fandomhigh | The Art of War, Week #2 [Period 3, Monday]

"Good morning, students," Ghanima said as the class started. "Welcome back, I'm glad to see I did not frighten any of you off. Today we are starting with the first chapter, 'Laying Plans.'"

"War." Ghanima surveyed them sharply, making sure she had everyone's full attention. "The term calls to mind battlefields and generals. The most successful battles, however, are not fought with soldiers, but behind closed doors with words. They are the battles you never hear about, because there is no glory to them."

"There is the war of the sexes, the war between companies and corporations, economic wars, ideological wars, political wars, and wars between the social classes, all of which tend to start on a more basic level, and escalate to the stereotype. Whether you are wooing a romantic partner or a business rival, or meeting an enemy with your weapon drawn, the same principals hold true."

"The Art of War." Picking up a well-loved red book from her desk, Ghanima flipped it open to her marked page and began reading. "The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining int he field. These are: One - The Moral Law. Two - Heaven. Three - Earth. Four - The Commander. Five - Method and Discipline." She snapped the book shut and placed it beside her.

"The Moral Law," she announced, hopping off her desk, "causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger."

"Heaven and Earth are metaphors for the conditions you face, which is slightly more applicable to physical confrontations. However, if you view each type of terrain as a mental condition, you will have a large advantage over your opponent," Ghanima said briskly as she walked through the rows, hands gesturing as she spoke. "Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons, whereas Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death."

"The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness."

"By method and discipline, it is to be understood that it means the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure."

"These five heads should be familiar to every general," she recited, eyes glowing bright for a moment. "He who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail."

"Now, when you take these five factors, you must decide how to apply them. Luckily for us, Sun Tzu provided seven ways you can weigh them before making your decision."

"First, which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? Who has the army and the populace behind them? Because without the support of your people, you cannot win." Ghanima turned to face all of them as she leaned against a wall. "I cannot stress that point enough. Even if it is simply your friends, or the other members of your company, you will win nothing without the support of your 'troops', if you will."

"The others are more basic; which of the two generals has most ability? With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? Which army is stronger? On which side are officers and men more highly trained? In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

"Now, I'd like you to pair up, and discuss which of the five constant factors you feel to be the most important, and why."

[OOC: For those of you reading along at home, here's a condensed version of Art of War. *cuddles her copy* ~~Please wait for the~~ OCD ~~to go~~ up, ~~before you~~ run wild!]

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"So the army doesn't have any cracks in it?" Lee guessed. "No mutiny? Just a solid fighting force?"

"Exactly that," she said, nodding. "Because, really, everything else can be figured out with as you go--it's better not to, with the Heaven and Earth ones, obviously--but if you've got an army that's divided you're just going to fail anyway."

"Wouldn't a solid commander be able to keep the army together?" Lee asked. "Have a good leader leads to a solid army?"

"A good leader is only one person," she pointed out. "And that one person is as killable as any of them. You don't want to be put into a situation where your army is thrashing around aimlessly because they've lost the glue that held them together."

Lee couldn't really argue with that. "But, a good leader would be beneficial in holding an army together."

"I totally agree," Ino said. "But that's just the thing, you know? A good leader shouldn't be the only thing holding your army together."

"No, you're right," he said and shook his head. "My father might disagree but I think you're right. One man's just one man. Even the best leader can't stop a pissed off bunch of guys with guns."

She grinned. "Which one do you think your father would think is the most important then? The Commander one?"

"He'd say each one is important in their own way," Lee said, doing his very best to impersonate his father's deep, scratchy voice. "And then I'd get a lecture on why."

"Sounds like fun," she said dryly.

"Oh yeah," he said and dropped the voice. "But, no, I agree with you. Keep the whole in one piece and the rest will fall into place and can be dealt with as it comes along."

She nodded. "Planning, and like, knowing the terrain and everything is totally important, but none of it really works 'less you've got a solid army to do anything with."

"And I don't think I'd wanna be going through mountains or dangerous terrain without knowing that the people watching my back aren't planning on throwing me off a ledge too," Lee added.

Ino cringed. "Yeah, no. Or who'd want to sleep surrounded by people who might stab you in the back?"

"Wouldn't be getting much sleep," he said. "I bet paranoia doesn't make for a good overall feeling for an army either."

"I doubt it," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I mean, really, if you can't trust your own people then everyone is going to be exhausted from keeping an eye on everyone else."

"An army full of pissed off men," Lee mused. "That's so my idea of a good time!"

She grinned. "It is 'long as you can get 'em pissed off at the enemy and not at you."

"Good point," he said, nodding. "They can be pissed off. Just not at me or at anyone near me or anything like that."

"Exactly! As long as their anger can be directed usefully then it's awesome if they're angry."

"It's pretty to have a discussion when there's no arguing involved," Lee mused.

"We're both just that clever," Ino said confidently. "And agreed quickly. Logic does win sometimes after all."

"And not everything has to be a battle," Lee said happily. "Easiest day of actual work I've had in awhile."

"Glad to help," she said easily. "I'd complain 'bout an easy class but right now? Totally a good thing."

The Art of War, Week #2 [Period 3, Monday]

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