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Part I: On Virtue

Section I: Prologue

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Chapter 75: Fortresses

Verse 749
A fortress sits at the top of the hill. Outside its walls the attacking army has been discouraged and defeated by the siege. Inside the fort all are well, for it is rich with fields, fruit groves and water wells—all needed to sustain life during a long siege.

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Weaver's Wisdom

Verse 741

A fortress is a strategic asset both to aggressors
and to those in fear who seek defense.

Verse 742

An effective fort has crystal-clear water, arable lands,
a hill and lovely shaded woods.

Verse 743

The expert texts ordain four features for a fort's barricades:
that they be high, thick, solid and impregnable.

Verse 744

The ideal fortress is spacious, vulnerable in very few places
and, of itself, defies a determined foe's designs to storm it.

Verse 745

A good garrison is hard to assail, amply provisioned
and accommodates inmates well.

Verse 746

The most formidable fortress, stocked with all needed goods,
still needs men of good stock to fend off attack.

Verse 747

Whether by hurling artillery, tunneling beneath or encircling
to lay siege, it is impossible to capture a strong fort.

Verse 748

However forcefully assailants may press,
a secure fortress promises allies defense and foes defeat.

Verse 749

A fortress earns greatness by enabling courageous defenders
to gloriously defeat the enemy at the battle's very onset.

Verse 750

Whatever excellent qualities a fortress may possess,
it will be of no avail without men of excellent action.