They are bad because you’re in a castle. You’re stuck there. If you’re a defender on the inside make sure you are not hatred in there. If however, you’re attacking from the outside don’t try bashing down the door. They’ll pour hot oil on you and shoot you with arrows.

Avoid contempt and hatred! Hatred can be a very powerful intellectual resource. Give your enemies or allies the opportunity to despise you and you do so at your own peril.

Honour your word always! But only if it doesn’t put you in a disadvantaged position!

You cannot control whether people love you. You can only control whether they fear you or not. Rely on what you can control.

Don’t ever give away anything that belongs to you. It only weakens you. If you must, take from one party and give it generously to another.

Power based on money is very easy to achieve. But once you have it, it can easily fall apart. Anyone can be bribed. Mistrust, greed sets in, bang, you’ve lost your power.

Power based on loyalty is very difficult to achieve. Nobody ever trusts anybody or even really understands what the term loyalty actually means. But on the other hand, once you do establish your power based on loyalty, you can become… invincible.

Avoid contractors! They are mere mercenaries and can be very dangerous. They have no loyalty, especially when times get tough!