I would love your take on a section I am currently reading about, Sun Tzu’s description of grounds.
He says:
Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.
He does this, as I understand it, at just the right moment. However, this seems to disagree with his earlier counsels:
The victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
From what I understood he said to attack when there is no possibility for defense.
How do these ideas square together?