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and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots over the

camp-fires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you

may know that they are determined to fight to the death.

[I may quote here the illustrative passage from the Hou Han Shu,

ch. 71, given in abbreviated form by the P'ei Wen Yun Fu: "The

rebel Wang Kuo of Liang was besieging the town of Ch'en- ts'ang,

and Huang-fu Sung, who was in supreme command, and Tung Cho were

sent out against him. The latter pressed for hasty measures, but

Sung turned a deaf ear to his counsel. At last the rebels were

utterly worn out, and began to throw down their weapons of their

own accord. Sung was not advancing to the attack, but Cho said:

'It is a principle of war not to pursue desperate men and not to

press a retreating host.' Sung answered: 'That does not apply

here. What I am about to attack is a jaded army, not a retreating

host; with disciplined troops I am falling on a disorganized

multitude, not a band of desperate men.' Thereupon he advances to

the attack unsupported by his colleague, and routed the enemy,

Wang Kuo being slain."]