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About this quote

What does it mean?
Emperors should rely on national troops rather than hired mercenaries.
In plain terms
Trust your own citizens over hired soldiers.
What can you take from it?
Build loyalty by relying on your own people.

Where it applies

  • leadership
  • resource management
  • state building

Putting it to work

  • invest in citizen forces
  • prioritize loyalty over convenience
  • build internal capacity

Questions to consider

  • When is outsourcing trust safe?
  • How do you ensure loyalty?

Another view

Mercenaries can provide needed expertise or neutrality.

More from Napoleon Bonaparte

  1. An army of sheep, led by a lion, is better than an army of lions, led by a sheep.[1]

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  2. Authoritarian government required to speak, is silent... Representative government required to speak, lies with impunity.

    Permalink to quote #61

  3. An army marches on its stomach.

    Permalink to quote #58

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