Zhuge Liang

"Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled in winning do not become afraid. ... the wise win before they fight..." Zhuge Liang (Anno Domini 181 - 234)

"...What Machiavelli is to statecraft, the third century Chinese general and strategist Zhuge Liang is to his country's military history. Known as the 'Crouching Dragon' ... he epitomized prized traditional virtues and skills...

...he is seen as a byword for intellect, ... who was also a statesman, a scholar, and ... an astrologer...

...he is credited with having advanced military technology through his inventions, including weaponry, mines and transport equipment. Works attributed to him outline infantry and cavalry tactics based on Taoist principles...

...In one famous example he responded to his army's inadequate supply of arrows by floating ships filled with straw close to the enemy, waiting until the enemy archers unleashed volleys of arrows into them, then getting his men to drag back into position in order to replenish his stocks...

...After capturing the rebel leader, Meng Huo, in the southern expedition, Zhuge took him on a tour of his camp before releasing him. When the rebels attacked, Zhuge ordered his men to withdraw. Meng thought he knew the camp so his army rushed in - only to fall into huge pits dug to trap them...

In another attack in the wars in Yunnan, the enemy used elephants and tigers to attack the Sichuan forces, but Zhuge set up fire-breathing machines which scared them away...

For the final battle in the south, Meng allied with a king whose soldiers wore rattan armour that could withstand arrows and swords. Zhuge sent a force to lure them into a valley where mines were detonated beneath them, setting fire to their uniforms...

Zhuge was the first commander to use... wheelbarrows to transport supplies over mountains...

Zhuge exploited the steep mountain countryside of Sichuan with its deep defiles to lure enemy forces into ambushes which became so celebrated that opposing generals altered their tactics even when they were not being set...

On the first expedition to the north,... Zhuge found himself isolated without any troops in a town which was being threatened by the enemy. He ordered all the gates to be opened, and told the citizens to sweep the streets as though nothing was amiss. He, himself, sat on the wall... playing his zither. The enemy general had been caught in Zhuge's traps before and suspected that he was being lured into an ambush. So he marched his army away."

Jonathan Fenby (2008), part of "...Great Commanders of the Ancient and Mediæval World: 1500 BC - AD 1600", pages 188 and 194.