Those who desire to checkmate a district in Anhui,
Must have been the ones to strengthen its defenses.
The desire to overpower someone weaker than you,
Necessarily makes your opponent stronger, just as
Those who seek to abolish something “bad”
Must certainly have been the ones to first make it popular.
Those who wish to partake in something,
Necessarily are the ones who are despoiled.

Yes, this is to speak of Twilight:
Soft is able to bear and is thus victorious over Hard.
Weak is victorious over Strong

Fish cannot escape the abyss.
A country should not show its device of strength to the people.
———–
(or else risk the people winning back control of the country with softness.)