88 Generals: The principles of

unconventional warfare
Project preview
Published by FastPencil Publishing

First Edition
Copyright 2017
Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If the book is coverless, it may have been
reported to the publisher as "unsold or destroyed" and neither the author nor the publisher may have
received payment for it.
http://fp.fastpencil.com
Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents
Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................................................... vii
Chapter 1: My name................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2: Information...........................................................................................................................................................15
Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter 4 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 5 .......................................................................................................................................................................................31
Chapter 6 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Chapter 7 ......................................................................................................................................................................................39
Chapter 8 ......................................................................................................................................................................................43
Author's Notes ........................................................................................................................................................................... 47

Foreword

vii

Chapter 1: My name

10

Oh introductions are always so dull and dreadful

When new faces meet on open grounds the sounds stay stuck in midair
Like timeless watches counting down the number of seconds
Ever so slowly it ticks while men and women of little patience wait
And wait and wait and wait
Waiting is a game we all play until its interruption comes with a simple...
"Hello fellow. My name is this and your name is that, so lets chat."
Well hello back to you stranger
Curiosity is a tamed beast that never truly finds release, though try it does
"And how exactly does thou know my name; stranger?"
Lets not waste time any longer as we have a story to tell
A story of men, mice, might, night, fight, and Hell
So lets start again and care not for the time
Time is the essence of life and yet in death its measure of length magnifies
Tenfold at the very least and eternity at the very most
Lucky for you I have nothing but time, for I am already on the path of eternity
I am already dead
Yes it's true... I lived my life, ate my bread, filled my head, and said what I said
And like all things in life
It all came to an end
And on the day of that inevitable end my last words were heard
Not by countrymen ears or mortal gossipers
But by our soul maker in His kingdom and our soul chaser in his castle of bones
"Lucifer..." I said. Now your end of the deal is done and it is time
Time for me to hold my end of our bargain so that hopefully my soul can rest
Alas rest itself after its debt has been paid in full and no more than less than fulfilled
To your every whim and every liking dear prince of darkness
Now you know who I am oh reader and stranger
The two of you can call me a corpse, but I'd much rather keep my name
Tis the only thing left that I kept from my time on Earth as mortal man
Call me...
Faustus.
Faustus the 88th
For I am the 88th son of direct descent from 88 men of my kin
All who shared not only the same name of Faustus, starting with Faustus the first
Also shared is our single destiny decided by fate
Like a locomotive running on coals being burnt by flames that cannot be extinguished
And coals that go so long you'd figure they came from pieces of the sun itself
So too like this train on a single track, my life fell in line with my father the 87th
And his father before him the 86th
And so on for more than a millennia we of my kin shared it
It being a contract
I say it for it is but it is not a thing it is a life
A paperless entity bound by your very threads of life spun the madams of the underworld
It is nothing less than alive

11

It eats away at my family and the world at large

Though small it may be, when used in common tongue
It's simple really
I made a deal with the devil
And that's the truth
The end.
But wait there's more to it than that
That was only the beginning, this is the real story, and there is the witness
Oh stranger might you stay for a short while
And I will explain to you how I am the 88th of my blackened heritage
The 88th man to make a deal with the devil
The last person on earth to dance in the moonlight with demons and darkness alike
I am Faustus the 88th
And I will tell you what I know, for I know much about little things
Like a cavernous hole in the center of our world which lays host to a castle
A castle made of bones, brimstone, and beasts like no other
Others too of course well there, the many many souls that come by the dozens
Daily they reach their destination shuttled in by the ferryman
Each coming with but two coins
Each arriving with nothing the price of a ticket from limbo to the sanctuary of no escape
Oh how I pity those poor souls
Actually- not really I don't
For pity belongs to me and I alone know its name
Pity has a name and its name need not be spoken
For when it does you might find yourself speaking to the lord of lost sheep
The mightiest of creatures in the night, Satan himself
For it is when you bring pity upon yourself and utter its name
It comes alive and comes to you in your darkest of times and weakest of days
With an offer
A good offer
A brilliant offer
An resistible offer
You can make a deal with the devil
So long as you give up in equal to what you receive the exchange is surely fair
As fair as a roll of a six sided dice with only a blind man to declare the winning side
For one who takes the side of dark nights over daily light can only lose tomorrow
For if today is always won
Tomorrow is always lose lose again
Always a truth this equation holds for those who sign in blood the contract of a conman
"Lucifer..."
Yes, you called?

