### q8 military leaders are hard to manipulate > Humans are clearly drawn to these sorts of conspiracy theories, imagining power wielded from behind the scenes, but in *actual history*, **most power is held by the obvious fellows who command armies and rule states and wield that power openly**. Because the fact is, the ruler with access to lots of soldiers with weapons generally has no reason to let anyone pull their strings. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn50c4wm1t3x7nfjtzd70x3b) - [[Hidden String-Pullers, Falling Empires and Tactics Against Horse Archers by Bret Devereaux#q8 military leaders are hard to manipulate|View in Vault]]