《明史·列传·卷一百七十三》
太祖，攻取吴中时，到处多用炮石来防守，行私下对好友说： 兵法说以柔能制刚，如果在地上树立许多大竹，系布于竹端，炮石打来落在布上，随竹的弹性忽高忽低，伤不了人，则炮石就起不了作用。 
始吴中用兵，所在多列炮石自固，行私语所知曰： 兵法柔能制刚，若植大竹于地，系布其端，炮石至，布随之低昂，则人不能害，而炮石无所用矣。 
When the Hongwu Emperor conquered Wu, he used artillery stones to defend many places. Xing said to his friend in private: "Military strategy teaches that the soft can overcome the hard. If many large bamboos were set up on the ground, with cloth attached to the ends of the bamboo, then when the artillery stones are fired they will fall onto the cloth, and as the bamboo bends back and forth with the force, the stones will not be able to harm people. Thus, the artillery stones will be useless."
<s>[INST] Translate the following Classical Chinese text into English: 始吴中用兵，所在多列炮石自固，行私语所知曰： 兵法柔能制刚，若植大竹于地，系布其端，炮石至，布随之低昂，则人不能害，而炮石无所用矣。  [/INST] When the Hongwu Emperor conquered Wu, he used artillery stones to defend many places. Xing said to his friend in private: "Military strategy teaches that the soft can overcome the hard. If many large bamboos were set up on the ground, with cloth attached to the ends of the bamboo, then when the artillery stones are fired they will fall onto the cloth, and as the bamboo bends back and forth with the force, the stones will not be able to harm people. Thus, the artillery stones will be useless."</s>
Translate the following Classical Chinese text into English: 始吴中用兵，所在多列炮石自固，行私语所知曰： 兵法柔能制刚，若植大竹于地，系布其端，炮石至，布随之低昂，则人不能害，而炮石无所用矣。
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When the Hongwu Emperor conquered Wu, he used artillery stones to defend many places. Xing said to his friend in private: "Military strategy teaches that the soft can overcome the hard. If many large bamboos were set up on the ground, with cloth attached to the ends of the bamboo, then when the artillery stones are fired they will fall onto the cloth, and as the bamboo bends back and forth with the force, the stones will not be able to harm people. Thus, the artillery stones will be useless."
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