Relying for defense solely on favorable geographical conditions of a place or on fortified city walls cannot guarantee safety but will finally lose out. To take the offensive solely because one has a more powerful military force will finally diminish in strength. Whoever launches a war without a justifiable reason, a reason in line with the Tao, cannot escape the retribution by Heaven. If an act accords with the Tao, it will get help from Heaven. If an act defies the Tao, it will be foiled by Heaven in the end. When some situation goes to an extreme, one has to pause and think. Otherwise, one will not be blessed by Heaven. To kill somebody who has surrendered or who has merits or who is innocent will incur disaster on oneself. One who battles against an enemy who deserves punishment for going against the Tao will be five times blessed; One who does the contrary will be ten times penalized.

If, when there is invasion from outside, the king does not concentrate on strengthening defense, or his generals only care about the safety of the area under one’s own charge, or they rush to rescue another state but fail to save it, these would lead to disastrous situations for the state.  Attacking an enemy state while not possessing real strength but just making a deceptive show would end in loss of land or even the whole territory.  Diverting manpower to large-scale construction work in farming season is a violation of the Heavenly law and will incur retribution from Heaven.  The following six situations are grave threats from inside to the safety of a state: a prince wielding the power of his father-king; ministers usurping the authority of the sovereign; a state counsel secretly serving the interests of another state; decisions about appointing or dismissing state officials or even the top ruler left in the hands of vassals; ministers collaborating to hoodwink the monarch; or the monarch’s uncles, brothers or cousins forming rivaling factions each serving its own interests against the monarch’s will. If these abnormalities are not corrected, the state will suffer.  There are also three kinds of indiscriminate killing harming the safety and soundness of the state: killing of persons with merits, killing of submissive people from an enemy state, or killing of innocent subjects.

There may also exist three “clogging” situations: If the queen or the king’s favorite concubine and their relatives have too much power, it will obstruct the operation of sovereign power; If court officials have too much power, it will invert the normal rank order of the state power structure; if both happen at the same time, the sovereign would then be isolated and impotent. In such a case, the state will not be able to defend itself against invaders nor succeed if acting on the offensive. -- This is the first kind of “clogging”. Secondly, if the monarch’s in-laws or/and overly powerful ministers issue orders to local officials in the name of the royal court, it will throw local administration into confusion; or if local officials take advantage of the king’s weakened position and impose unreasonable demands on the royal court, they are guilty of rebellion. The rivalry between local forces and the court will bring harm to the state. The third situation is: the king is captivated and manipulated by his favorite concubine as if the sun is obscured by a black cloud. When the king’s authority is obstructed by his in-laws and his ministers at the same time, a change of dynasty is imminent. Also dangerous to the state are the following three vicious inclinations of the ruler: indulging in fighting and killing; persecuting the virtuous; indulging one’s own wishes in disregard of the law.

He who covets all the wealth under heaven will suffer from all the disasters under heaven.  He who covets all the wealth in the state will suffer from all the disasters befalling the state.  If a king first signs an alliance treaty with another state but then goes back on it, this is called fickleness. If he withdraws from fighting a punishable state just because the withdrawal benefits him, this is called disobedience to the judgment by Heaven. If he slaughters his family members in pursuit of power, he is then a perpetrator of social unrest.  If he makes an agreement with a subordinate but does not honor it, he is then a broker of resentment, which may lead to the destruction of the state while giving a declining enemy state the opportunity to regain its power.