12

How many miles must we walk together before my end is done and my soul may leaveLeave you and this wretched place you call a home for horror and a emptied holeFor happy things like thoughts and visions of heavens up above the surface of the Earth
8.
Eight?
Yes 8.
There are 8 things you must do for me
Before I set you free
And back to limbo I go?
Indeed
Or heaven at the very best
If you can believe that then sure I know Peter would be glad to take in one with your lineage
And what lineage is that that you speak of?
The 88th of his family line to make a deal with the devilish being before you
My 88 generals of Hell
88 generations over the course of at least a couple of millennia
And dozens before the time of Christ bearing the cross
Indeed I knew your father and his father and his others as well
All the way back to the first who I visited in his slumber
He cried to me and asked for work
So I gave him work and he worked and worked
And your family has been working ever since for me and my mission
A mission? And what is that mission exactly?
That's not for you to know
Surely I must know what I am to do if there is an end in sight
Only the blind can see the end
Mortal men must walk aimlessly until they haphazardly encounter their fates
Fates which chase like race horses ridden by the horsemen of second coming
So must I too be blind to recognize what of my honor can be restored?
Of course not, but it would certainly help as the seers of two working eyes
Sees only sin before him
Before him for a moment
For sin creeps upon you starting with the flesh
Then consumes you without caring to know what is best
Good for the body
Bad for the soul
In the end
I will be the only one who knows
Knows all
Sees all
Hears all
And speaks but once a day

13

But on that day I speak the hours extend till eternity for the moon never sets
And the sun has dried up and left its letter of resignation
Oh how glorious it would be for the black sky to envelope the four corners of every map
From East to West and North to South
There is no escape from what I know
And what I know, you may one day find out
Just know for now that you have 8 tasks before you
8 things that need to be done
So it was signed when you were still alive and in the flesh
Your signature here is unmistakable
I've seen the same 87 times or so
So go
My general
I am the prince of darkness and king of heaven's dungeon
My 88th general
Hopefully you shall not fail
And not end your journey abruptly
For 87 have tried and 87 have failed
Amusing it is yet you might be the one
The 88th general to try and try and try
So try
And do it
And do well
For I am watching
Watching closely from afar
My eyes though blind they may be
See clearly before me a man with a mission
Now go. And do what you were destined for
To be more than Faustus the man
To meet destiny in the flesh
And see for yourself what grandiose plans I've made for you
Though a liar I am, this...
Is true.

14

Chapter 2: Information

15

16

Well stranger... come along for the ride

And see how headless horsemen can turn the tides of a battle gone awry
For the headless have no brains to store their minds
The mindless will never win a war for information is the key
Information is always the objective
Knowledge is not power, knowledge is absolute power
Subjective it may be to the opinions of others
But there is no doubt left when armies lay waste to libraries of Alexander
That all has been lost when we no longer know
And God himself obtains his power from his all knowing mind
So too do we mortals try to drink from the nectar of knowledge
To be all knowing is to win the war of attrition
Or any war for that mattter
You see, today Lucifer has given me ten thousand soldiers
About 10,000 demons of various shapes and kind
All loyal to the prince of darkness and all ready to take fight
And with these troops I have an objective
Lucifer has sent not word that an archangel, a seraphim of eight wings,
Is garrisoned at a key castle in the Kingdom of God along the outskirts
My order from the charred serpent is to take this outer rim fortress
So what must I do to take this territory with my ten thousand strong?
I must get information
I must use information
I must distribute information
I must bend information
I must own information
I must be information
First consider, what is the strength of this seraph's ranks?
How many men does he have not counting inactive or non-combatants
I simply cannot walk to the gates and ask "Hello friend, how many can you muster?"
Shall we play a game of chess and each field equal numbers?
In your dreams
That's the only place that you will see an even sided battle
Chess is a game for the intelligent
But chess is not warfare for in chess all information is readily available
And all odds are completely even
And all players abide by the rules
In the interest of fairness
Well stranger, nothing is fair in warfare
So what shall we do? My strange advisor
Or was a stranger's advice? Oh forgot it stranger

17

I shall call thee by that, simply stranger here as a friend

While I lay waste to this castle and make this seraph's days finally end
First what I will do is announce to the seraph by way of messenger
That I have 10,000 men and I intend to take his castle
But what? Why would you so readily give away your information?
What if this seraph has not 10, but 20, or 30, or a 100 thousand men?
And shall he not then be prepared for your attack?
Indeed all these things are true
But I have not yet sent my 10,000 men to attack
I giving something in order to get something back
I announce, then I waitPatient is the key to the opening round
Now watch what this Seraph does
I must gauge his reaction
Because from his reaction to my action
I will gain knowledge about my enemy
And with that knowledge I can wield immeasurable power
So the seraph replies "Okay but you will never take this castle"
"For I have many more men than you do"
"And my defenses are ready, my gate is impenetrable, and my sword is sharpened"
"Maybe come back with ten times for the forces and you may have a chance"
No thank you
I learned enough from that response
You did?
Indeed stranger I did and did not lose a single word
Words hurt for they are weapons of the wicked
He did not reveal to me how many troops he has so from this I know
I know that he is playing the game by not revealing his cards
It is so predictable for this single reason
He has inadvertently revealed to me that he is prepared or preparing for battle
I never said I would fight him
I simply said I have 10,000 men and will take his castle
He is a fool for believing we are actually going to fight
So let his men spend their days sharpening their blades
Practicing their drills
My men will be drinking wine and singing songs while we wait in our cozy encampments
They would enjoy that don't you think?
Now he then said he has many more men than I do

18

Stranger, do you think he lies and bluffs?

