This is the beginning of the third book, known as The Crows and the Owls. It opens with a warning about treachery:
“Never trust someone who has been your enemy and suddenly turns friendly towards you. This was the mistake the owls made, and the crows burnt them all alive in their cave.”
In a city, there was a banyan tree. High up in this tree lived the king of the crows, along with his followers. Not far away, in a cave, lived the king of owls with his followers. The owls considered the crows their enemies. So, when it was dark and the crows were sleeping, the owls would kill the crows they could get to.
One day, the crow king spoke to his followers: “Our enemy is dangerous. They take advantage of the darkness to attack us. We cannot see and get killed in the dark.”
One day, the worried crow king, Meghavarana, convened a secret council of his ministers.
The crow king had five skilled ministers.
The first minister said, “The owls are strong. We should not fight them. Make peace with the enemy.”
The second minister said, “The owl is cruel and has no ethics. We should go to war.”
The third minister said, “The owl is stronger than us. We should leave this place and go elsewhere.”
The fourth minister said, “We should become defensive.”
The fifth minister said, “We need to make allies.”
The crow king then asked the oldest minister, who had served his father, for advice. The old minister said, “We need to trick the owls. You need to find out the enemy’s weak points and take advantage of them.”
The crow king asked how he could do that.
The old minister said, “Use spies.”
The crow then asked the old minister, “Why did enmity start between the crows and the owls?”
Key Takeaways
Strategy Requires Consultation.
Review strategic options.
When facing an enemy who is too powerful for any direct method, intrigue and deception are the only effective tools.
To execute intrigue, intelligence is paramount. The use of spies is essential for a king to understand the enemy’s situation, location, and weaknesses—knowledge being the true source of power.
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