War Kings - Sun Tzu Art of War Chp 1 - The Assessments 始计篇 (2/4)

(The Assessments) pivots upon the discussion of pre-battle preparations, details and strategies that the General needs to be attentive to. It is because of this that this is classified as the first of the thirteen chapters.

As discussed by Sun Tzu, there are 5 elements to be cautious before war. 1. The way (道), 2. Weather (天), 3. Terrain (地), General (将), Discipline (法).

道者， 令民与上同意，可与之死，可与之生，而不危也

道 - (The way) is bringing the thinking of civilians in line with the superiors, so that they will know what they are fighting for and thereby, render their full support.