In ancient times, the wise sages taught that human misfortune could be overcome through thoughtful policy and decisive action. The key to success lies in good counsel, the attainment of its fruits, and the proper execution of tasks. For a king, the management of revenue and expenditure, the administration of justice, and the restraining of enemies and rivals are remedies for misfortune, safeguarding both the kingdom and its ruler. Even when calamities arise, the duties of a minister remain steadfast: he must possess gold, grain, garments, vehicles, and offspring, for these resources are vital. Yet, calamities can destroy other accumulations of wealth, and the protection of subjects in distress depends upon the treasury and the judicious use of punishment. During times of hardship, the citizens and others lend their aid by providing shelter. Silent warfare, the protection of the people, and the discernment of friends and enemies are all necessary. If a frontier chief commits an offense, he is doomed by that calamity; therefore, maintaining loyal servants, bestowing gifts, and discerning true friends among the people are essential. The distinctions of righteousness, desire, and similar qualities, as well as the fortification of strongholds, are all jeopardized by the loss of the treasury, for the king’s power is rooted in his wealth. The means to deal with friends and enemies, the accumulation of wealth, the destruction of foes, and the ability to accomplish distant tasks swiftly are all lost through the calamity of improper punishment. Proper punishment strengthens friends and destroys enemies, but the benefit of wealth and other resources can be lost through the calamity of misguided friendships. When a king is afflicted by calamity, royal undertakings are destroyed, and harshness in speech and punishment, along with the corruption of wealth, can follow. The king is warned against great vices: drinking, women, hunting, and gambling, as well as laziness, stubbornness, arrogance, recklessness, and fostering division. These, too, are the vices of ministers, while drought and oppression are recognized as calamities of the kingdom. A stronghold faces calamity when its machinery, walls, and moats are broken, when it lacks weapons, and its army is depleted. The treasury suffers calamity when it is spent, besieged, unconquered, not accumulated, plundered, or held by enemies. The army is in peril when it is blockaded, surrounded, not honored by allies, insulted, non-existent, diseased, exhausted, arriving from afar, or newly arrived. Further calamity occurs when the army is diminished, repulsed, its vanguard struck, overwhelmed by despair, filled with hopelessness, or falsely reported. When it is scattered by women and children, engaged in internal quarrels, divided by disputes, or has lost its foundation, calamity deepens. If it lacks a master, is disunited, has broken ranks, is difficult to control, or is seized for another’s purpose, this is called a calamity of the army. A friend afflicted by fate, seized by the power of the enemy, overcome by desire or anger, or discouraged by adversaries, is also a source of calamity. The corruption of wealth through anger, harshness in words or punishment, hunting and gambling born of desire, drinking, and women—these are vices to be avoided. Harsh speech in the world brings distress and serves no purpose. Punishment that is not properly applied, or lacks due process, can bring down the king. A king who is harsh in punishment disturbs all beings, and when beings are disturbed, they seek refuge with the king’s enemies. When enemies grow strong, destruction follows; thus, abandoning the corrupt for the sake of the great is proper. The wise, knowing the principles of policy, recognize the corruption of wealth as a vice. From drinking comes loss of judgment; from hunting, deviation from duty. Though hunting may relieve fatigue, gambling leads to the loss of righteousness, wealth, life, and to quarrels. Addiction to women brings delay and harm to righteousness and wealth; from drinking comes loss of life and confusion about right and wrong. One skilled in arranging camps and interpreting omens should defeat the enemy, and the king’s residence, along with the treasury, should be placed at the center of the camp. The main force—guildsmen, friends, enemies, and forest-dwellers—should be stationed in order, surrounding the royal palace. A section of the army, fully armed and led by the commander, should patrol the crossroads at night in formation, moving around the perimeter. The king must learn from his own intelligence reports, especially from those who move along the borders. Everyone who goes out and comes in must be carefully observed. To accomplish objectives, seven strategies should be employed: conciliation, gifts, division, punishment, neglect, illusion, and deceptive means. Conciliation is said to be fourfold: recounting past favors, speaking of mutual relationships, and gentle speech at the outset. When someone arrives, he should be received with words and offerings such as, “I am yours.” The giving up of acquired wealth is of three kinds: superior, inferior, and middling. At that time, reciprocation is to be shown—approval of what is received, giving new gifts, and personally initiating the act of taking. Giving, release from obligation, and donation are fivefold: removing affection and attachment, and producing delight as well. Division, according to those skilled in it, is threefold: causing separation, taking away wealth, and inflicting distress—these are the three forms of punishment. Actions may be open or secret. Those hated by the people should be dealt with openly; the people should be made to fear by executions, and in those cases, a reward is praised. Especially, enemies should be killed by secret means or with weapons, but a twice-born should not be killed merely for his birth—he should be subdued through conciliation. One should employ conciliatory words that soothe the mind, as if anointing, as if drinking nectar, as if swallowing—always using pleasing speech. Among those who are falsely accused, desire prosperity, are summoned but not honored, hate the king, act unlawfully, or are self-important, the wise king must discern and act with care. Thus, the teachings of policy, calamity, vice, and strategy are revealed, guiding the king and his ministers in the art of governance and the protection of the realm.