The highest art of war consists in subduing the enemy without fighting. Therefore, one who knows how to wage war subdues another's army without engaging in battle; takes another's cities without besieging them; crushes another's state without engaging in protracted wars.
Victory must be achieved while preserving the integrity of the army and the state. Therefore, fighting a hundred times and winning a hundred times is not the best of the best; the best is to subdue the enemy without fighting.