are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or no he is in a position to fight, the result is _ruin_. Ts‘ao Kung makes 大將, understood, the subject of 怒, which seems rather far-fetched. Wang Hsi’s note is: 謂將怒不以理且不知裨佐之才激致 其兇懟如山之崩壞也 “This means, the general is angry without just cause, and at the same time does not appreciate the ability of his subordinate officers; thus he arouses fierce resentment and brings an avalanche of ruin upon his head.” He takes 能, therefore, in the sense of 才; but I think that Ch‘ên Hao is right in his paraphrase 不顧能否 “they don’t care if it be possible or no.” My interpretation of the whole passage is that of Mei Yao-ch‘ên and Chang Yü. Tu Mu gives a long extract from the _Tso Chuan_, 宣公, XII. 3, showing how the great battle of 邲 Pi [597 B.C.] was lost for the 晉 Chin State through the contumacy of 先縠 Hsien Hu and the resentful spite of 魏錡 Wei I and 趙旃 Chao Chan. Chang Yü also alludes to the mutinous conduct of 欒黶 Luan Yen [_ibid._ 襄公, XIV. 3]. 18. 將弱不嚴教道不明吏卒無常陳兵縱橫曰亂 When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; Wei Liao Tzŭ (ch. 4) says: 上無疑令，則衆不二聽，動無疑事，則衆不二志 “If the commander gives his orders with decision, the soldiers will not wait to hear them twice; if his moves are made without vacillation, the soldiers will not be in two minds about doing their duty.” General Baden-Powell says, italicising the words: “The secret of getting successful work out of your trained men lies in one nutshell—in the clearness of the instructions they receive.”[177] Assuming that clear instructions beget confidence, this is very much what Wei Liao Tzŭ (_loc. cit._) goes on to say: 未有不信其心而能得其 力者也. Cf. also Wu Tzŭ ch. 3: 用兵之害猶豫最大三軍之災生於狐疑 “the most fatal defect in a military leader is diffidence; the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.” when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, 吏卒皆不拘常度 “Neither officers nor men have any regular routine” [Tu Mu]. and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter _disorganisation_. 19. 將不能料敵以少合衆以弱擊强兵無選鋒曰北 When a general, unable to estimate the enemy’s strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be a _rout_.