The Ways Of The

Generals
treatise
Zhuge Liangs

The reason the weaker was able to prevail over the stronger is not simply a matter of celestial timing, but also of human planning. Cao Cao now has a million followers; he controls the emperor and gives orders to the lords - he cannot really be opposed. Zhuge Liang

Another warlord named Sun Quan, in control of the area east of the river, is already the third generation hegemon there. The territory is rugged and the people are loyal to him; the intelligent and capable serve in his employ. He would be a suitable ally, but he cannot be counted on - Zhuge Liang

To the southwest are precipitous natural barriers beyond which lie vast fertile plains. It is where the Han dynasty really began. General Liu Bei, you are a descendant of the imperial family, and are known everywhere for integrity and justice. You gather heroic men and eagerly seek the wise. If you occupy this whole region, guard the crags and defiles, establish good relations with the foreign tribes to the west and south, make friends with the warlord east of the river. If you can really do this, hegemony can be established, and the house of Han can be revived. - Zhuge Liang

Liu Bei

Liu Bei agreed, and it turned out to be Three Kingdoms, which were Shu, Wei, and Wu as planned. Zhuge Liang became one of his top strategists since then.

The Way of the General (by Zhuge Liang) is the Political Treatise by the most Brilliant Strategist in the Three Kingdoms. We will Look into the application of Zhuge Liang's leadership and management strategies during the era of the Three Kingdoms.

Zhuge Liang

# 1 : Knowing People
Nothing is harder to see into peoples natures. Though good and bad are different, their conditions and appearances are not always uniform.

Hard though it is, to know people, there are ways.

1. First is to question them concerning right and wrong, to observe their ideas. 2. Second is to exhaust all their arguments, to see how they change. 3. Third is to consult with them about strategy, to see how perceptive they are. 4. Fourth is to announce that there is trouble, to see how brave they are. 5. Fifth is to present them with the prospect of gain, to see how modest they are. 6. Sixth is to give them a task to do within a specific time, to see how trustworthy they are.

Let us return to view Dong Zhuos meteoric rise to power. His success in recruiting Lu Bu was the pillar of his success in seizing control over the remnants of the Han Empire. During his latter days, his hubris clouded his understanding Lu Bus psychology, ultimately contributing to his untimely death.

# 2 : Capacities of Commanders
The capacities of commanders are not the same; some are greater, some are lesser.

Cao Cao

I would rather betray the world than have the world betray me!

One whose humanitarian care extends to all under his command, whose trustworthiness and justice win the allegiance of neighboring nations, who understands the signs of the sky above, the patterns of the earth below, and the affairs of humanity in between, and who regards all people as his family, is a world-class leader, one who cannot be opposed.

Cao Cao was as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his officers like his family.

# 3 : Rewards and Penalties

A policy of rewards and penalties means rewarding the good and penalizing wrongdoers. Rewarding the good is to promote achievement; penalizing wrongdoers is to prevent treachery.

Guan Yu

Rewards should not be given without reason, and penalties should not be applied arbitrary. If rewards are given for no reason, those who have worked hard in public service will be resentful; if penalties are applied arbitrary, upright people will be bitter.

Lu Bu should have governed in an upright and fair manner. By dispensing penalties in such an arbitrary manner, he lost the confidence and support of upright people. By formenting such bitterness in the hearts of his officers and supporters, he merely hastened his defeat at the hands of Cao Cao.

Lu Bu

# 4 : What Hurts the People?

There are five things that hurt the people

1. There are local officials who corrupting their offices, and bleeding the people. 2. There are cases where serious offenses are given light penalties; there is inequality before the law, and the innocents are subjected to punishment, even execution.

3. Sometimes there are officials who cut off the avenue of appeal and hiding the truth, plundering and ruining lives, unjust and arbitrary.
4. Sometimes there are senior officials who repeatedly change department heads so as to monopolize the government administration, favoring their friends and relatives while treating those they dislike with unjust harshness. 5. Sometimes local officials extensively tailor awards and fines, welfare projects, and general expenditures, arbitrarily determining prices and measures, with the result that people lose their jobs.

# 5 : The Authority of the Military Leadership

Military authority, directing the armed forces, is the matter of the authoritative power of the leading general.

