Let me start with the seven military thoughts that China inherited from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
1. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: It is better not to fight than to win every battle.
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After every big war, there are bodies everywhere, which will cause great disaster to the country. Therefore, avoiding war and keeping peace as much as possible is the highest strategy of China's military strategists.
This inherits the idea of "the ominous weapon of the soldier must be acted upon as a last resort" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching. Peaceful settlement is the best policy when you are in trouble, and war is used only when necessary.
Second, Laozi's Tao Te Ching said: "Those who help others with Tao will not strengthen the world with soldiers." A general who assists the monarch with Tao does not deter other countries with strength. Because the use of force to deter other countries will inevitably lead to contradictions, and the intensification of contradictions to a certain extent will lead to war. Only by not seeking superiority and not competing with other countries can peace be maintained. This shows Lao Tzu's unquestionable thought.
This idea was inherited by military strategists of past dynasties. For example, Fan Li said, "Brave people violate morality". "Wei Liaozi" says: "Those who contend are also anti-moral". In other words, courage and struggle are against the spirit of benevolence. Huang Lao's silk books and hundreds of battles also inherited this idea.
Thirdly, Lao Tzu's saying that "the people should be guided by Tao, and the world should not be strengthened by soldiers" and "the weapon of soldiers is a last resort" embodies Lao Tzu's military strategy, that is, to maintain peace as much as possible and solve problems by war when necessary.
Fan Li, a strategist in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, helped the State of Yue attack and destroy the State of Wu with the strategy of "being attacked between Scylla and Charybdis".
After the founding of New China, China's military strategy has always been the principle of "active defense, self-defense counterattack, and taking the initiative after the attack". This is also inherited the traditional military strategy of Lao Zi and others in China.
Tao Te Ching
Fourthly, Lao Zi's idea of "using Machamp" has been widely adopted by military strategists.
To use force unexpectedly is to make a surprise attack unexpectedly. Sun Tzu's Art of War says that "the odd coexists with the positive, and the odd wins". The art of war in Wei Liaozi discusses twenty-six methods of using the raiders, and the military books such as Thirty-six Strategies, Seventy-two Strategies and Hundred Years of Raiders are full of tactics of using the raiders.
Fifth, Laozi's "defeating the strong with weakness" and "restraining the strong with softness" were inherited by many military strategists in later generations.
"A Brief Training of Soldiers in Huainanzi" says: "Use the tactics of soldiers to show their softness and meet their strength", Tamia Liu says: "Attack the strong with the weak and get the sum of the great powers", and Huang Shigong's "Three Strategies" says: "If you can be soft and strong, the country will be brilliant".
Sixth, the military strategist inherited the idea that "the disaster is greater than underestimating the enemy" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching.
"The Art of War" said: "Those who underestimate the enemy without worrying about it will be captured." Ignoring the enemy is the most likely to lead to failure.
Laozi
Seventh, Sun Tzu's Art of War inherited Lao Tzu's thought that "a good fighter will not be angry" and put forward: "If the Lord is not angry, he will start a teacher, and if he is angry, he will not fight." Neither the coach nor the general should be angry, because impulsive decisions often lead to failure.
Laozi's Tao Te Ching, as a philosophical classic, has a guiding role in all walks of life. Wang Zhen, a famous military strategist in the Tang Dynasty, said that every sentence in the Tao Te Ching can be used in the military. Some scholars believe that Tao Te Ching is a military book, and Laozi is the ancestor of China military strategists.