1. Advocate caution. Confucius put forward the view of cautious war for the first time in the history of China. The Analects of Confucius says: "Zi Shen, Zhai, Zhan, Ji". It can be seen that Confucius was cautious about fasting, war and disease in his early days. Although this view of Confucius was simple, it had a considerable impact on the development of the history of ancient military thought in China.
2. Emphasize teaching and then fight. Confucius is an educator who attaches importance to both "culture and education" and "martial arts". He believes that in order for the people to fight for the rulers, we must first let the people receive military education. He said, "To refuse to teach people to fight is to abandon them." He also said: "Good people can teach the people for seven years and make up." In the content of military education, Confucius advocated two of the six arts, namely, archery and bending. From the fighting achievements of Confucius disciples, we can see the positive role of Confucius' military education. For example, in the battle of Qilu in 483 BC, Confucius' disciple was appointed as the general of Ji's family and won the battle with Qi. After the war, Ji Kangzi once asked You Ran, "What did my son learn from the army?" What about sex? You Ran replied, "Learning belongs to Confucius. "This case also shows that Confucius' military thought of teaching before fighting is not only correct in theory, but also effective in practice. In a sense, it promoted the development and deepening of ancient military education in China.
3. Require the generals to be resourceful. Confucius believes that as a military general, one should first have the qualities of "resourcefulness" and being good at thinking. According to the Analects of Confucius, Luz said, "If you work in the three armed forces, who will work with you?" Confucius said, "I don't think so if you die without regrets." "I'm sure I'm afraid of things, and I'm sure I'll succeed as long as I'm good at it." Here, Confucius is in favor of "not afraid in times of crisis" and "success can only be achieved with good intentions", and opposes those brave and foolhardy people who kill tigers empty-handed and waste their lives. At the same time, Confucius believes that being a military general must also have the quality of "courage". In The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo, Confucius proposed that a person should possess six qualities, and "courage" is one of them. However, the courage he advocated was "righteousness". He said that a gentleman puts righteousness first, a gentleman is brave and unscrupulous, and a villain is brave and unscrupulous. In other words, we advocate the connection between righteousness and courage, and standardize courage with righteousness, which is different from simply advocating courage. Confucius also emphasized that military generals must be "full of wisdom". Think that "wise men are not confused."
4. Advocate "sufficient soldiers". Confucius attached great importance to armament, and he listed "adequate food", "adequate soldiers" and "sufficient faith" as three basic measures of national political life. The Analects of Confucius Yan Yuan records: "Zi Gong asked about politics. Confucius said,' Food is sufficient, soldiers are sufficient, and the people are trusted.' Zigong said,' I'm leaving, which one goes first?' Say' go to the army'. Zigong said,' I'm leaving, which one goes first?' Say' go to dinner'. "Death has existed since ancient times, and people cannot stand without faith." "This question and answer shows: First, Confucius believes that if the country can achieve sufficient food and equipment, the people will have confidence in the country. Obviously, Confucius regards "sufficient food" and "sufficient soldiers" as the necessary prerequisites for "popular trust". The second is about the relationship between faith, food and soldiers. Confucius put "the trust of the people" at the top of governing the country, and put "adequate food" and "sufficient soldiers" at the second place. Thirdly, Confucius emphasized that "the people can't stand without faith" and unilaterally believed that as long as the people have confidence in the government, the country will be stable, which is subjective and one-sided. Fourth, although Confucius put forward the idea of "abandoning soldiers" when "it was absolutely necessary", Confucius regarded "sufficient soldiers" as one of the three conditions for the founding of the country, which was still the place where his ideological realm was superior to others at that time.
Although Confucius' military thought is far from systematic, some of his basic viewpoints still have influence in the history of China's ancient military thought.