The Attack by Fire

T There are five ways to attack with fire. Burn the men in their camp. Burn their stores. Burn their baggage trains. Burn their arsenals. Burn the lines of supply. Five targets — learn them by their order. Sun Tzu said: There are five kinds of fire attack. The first is to burn men; the second, to burn stores; the third, to burn the baggage wagons; the fourth, to burn the armories; the fifth, to burn the supply lines.

Fire needs a cause to spread, so keep the makings ready at all times. There is a season for the fire and there are days for the spark. The season is when the weather runs dry. The days are when the moon rides certain stars — for those are the days the wind gets up. Setting fires must have its conditions; the materials for fire must be kept prepared in advance. There is a time for raising fire and days for starting it. The time is when the weather is dry. The days are when the moon is in the Sieve, the Wall, the Wing, or the Crossbar — for these four lodges are the days when wind rises.

When you attack with fire, work with what the fire does, and answer each turn it takes. If fire breaks out inside the enemy's camp, hit them from outside at once. If the fire takes and the enemy stays calm, wait — do not attack. In every fire attack, you must respond to the five changes the fire brings. If fire breaks out within, answer it early from without. If the fire is set and the enemy's troops stay quiet, wait and do not attack.

“A ruined state cannot be restored, and the dead cannot be brought back to life.”

Let the flames climb to their height. If you can follow them in, follow. If you cannot, hold where you are. Fire is the opening, not the order to throw your men away. When the fire's force is at its peak, follow it up if you can; if you cannot, then stop. Push when the moment is open, and hold when it is not.

You can set the fire from outside too, without waiting for it inside — just set it at the right time. Attack from upwind, never from down. A wind that rises by day blows long; a night wind soon dies. Fire can be set from without, with no need to wait for it within — set it at the right time. When fire is set upwind, do not attack downwind. A wind that rises in daytime lasts long; a night wind stops soon.

Every army must know these five turns of fire, and keep watch by the calculation of the days. So: fire used to aid the attack is the clear-sighted weapon, and water used to aid it is the strong one. But water can cut the enemy off — it cannot take what he holds. Every army must know the five changes of fire and guard against them by calculation. So fire as an aid to attack shows clarity; water as an aid to attack lends strength. Water can cut off, but it cannot seize.

Win the battle, take the ground — and then fail to consolidate what you took, and you are headed for ruin. Call it wasteful delay. Spending lives and treasure to hold nothing. To win the battle and take the objective, yet not secure what you have gained, is calamitous; it is called wasteful lingering.

So move only when there is gain in it. Use your troops only when there is something to win. Fight only when the position leaves no other way. Therefore: do not move unless there is advantage; do not use your troops unless there is something to gain; do not fight unless you are in danger.

A ruler must not raise an army out of anger. A general must not give battle out of spite. Move if it serves your advantage; if it does not, stay still. A ruler must not raise an army in anger; a general must not join battle in resentment. Move when it accords with advantage; stop when it does not.

Anger can cool back into gladness. Spite can warm back into content. But a ruined state cannot be restored, and the dead cannot be brought back to life. Anger can turn again to joy; resentment can turn again to delight. But a destroyed state cannot exist again, and the dead cannot live again.

So the clear-eyed ruler is careful, and the good general stays wary. This is the way to keep the state safe and the army whole. So the enlightened ruler is heedful and the good general is watchful. This is the way to keep the state secure and the army intact.

火攻 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

孫子曰：凡火攻有五：一曰火人，二曰火積，三曰火輜，四曰火庫，五曰火隊。

Opening lines, classical Chinese · The Art of War 孫子兵法