In the midst of war, there comes a moment of false peace. It is the instant when the enemy seems to be fleeing the scene or appears terribly wounded and unable to move. The attacker pauses, holding on for a few moments. He rejoices in his power, gets distracted, and drifts into a world far removed from the battlefield. He feels he has already won. All he thinks about is the aftermath of war: being crowned, celebrated, treated to victory.
Suddenly, a surprise attack erupts - one nobody anticipated. The peace was false, fake, nonexistent. The attacker, now in shock, cannot pick his moves quickly enough to annihilate the enemy. Every counterstrike feels deadly. Finding no way out, he must surrender - to fate, perhaps. Can we blame fate here, or should we applaud the cunningness of the enemy?
You can see this phenomenon in sports, too. A player driven by brute force and intent, if distracted by any sudden break, sees his performance nosedive completely.
I remember a cricket match where the batsmen were well settled, consistently adding runs and raising the tally for their team. In one over, a batsman struck the ball with such might that it seriously injured the bowler. The bowler took time to recover. In that interval, the batsmen lost their shine and focus. They showed no arrogance, yet a false confidence - almost like arrogance - crept in: We are surfing safely through the tides and waves. That illusion vanished the moment play resumed. Suddenly off the track of their strategy, unable to read the bowler’s moves, forced to react in haste, they fumbled. And there went the wicket.
It is vitally important to know where the end lies - and even more important to stay pointed in that direction. The things that didn’t go your way in the middle must go your way in the end. If that reversal is not part of your plan, then your plan is incomplete.
There is no end until the end. There is no peace until there are no enemies.
In the Vidura Neeti, Vidura warns:
“An enemy once conquered must not be allowed to live. If, for want of strength, he cannot be done away with, bide with him till he can be finished. An enemy, if not eliminated, can present danger at any time.”
In addition to that, Sun Tzu in his art of war denotes how to exploit that False peace.
"Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."
"Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
Be a master of false peace to win the war with peace but never be the victim of it.