Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.
The next paragraph makes it clear that 致 does not merely mean, as Tu Mu says, 令敵來就我 “to make the enemy approach me,” but rather to make him go in any direction I please. It is thus practically synonymous with 制. Cf. Tu Mu’s own note on [V. § 19]. One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all.[[170]]
3. 能使敵人自至者利之也能使敵人不得至者害之也
By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.
In the first case, he will entice him with a bait; in the second, he will strike at some important point which the enemy will have to defend.
4. 故敵佚能勞之飽能飢之安能動之
If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him;
This passage may be cited as evidence against Mei Yao-Ch‘ên’s interpretation of [I. § 23].
if well supplied with food, he can starve him out;
飢 is probably an older form than 饑, the reading of the original text. Both are given in the 說文.