Sun Tzu declares war a life-and-death matter for the State requiring careful calculation before any action.

Five factors deciding war's outcome are introduced: governance, weather, terrain, leadership, and army discipline.

All warfare is declared fundamentally based on deception, requiring armies to conceal their true strength and intentions.

Sun Tzu warns that prolonged war drains a nation's treasury and invites attack from neighboring states.

Sun Tzu argues it is better to capture enemy forces intact than to destroy them outright in battle.

The principle of making an army impregnable first, then waiting for the enemy to reveal a weakness, is established.

Sun Tzu introduces direct and indirect attacks as the two fundamental modes of engaging an enemy force.

The principle of attacking only an enemy's weak points while exposing none of your own is laid out.

Sun Tzu advises forcing the enemy to take exhausting routes while the army moves swiftly to its goal.

Five character flaws—recklessness, bad temper, cowardice, touchiness, and worry—are named as causes of military defeat.

Sun Tzu prescribes camping on high flat ground with difficult terrain deliberately placed at the enemy's rear.

Six types of terrain are identified, each requiring a different tactical approach from the commander.

Nine distinct ground situations are described, each producing a different effect on an army's resolve and fighting spirit.

Five methods of using fire as a weapon against enemy camps, stores, and supply lines are outlined.

Five types of spies are described as essential tools for gathering intelligence before any military campaign.

The Art of War opens by framing war as a life-and-death state matter governed by five key factors: governance, weather, terrain, leadership, and discipline. Sun Tzu then warns against prolonged campaigns that drain the treasury and explains why capturing enemies intact is preferable to destroying them in battle. He establishes the twin foundations of an impregnable defense and attacking only at the enemy's weakest points. Across the middle chapters, he introduces direct versus indirect attack, the exhaustion of enemy forces through clever maneuvering, and the danger of personal character flaws in commanders. The final chapters address terrain types, the nine ground situations that shape an army's morale, and the use of fire as a decisive weapon. The book concludes by identifying five types of spies as the essential intelligence foundation upon which all successful campaigns must rest.

Sun Tzu's core strategic principles from planning to spycraft.

Sun Tzu advises armies to appear unprepared when ready to fight and strong when they are actually weak.

Sun Tzu recommends feeding armies from the invaded country's own resources rather than draining the home state's supplies.

Sun Tzu advises treating prisoners kindly so they may be persuaded to join the invading side.

The worst strategic option—laying siege to a walled city—is described as slow, costly, and demoralizing to attackers.

Army size ratios are established to determine whether to surround, attack directly, divide forces, or avoid the enemy.

Sun Tzu declares that true military strength must remain hidden until the moment of sudden, devastating attack.

Indirect attacks are explained as a method of creating apparent disorder that lures the enemy into prepared traps.

Sun Tzu advises arriving early to the battlefield and waiting fully rested while the enemy arrives exhausted.

Facing a large enemy formation, Sun Tzu advises attacking smaller detachments to force the main army to split.

Sun Tzu warns against attacking an enemy army in the morning when its soldiers are fresh and rested.

The general is advised to watch enemy camps for signs of disorder: dust clouds, arguments, spear-leaning, and night commotion.

Six leadership errors—including deploying weak officers over strong soldiers and issuing unclear commands—are listed as paths to ruin.

Sun Tzu explains that troops stationed deep in enemy territory fight harder because retreat is no longer a real option.

Sun Tzu explains that rivers can be diverted to flood an enemy position, though water cannot destroy provisions like fire.

Converted spies—captured enemy agents treated well—are identified as the most valuable type for running counter-intelligence operations.

These events trace the secondary but vital teachings that give Sun Tzu's framework its practical depth. The book begins by advising commanders to project false weakness while hiding readiness, and instructs armies to draw strength from the enemy's own resources including its food, weapons, and captured soldiers. It then describes the ruinous costs of siege warfare and the mathematical rules governing how army size should determine tactical choice. The middle chapters expand on concealing strength for a sudden devastating release, using indirect engagements to distract the enemy, and arriving at the battlefield rested while the opponent exhausts itself on the march. Later sections add warnings about the revealing signs of disorder in enemy camps, the six leadership errors that invite ruin, and the psychology of fighting deep in enemy territory. The pool closes with the use of river flooding as a weapon and the special value of converted spies as double agents.

Supporting tactics and battlefield realities across all thirteen chapters.

Sun Tzu declares that the general who plans carefully will overpower the one who makes hasty calculations.

Sun Tzu reveals that weapons captured from the enemy can immediately be seized and turned against the opponent's own forces.

Three ways rulers undermine their armies are identified: meddling in tactics, applying civilian governance to the army, and misusing officers.

Sun Tzu states the formula: know yourself and the enemy and you will always win; know neither and always lose.

Sun Tzu declares that a wise army attacks only when the enemy reveals a weakness, never before that moment.

The army is instructed to appear weak and disordered outwardly while concealing overwhelming strength ready for a sudden strike.

Sun Tzu introduces the tactic of sending false signals and forged communiqués to goad the enemy into premature action.

The principle of varying tactics after each victory is introduced to prevent the enemy from learning the commander's methods.

Sun Tzu warns that a clearly routed enemy must be given an escape route, lest it turn and fight ferociously.

Generals are warned they must be ready to revise plans and even disobey the ruler outright when field conditions demand it.

Sun Tzu advises soldiers to be treated kindly at first to earn loyalty, then disciplined strictly once that bond is formed.

Sun Tzu advises using border regions where multiple states converge to threaten several rulers at once and forge new alliances.

Sun Tzu specifies that fire attacks are most effective when wind rises, with troops always assaulting from behind the advancing flames.

Doomed spies are described as agents deliberately fed false information and then betrayed so the enemy absorbs inaccurate intelligence.

Sun Tzu concludes that without spies an army cannot plan effectively, know where to move, or anticipate the enemy's actions.

This pool highlights the pivotal formulas and warnings that give The Art of War its enduring power. It opens with the declaration that careful planning defeats hasty calculation, and adds that captured enemy weapons can immediately be turned against their former owners. Sun Tzu then delivers his most famous judgment: a general who knows both himself and the enemy will never lose. The middle events cover hiding overwhelming strength behind apparent weakness, using forged communiqués to bait the enemy into premature action, and varying tactics after each victory to prevent the opponent from predicting future moves. Critical warnings follow, including advice to grant a routed enemy an escape route and to disobey a ruler outright when field conditions demand it. The pool closes with the mechanics of the doomed spy deception, the use of intersecting highways for diplomatic intimidation, and the ultimate claim that without spies no campaign can be properly planned.