九地篇 NO.7：

是故不知诸侯之谋者，不能预交；

不知山林、险阻、沮泽之形者，不能行军；

不用乡导，不能得地利。

四五者，一不知，非霸王之兵也。

夫霸王之兵，伐大国，则其众不得聚；威加于敌，则其交不得合。

是故不争天下之交，不养天下之权，信己之私，威加于敌，则其城可拔，其国可隳。

施无法之赏，悬无政之令。

犯三军之众，若使一人。犯之以事，勿告以言；

犯之以利，勿告以害。投之亡地然后存，陷之死地然后生。夫众陷于害，然后能为胜败。

故为兵之事，在顺详敌之意，并敌一向，千里杀将，是谓巧能成事。

这句啥意思：

不了解诸侯列国的战略意图，就不要与之结交；

不熟悉山林、险阻、沼泽等地形情况，就不能行军；不使用向导，就无法得到地利。

这些情况，如有一样不了解，都不能成为称王争霸的军队。

凡是王霸的军队，进攻大国，能使敌国的军民来不及动员集中；兵威加在敌人头上，能够使敌方的盟国无法配合策应。

因此，没有必要去争着同天下诸侯结交，也用不着在各诸侯国里培植自己的势力，

只要施展自己的战略意图，把兵威施加在敌人头上，就可以拔取敌人的城邑，摧毁敌人的国都。

施行超越惯例的奖赏，颁布不拘常规的号令，指挥全军就如同使用一个人一样。

向部下布置作战任务，但不说明其中意图。只告知利益而不指出危害。

将士卒置于危地，才能转危为安；使士卒陷于死地，才能起死回生。

军队深陷绝境，然后才能赢得胜利。

所以，指导战争的关键，在于谨慎地观察敌人的战略意图，集中兵力攻击敌人一部，千里奔袭，斩杀敌将，这就是所谓巧妙用兵，实现克敌制胜的目的。

英文这么说：

We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we are acquainted with their designs.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--

its mountains and forests,its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides.

To be ignored of any one of the following four or five principles does not befit a warlike prince.

When a warlike prince attacks a powerful state,his generalship shows itself in preventing the concentration of the enemy's forces.

He overawes his opponents,and their allies are prevented from joining against him.

Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, nor does he foster the power of other states.

He carries out his own secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe.

Thus he is able to capture their cities and overthrow their kingdoms.

Bestow rewards without regard to rule,issue orders without regard to previous arrangements;

and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.

Confront your soldiers with the deed itself;never let them know your design.

When the outlook is bright,bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.

Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive;plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.

For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm's way that is capable of striking a blow for victory.

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

By persistently hanging on the enemy's flank, we shall succeed in the long run in killing the commander-in-chief.

This is called ability to accomplish a thing by sheer cunning.

单句理解：

孙子在这里所说的“夫霸王之兵，伐大国”，其实也就是说用兵作战要给敌军造成一种“势”。如果以霸王之兵进攻敌国，就能造成迅雷不及掩耳之势，做到先发制人，从而有效地把握战争的主动权。这样一旦出兵，便可使敌国措手不及，兵不得聚，人心散乱，军无斗志，也使盟国不敢策应驰援。