 The recognition of the military value of speed and mobility was widespread, with flanking and other indirect maneuvers preferred over direct, frontal engagements.The social and technological realities from which "Questions and Replies" was written were very different from the other six Military Classics.Rather than claiming to originate its own strategy, "Questions and Replies" frames itself as a survey of earlier, more widely recognized works, discussing their theories and contradictions according to the writer's own military experience.