Ant-swarm assault

Introduction

The "ant-swarm" (蛾傅, also written 蚁傅) is a mass scaling of the wall: no machines, just soldiers sent swarming up like ants, relying on numbers. Defense Against Ant-Swarm Assault opens with Mozi's verdict on it: "The ant-swarm is the commander's anger." It is the tactic of a commander who has lost his temper, with no calculation and no preparation, piling up lives.

The answer has several layers. Lay "moving walkways" (行栈), timber platforms along the wall so defenders can shift quickly. Lower "hanging cages" (悬脾), wooden baskets suspended outside the wall from which defenders strike climbers from above. Mount the rotating crossbow (转射机) to shoot along the wall face. Pour boiling water, throw sand and stones, and use fire (火捽) to burn ropes and ladders. Mozi sums up: then the ant-swarm attack is defeated.

Notice the logic. Every measure keeps climbers from getting up rather than killing all of them. Boiling water and sand make them let go; the hanging cages make the wall face impossible to rest on; the rotating crossbow keeps them from closing in. The goal is "the attack defeated," not "the enemy destroyed." That matches the spirit of Against Aggression: a defense is not revenge, it is making aggression unprofitable.

The chapter also stresses the defenders' organization: who mans the walkways, who lowers the cages, who handles the fire, all assigned in advance. "Those last up are dealt with first" is a harsh line, and Commands and Orders will expand on it over the next two weeks. For now, keep one thing: against the most chaotic and emotional of attacks, the defense relies on calm and on division of labor.

The three tests

"The commander's anger" is a diagnosis by the third test: the angry tactic is bad not because it is immoral but because it is a poor bargain, costing the most and succeeding least. The countermeasures then apply use to the defenders' side: how to defeat the attack with the fewest casualties. This week's genuine 三表 question: "make the attack fail" and "destroy the attackers" have different consequences. Did Mozi choose the first because it is more effective, or because impartial care forbids the second? Both reasons are in the text. Which is primary?

For families

• 科技堂: make a "rotating crossbow" by pinning a pen to cardboard so it swivels to aim, and discuss why turning beats fixed.
• On anger: ask the children whether they regretted the last decision they made while angry. Mozi says an angry commander loses. Why?
• Assign "who mans the walkway" for the household's busiest moment, the morning rush, and try it for a week.

For chapters

• 20 min reading · 20 min 墨辩 · 10 min 三表 review · 10 min 职 reports.
• 墨辩 motion: "The goal of defense is to make the attack fail, not to destroy the attackers." Both sides must cite this chapter and Against Aggression.
• 三表 review: halfway through the defense chapters, each Mohist names one preparation learned from them that they have already made at home or in the chapter.