Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 3: Military Strategy Review

Methods of the Sima

Align with Heaven. Abound in wealth. Please the masses. Utilize the terrain. Prioritize weaponry. These are known as the Five Considerations.

Aligning with Heaven means to respect the seasons, such as observing the appropriate times of summer heat meaning to avoid campaigning in extreme weather that exhausts the troops. Abounding in wealth means to take advantage of the enemy’s resources; by doing so, your own wealth becomes abundant. Pleasing the masses means to encourage compliance. "Compliance" means following the natural order. To encourage this is to align with the heavens. To abound in wealth by using the enemy’s resources makes wealth abundant. To please the masses by encouraging compliance follows the hearts of the people, and they will be joyful. Utilizing the terrain means to hold narrow passes and difficult obstacles. Prioritizing weaponry involves using bows and arrows for defense, spiked clubs and spears for holding positions, and dagger-axes and halberds for assistance. Use bows and arrows to ward off the enemy. Use spiked clubs: Shu, a bamboo or wooden polearm with a weighted or spiked end used for striking and spears to hold the line. Use dagger-axes: Ge, a polearm with a transverse blade used for hooking and slashing and halberds: Ji, a hybrid weapon combining a spear point and a side blade to assist the formation. This is what is meant by prioritizing weaponry.

In all matters regarding the "Five Weapons" and their five applications: each referring to the five weapons mentioned above has its specific role. Long weapons are used to protect those with short weapons; short weapons are used to rescue those with long weapons this describes the synergy of combined arms, where spears keep the enemy at bay while swords or shields protect the spearmen in close quarters. Alternating in battle allows for endurance; fighting with all weapons together provides strength. To observe the enemy’s situation and match it with equal force is called "pairing." If you observe the enemy's equipment and immediately adapt, it is said that both sides gain an advantage, yet the commander remains firm.

Encourage compliance and act according to the enemy’s movements. The heart of the commanding general must firmly encourage and follow the masses, ensuring he does not act in isolation. Firmly encourage compliance and act according to the enemy's movements. The heart must also act based on the enemy’s "void and substance" this refers to the Sun Tzu concept of Xu Shi, or identifying an enemy's weaknesses and strengths. The general’s heart is a heart. The same is true for the heart of the masses. The heart is a heart. The same. This applies even to the horses, oxen, chariots, and soldiers: it depends on their rest, their satiety, and their strength. The same here.