Tao te Ching: 30

He who assists the ruler with Tao does not dominate the
world with force.
The use of force usually brings requital.
Wherever armies are stationed, briers and thorns grow.
Great wars are always followed by famines.
A good (general) achieves his purpose ands tops,
But dares not seek to dominate the world.
He achieves his purpose but does not brag about it.
He achieves his purpose but does not boast about it.
He achieves his purpose but is not proud of it.
He achieves his purpose but only as an unavoidable step.
He achieves his purpose but does not aim to dominate.
(For) after things reach their prime, they begin to grow old,
Which means being contrary to Tao.
Whatever is contrary to Tao will soon perish.

The beginning sounds so much like the Golden Rule. Or Murphy's Law, depending on your bent of mind, I suppose. Still, there is a cause and effect here, and endless cycle of reaping what you sew. The Buddhists call this Samsara in the large scale, though it would be apt to say this about the small scale as well.

What plant can live in the middle of concrete and bunkers, tough parade grounds and challenging obstacles? Not only is it visually appealing and easy to imagine a tough thorny plant growing up out of the sidewalk near a building, but also that the rough environment of war will not foster creativity or beauty, only survival at any cost.

Great wars being followed by famine is probably demonstrably true. It makes me think of war rationing, or how a country must deal with the lack of resources that war caused. Economically speaking, war is one of the very few ways to actually dispose of a resource or personnel. Otherwise, it's simply a shifting game.

The good general is a good ruler, acting with wu-wei. There is no valor or glory or anything good about accomplishing his goal, other than it must be done. It is best that he be vacuous when he does so.

Watch for these last two lines in chapter 55, but understand that they mean that acting in accordance with Tao allows for a thing to last and acting against it, without wu-wei, creates something that will eventually be weathered and torn down.