Pang Tong Liu Bei s Consultant

If the general can hold the authority of the military and operate its power, he oversees his subordinates like a fierce tiger with wings, flying over the four seas, going into action whenever there is an encounter.

If the general loses his authority and cannot control the power, he is like a dragon cast into a lake, he may seek the freedom of the high sea, but how can he get there?

Yuan Shao was the overall leader of the Coalition. Yet, he failed in the simplest of task, by appointing his incompetent brother, Yuan Shu as Chief of the Commissariat. His failure in choosing the right person for the job was the decisive factor in the Coalition's defeat at the River Si Pass. A golden opportunity to defeat Dong Zhuo and restore the Han Empire was forever lost, merely due to petty squabbles and internal rivalry.

# 6 : Cultivating Oneself
The practice of a cultivated man is to refine himself by quietude and develop virtue by frugality.

Zhang Fei

Without detachment, there is no way to clarify the will; without serenity, there is no way to get far.
Study requires calm, talent requires study. Without study there is no way to expand talent; without calm there is no way to accomplish study.

If you are lazy, you cannot do thorough research; if you are impulsive, you cannot govern your nature.

Cao Caos disastrous defeat at the Battle of Red Cliff was a huge setback for the Wei Kingdom. The burden to reunite the Han Empire would lie with Cao Caos successor as such a monumental task would take decades to achieve.

# 7 : Psychological Configurations
Some generals are brave and think lightly of death Some are hasty and impulsive Some are greedy and materialistic Some are humane but lack endurance Some are intelligent but timid Some are intelligent but easygoing at heart

Huang Zhong

Those who are brave and think lightly of death are vulnerable to assault

Zhou Yun

Those who are hasty and impulsive are vulnerable to delay

Those who are greedy and materialistic are vulnerable to loss

Those who are humane but lack endurance are vulnerable to fatigue

Those who are intelligent but timid are vulnerable to pressure

Those who are intelligent but easygoing are vulnerable to sudden attack

 Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy A Hundred Battles, A Hundred Victories

(In the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu)

Ma Chao

# 8 : Decadence in Generals
There are eight kinds of decadence in generalship: 1. First is to be insatiably greedy. 2. Second is to be jealous and envious of the wise and able. 3. Third is to believe slanders and make friends with the treacherous. 4. Fourth is to assess others without assessing oneself. 5. Fifth is to be hesitant and indecisive. 6. Sixth is to be heavily addicted to wine and sex. 7. Seventh is to be a malicious liar with a cowardly heart. 8. Eighth is to talk wildly, without courtesy.

Sun Quan

According to legend, Zhang Fei together swore an oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei and Guan Yu, known as the Oath of the Peach Garden. Yet, he too, had his faults. All too often, he was warned by Liu Bei that his habit of over-punishing his own soldiers by lashing and sometimes killing them, would bring about his own disaster.

# 9 : Instruction and Direction

A policy of instruction and direction means those above educate those below, not saying anything that is unlawful and not doing anything that is immoral, for what is done by those above is observed by those below.

Sima Yi

Therefore true leaders first rectify themselves and only after that do they promulgate their directives. If they are not upright themselves, their directives will not be followed, resulting in disorder.

Zhou Yu

Therefore the Way of leadership puts education and direction before punishment. To send people to war without education is tantamount to throwing them away.

The Imperial Prime Minister of Han, Cao Cao was one of the greatest men of his time. He managed to wrest control over all of Northern China against all odds. It was not by accident, that he commanded the respect and obedience of his army and the populace in general. The following incident illustrates his qualities as a leader.

It is only through actions alone that a leader can seek to inspire his followers. Leaders of low morals often practice the proverb Do as I say, not as I do! If they do not walk the talk, why then should they be surprised if their followers rebel against their leadership?

# 10 : On Cultivation
In order to succeed in life, perseverance is necessary.

True education comes from real life. You must learn to apply your knowledge to life and design different solutions for different situations! Take great caution in everything you do. You must see everything in its true form. This is my farewell advice to you! I will be leaving you today.

Zhuge Liang never forgot his Masters advice, especially his parting advice. He made a feather fan out of the divine cranes tail feathers to remind himself to take great caution for the rest of his life.

Thank You Very Much Sompong Yusoontorn