Or is he a blow fish simply huffing and puffing itself up?
"I do not know"
Well me either. I have no idea if he's bluffing or not, but that's not what's important
What's important is that, well,
He just tried to intimidate me
Why? He wants me to back down
So I will back down, I will do as he wants
Next he said that his defenses are ready
Do you believe him?
"Yes I do believe him"
Me too stranger, of course he'd have his defenses ready
So am I losing the battle so far or winning the battle so far?
I am winning so far
Because my men are drunk and happy
His men are on edge and adrenaline rushes through their veins
Thinking we are going to attack
Stranger don't mistake
Don't think that we will siege this seraph
I have a better plan
Tell me what you think of it my strange friend
I will attack
The castle? Oh of course not.
I am going to take 500 of my men to the nearest village
I will attack the village and overtake it easily as they are not prepared for war
I will not burn the village to the ground, but I will take its supplies
And I will turn it into an outpost of 500 men
Then stranger, do you think he will stay in his castle?
He has three choices, remain and do nothing
Attack my main force of 9,500 men at my encampment
Or send a force of at least a few hundred men to save the village
What do you think he would do?
"I'm not sure, we don't know enough about this seraph"
Exactly. So here's the next step in this master plan...
Everyday we will send an additional 500 men to the village outpost
So after 19 days, this main encampment will be left empty
As the 500 men march from our main camp to the village
They will build a road leaving behind groups of 3 to 5 men along the road
So after a week or so has passed, we will have a secured path

19

Going from our main camp to the village outpost

If he attacks the village, we will retreat to the encampment
If he attacks the encampment, we will retreat to the village
If he attacks both, we will escape using our secured road
If he attacks the road, we will counterattack and pincer him in
Attacking from both sides one from the village and one from the camp
Now, we're not going to wait for him to do something
We're going to go take the next village with another force of 500
And the next and the next and the next
How many villages do you think we can take with a force of 10,000?
"Maybe 8 or so accounting for the men securing the roads"
Yes, so it will be a battle of 1 castle versus 8 village outposts
He has a couple of options..
He can send his full force to take one village at a time
Or he can split his forces into 8 groups and take them all back together
What do you think he would do?
"I don't know..."
Me either.
Now consider this... he only thinks we have 8 villages
But in fact, we have dozens of villages
How? If a village has 200 people in it, I will simply
Take 100 and force them to live in a camp at another location
And leave 100 to stay at their village
So each of the 8 villages can be split into at least 16 villages
Or even more, perhaps 50 villagers per camp we can split them into
So far who is winning?
I am winning
Remember that information is the key to winning
Rather than hide my information, I am forcing him to see what I am doing
And putting him into bad positions with no good choices
I'm not letting him dictate anything, he can either go with A, B, or C
Now to simplify it, he can either keep defending or go out and attack.
If he defends, each day I will send 500 troops to his castle
They will not attack, they will simply stand before the castle and then report back
Then the next day comes, and a different 500 troops show up
And so on and so on
He will always see troops outside his castle if he defends, not 10,000

20

Just 500... taking turns watching the castle

Getting drunk and sneering at the walled defenders
Hollering that hey, we've taken 8 villages by now
If he decides to attack, then my men will simply retreat
We have 8 to 16 village outposts they can retreat to
We will run, run, run
He has not lost a single man and I have not lost a single man
But I am winning
Why?
Because I hold all the information
I do not care about what he has in his castle
I only care about my network of 8 to 16 village outposts and their connecting routes
He has done nothing so far
Why?
He has no information. He holds nothing.
The information he has is worthless to me.
Because I would never send men into a battleground blindly
No matter what, he must leave his castle at some point
All roads lead to him sending troops outside the castle walls
Why?
Because I don't want his castle.
I want his men out in the open. Naked and bearing arms in public
So I can see exactly what he has
The lesson here is that information is not absolute
This is not chess
This is warfare
In the end, the castle will be mine.
Why? Because 16 outposts with connected roads is worth much more than 1 castle.
He will eventually need to "trade" his castle for maybe half of my villages.
But I have 10,000 troops, 16 village outposts, and numerous connected and secured roads.
He just has a castle with an unknown number of troops in a single location.
Victory.

21

22

Chapter 3

23

24

25

26

Chapter 4

27

28

29

30

Chapter 5

31

32

33

34

Chapter 6

35

36

37

38

Chapter 7

39

40

41

42

Chapter 8

43

44

45

Author's Notes

47