Strike the enemy's suppliers
When a hostile force depends on outsiders for its food, arms, horses, and soldiers, those suppliers are the real target. Hitting them hard starves the army without having to beat it head-on.
A sprawling 15th-century Valencian chivalric romance following young knight Tirant lo Blanc, trained in the code of chivalry by the hermit William of Warwick, as he journeys from England through Sicily and Rhodes to the besieged Byzantine Empire—where war, courtly politics, and love intertwine amid echoes of the real Catalan expedition to the East.
War rests on three supplies
An army needs three things at once: troops, money, and provisions. If any one of them is missing, the army will be defeated, however strong the other two are.
The winner's haste invites defeat
A fighter who seems to be winning can lose by rushing or gloating. A wounded opponent who swings too hard to end things quickly can get his weapon stuck, and one who stops to taunt can leave his rival's hands free. The apparent loser only needs to hold on and watch for an unprotected spot.
Settle debts before facing danger
Before a perilous journey with no certain return, an honourable person pays everyone who has served them and hands their property into trusted keeping. They leave a shared token, such as half of a ring, as a pledge of their return.
No one escapes love's yoke
Love is natural to people because everything is drawn to what resembles it. Falling under its weight is no personal failing, since no one can avoid it.