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slow and elaborate is not the same as [rough and ready
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A skillful but slow man is no match for a poor and fast man.
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If you are a poor soldier, you have not yet mastered the art of war. - Sun Tzu (Chinese military strategist, 544?-496 BCE)
- The soldiers have heard of poor tactics, but they have not yet mastered the art of war
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You are too slow to hear. I have not heard of it yet.
- Emperor Kammu Shoku-nihon-ki - Wikipedia, which seems to be in volume 40.
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It is used in the sense of âdo it quickly with poor methods rather than trying to do it the perfect way and doing it too slowly.
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Sun Tzu, on the other hand, says, âThere are many examples of successes achieved by doing things poorly and quickly, but I have not heard of many cases of successes achieved by prolonging the process in pursuit of perfection.
- Some have pointed out that this is not a nuance.
- General Association Sun Tzu Juku Column
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After achieving a certain level of victory (this is the meaning of âpoorâ), when faced with the choice between whether or not to continue the war and gain new war results (so to speak, additional benefits), one must strictly refrain from making rash actions driven by immediate profits and emotions, and must be aware that the ultimate goal is to preserve oneâs own nation, and that one should quickly achieve oneâs political objectives (by means of war) by completing the war even though it may be an inadequate victory (this is the meaning of âquickâ). The ultimate goal is the preservation of oneâs own country, and one should quickly achieve oneâs political objectives (by means of war) by seizing the initiative, even if it is an inadequate victory (this is the meaning of speed).
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The root of this is the idea that âwar is like a wildfire, and if you get carried away by victory and behave according to your desires, you will end up burning yourself out. Therefore, it is most important to be patient, stand firm, and restrain the spear at the appropriate point.
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The tactical aspect of this is to say, âDonât eat the bait,â and âDonât follow the feigned northâ (Pt. VII, Military Conflict).
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In other words, the former means, âLetâs just kill them quickly, as the ancients also said that soldiers appreciate speed. It would be wiser to achieve the original political objective quickly, to preserve and strengthen the nationâs strength, and to prepare for the invasion of multiple enemies who occupy the surrounding areas.
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In other words, Sun Tzuâs phrase âmy speedâ can be understood as Lao Tzuâs âknow one has enoughâ or âknow when to stop, and you will never be defeatedâ. Lao Tzuâs thought is applied to military affairs, and the paraphrase is âmy speed. Shingen Takeda, a famous Japanese military commander, said, âIn a battle, if there are ten battles, stop after six or seven minutes and retreat. Do not win too much. A victory of eight minutes is already dangerous, and a victory of nine minutes or enough is the groundwork for a heavy defeat for your side. This is an excellent description of what Sun Tzu meant by âtoo much speed.
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- âMy speed is better than my skillâ - Sun Tzu didnât write such a thing - to those who always say âmy speed is better than my skillâ - Yuji Fujii::dot net To those who always say âpoor speedâ - Yuji Fujii::dot net
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âIf you prolong the war with expeditions, you wonât be able to maintain the logistics, and your countryâs economy will collapse.
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Iâm talking about taking a strategic and planning perspective of logistics and national economy, not tactics, which is rather the opposite of âjust go ahead and do it, even if itâs messy,â which is the opposite.
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The main point is that âprolonged warfare has never benefited the country,â and it would be a bad idea to just cut out the âpoor speed of warfareâŠâ. It doesnât say anything about âskillful and slowâ in the first place.
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