish me. Do you know the 3/5 clause in our Constitution? For every 5 slaves, their white owners got 3 votes. Yes, slavery was part of our national founding. Yes, Thomas Jefferson mastered the arts of controlling slaves. Yes. I was long heartbroken over that.

@realDonaldTrump I'm so demanding that, for many years, I couldn't forgive Abraham Lincoln for NOT freeing the slaves in 1860. Eventually, the 13th Amendment softened my heart. Lincoln had the courage to risk his entire legacy upon it.

@realDonaldTrump "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Amen.

@realDonaldTrump What is their bay? It is false racism. America is NOT racist. I am not racist, and neither are you. We have NO truck with racism in America anymore. We're over it. We're better than that. Yet no truth is good enough for the left. Lost as they are, at bay, they fight on.

@realDonaldTrump I just heard Master Sun laughing right out loud. Even he knows better than to interrupt me when I get going on my racist rants. Have you read Martin Luther King Jr.'s Free at Last, speech? If not...

let.rug.nl/usa/documents/…

@realDonaldTrump Better than reading it, listen...

americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkih…

@realDonaldTrump We must return to Master Sun's text. I can't be sure, but I suspect that chapter 7 will end up as my selection of mini book. That is, Master Sun has reduced his entire book's message down to a single chapter, here. No one should, but if you could only pick one chapter...

@realDonaldTrump Can you feel it? Master Sun gives us what we need to Make America Great Again. Minford and Giles are the two best. But get any copy and dream a new dream for America.

@realDonaldTrump 197 verses completed, 225 to go.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.

@realDonaldTrump 197 verses completed, 225 to go.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.