“Use of Spies” is the title of the last chapter of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. It points out the importance and the ways of using spies in a battle. The purpose of their use is to be aware of one’s enemy. This develops Sun Tzu’s idea: “Knowing the enemy and oneself, one will be invincible.” Let us see how Sun Tzu explored this topic.
In the chapter on spies, Sun Tzu wrote: “The reason the enlightened sovereign and the wise general often win the battle when they move, and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men, is foreknowledge. This foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits or gods, nor by analogy with experience, nor by astrologic calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemy’s situation.
“In olden times, the rise of the Shang Dynasty was due to Yi Zhi, who had served under the Xia. The rise of the Zhou Dynasty was due to Lu Ya, who had served under the Yin. Therefore, only the enlightened sovereign and wise general who can use the most intelligent people as spies can achieve great results.
“Now there are five sorts of spies: native spies, internal spies, double spies, doomed spies, and surviving spies. When all these five types of spies are at work and their operations are clandestine, it is called the divine manipulation of threads and is the treasure of a sovereign.
“The sovereign must understand the activities of all five types of spies. He depends mainly on double spies for knowledge of the enemy situation, and therefore it is mandatory that they be treated with the utmost liberality. Hence, of all those in the army close to the commander, none is more intimate than the spies; of all rewards, none more liberal than those given to spies; of all matters, none is more confidential than those relating to spy operations.”
The most valuable aspect about Sun Tzu’s Art of War is that he worked out his strategies and tactics from actual war conditions and on the basis of full knowledge of the enemies. His idea of obtaining intelligence or attaching importance to men who know the enemies’ situation is material. He used various means to collect information on an extensive scale. He was resolutely against the belief in spirits or gods, analogy with past events, and astrologic calculations applied to war strategies.
Sun Tzu wrote: “Native spies are those from the enemy’s country people whom we employ. Internal spies are enemy officials whom we employ. Double spies are enemy spies whom we employ. Doomed spies are those of our own spies who are deliberately given false information and told to report it to the enemy. Surviving spies are those who return from the enemy camp to report information.” Indeed, when these five types of spies are all at work, there is no respite for the enemy.
As for the scope of collecting information, Sun Tzu pointed out: “In the case of armies you wish to strike, cities you wish to attack, and people you wish to assassinate, it is necessary to find out the names of the garrison officers, the aides-de-camp, the ushers, gatekeepers, and the bodyguards. Our spies must be instructed to ascertain these matters.” It goes without saying that the size of an enemy’s areas and the population and the storage of his materials are all within the scope of espionage.
Those who have studied the history of Chinese and foreign wars are aware that the use of spies has been an important means of fighting a war. No doubt, the ways of espionage have developed from primitive to complicated. Despite the highly technical age that we live in, which enables us to use all modern devices including satellites, the use of spies still remains worthwhile for intelligence gathering between countries. The basic form of spying does not differ that much from what Sun Tzu summed up more than two thousand years ago. The following are examples of using native spies in ancient as well as modern times.
During the war between the kingdoms of Chu and Han, an important official of the Chu army named Fan Zhen was well known for his resourcefulness and respected by Xiang Yu, the sovereign of Chu. Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, both counsellors in the court of Han, feared Fan Zhen because of his ability to see through schemes.
Chen Ping knew that Xiang Yu was very suspicious, so he thought of an excellent plan to use in their war. He sent a messenger with gifts and a fabricated letter to Fan Zhen to impersonate Fan Shi, Fan Zhen’s nephew. In the letter, Fan Shi wrote that he was now an adviser under Liu Bong, the sovereign of Han. He said Liu Bong was an open-minded and magnanimous ruler, so he was extremely happy serving him. The messenger specifically went to the Chu camp at a time when Fan Zhen was not there. He gave the letter and gifts to the sentry who thought it important to forward directly to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu became suspicious after reading the letter. When Fan Zhen came back, Xiang asked him whether he had a nephew named Fan Shi. Fan Zhen confirmed this but added that Fan Shi had died in his boyhood. Xiang Yu was then all the more suspicious that Fan Zhen had colluded with Liu Bong.
The next year, the representatives of Liu Bong and Xiang Yu started peace talks. When Xiang Yu’s representative arrived in Han, Chen Ping pretended that he was expecting a representative from Fan Zhen rather than Xiang Yu. He had cancelled the rich feast which was supposed to have been given in honor of Fan Zhen’s man. Instead, Chen Ping served Xiang Yu’s representative with an ordinary dinner. When Xiang Yu heard about what happened in Han, his suspicions about Fan Zhen increased. Then he never listened to Fan’s advice again. The relationship between them became strained day by day. Fan Zhen was forced to resign, and he died on his way back to his hometown. Until his last day he was unaware as to the reason for Xiang Yu’s change of attitude towards him. After that, Xiang Yu made all decisions on his own and courted defeat in the end. Chen Ping’s scheme of driving a wedge between Xiang Yu and Fan Zhen succeeded.
During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu of the kingdom of Wu used the same kind of scheme which prompted Cao Cao to kill Cai Mao and Chang Yong, both of whom were his own admirals. As a result of this, Cao Cao was defeated in the Battle of Chibi.
On the eve of World War II, Hitler’s intelligence officers fabricated information framing a case against General Tuhachevski, who was then a senior officer in the Soviet Red Army’s Supreme Command. The information falsely accused him of working with Germany in an attempt to overthrow Stalin’s leadership by force. A Soviet spy in Germany bought the information for a hundred thousand roubles. The Soviet Supreme Command was taken in, and not only was Tuhachevski shot, but a number of other Soviet generals were also implicated. This was one of the factors which accounted for the failure of the Soviet army in the beginning of the war against Nazi Germany.
Native and double spies are the most important types of spies to use against an enemy. Properly used, they can jeopardize the enemy’s unity and disintegrate his forces. An enemy can also be disarmed by its own hand being caused to engage in internal strife.
Use of spies must be kept highly confidential. They must be extremely alert and resourceful; otherwise they are apt to be cheated, especially by double spies.
Spies must be liberally rewarded and their work highly appreciated. Spies must be boldly used. Their scope of activity and occupation must not be restricted. The only thing demanded of a spy is to fulfill the task for which he is entrusted.