Chapter 120: The Clowns Take the Stage

Sun Rubai hosted a banquet to entertain the officers of the reinforcements. This was meant as a gesture of goodwill, but given that Pingwu had been besieged for days, there was hardly any fine wine or food left to offer. The entire city had been on the verge of dying of thirst, let alone having wine to spare, so they had to make do with clear spring water instead. As for the dishes, they were far more meager than what the noble clans would serve at their feasts—the difference was like heaven and earth. Naturally, those pampered officers were not accustomed to such fare.

Zhang Chi knew that Pingwu had been short of food and water for days; the fact that they could still put something on the table to feed everyone was already a remarkable effort. With a cheerful smile, he exchanged a few polite pleasantries with Sun Rubai and took the seat of honor. As the Governor, his rank was the highest, and it was only fitting that he preside over the table. Ding Yizhi, serving as a military advisor, held a position of significance despite lacking an official title. Qin Bo, San Tong, and others took their seats on either side, and even female warriors like Han Xiang were seated.

An Ren accompanied the army as Zhang Chi’s bodyguard, so she had to settle for standing behind him. She did not seem to mind, however, remaining cold and still behind Zhang Chi like a statue.

Once the officers were seated, and before Sun Rubai could even speak, those who saw the dishes laid out began to frown. One officer spat out the spring water he had just tasted. "Pah! I thought this was wine, but it’s just water! Are you trying to trick us? I risked my life and death to help you break the siege of Pingwu. If it weren't for the reinforcements from Baxi Commandery, everyone in this city would be ghosts under the blades of the Hu. Is this how you reward us now?" The officer pointed at the food and drink, his face flushed with rage.

Zhang Chi remembered this officer from when he had reviewed the troops outside Chengdu; he recalled the man’s surname was Han, and he was a commander from Baxi Commandery.

"General Sun, this is not right of you. We fought to our deaths to repel the Hu and saved the lives of your soldiers and the people of Pingwu. If we don’t demand rewards, that is one thing, but you should at least have prepared some decent wine and food to host us." After speaking to Sun Rubai, the officer turned to the man from Baxi and added, "And General Han, repelling the Hu was not the merit of your Baxi troops. With those few thousand men of yours, you couldn’t even scare the Hu. This victory belongs entirely to the forces of Yizhou."

This officer, surnamed Fang, was a top general under the Inspector of Yizhou. The Inspector held a high position and did not lead troops into battle personally, so the fifty thousand men under his command were led by General Fang.

"General Fang is correct. If we speak of defeating the Hu, the primary credit belongs to the commanderies of Yizhou," the other officers from Yizhou chimed in.

General Han sneered, "It was my Baxi troops who charged into the Hu lines first. Your Yizhou forces may be numerous, but you were slow to advance, waiting until the Hu were already showing signs of defeat before moving in. Is that not stealing credit? You are cowardly in times of peace, but you never fall behind when it comes to claiming glory."

This hit the mark. Before they left, the Inspector of Yizhou had indeed told General Fang that these fifty thousand men were only there to bolster Zhang Chi’s prestige and must not suffer any losses. Thus, General Fang had intended to watch from the sidelines, though he saw no harm in stealing some credit during a guaranteed victory. It was an easy way to look good.

Unexpectedly, being called out so bluntly by the officer from Baxi made General Fang flush with embarrassment. His troops had indeed been slow to advance while he gauged the situation, intending to swoop in only once victory was certain. Yet, he could not admit it. With a *clatter*, he drew his sword. "Han, do not go around slandering people, or else..."

The officer from Baxi was not afraid of him and also drew his blade. "Or else what?"

Before General Fang could respond, the officers from the various Yizhou commanderies stood up, swords in hand, shouting, "If you don't back down, we will not forgive you!"

General Fang was directly under the Inspector of Yizhou and commanded fifty thousand men; his rank was higher than the other commanders. Since the Inspector of Liangzhou had not sent troops, the Yizhou faction was the strongest present. Seeing the officer from Baxi challenge General Fang, the sycophants among the Yizhou officers scrambled to show their loyalty and stood up as well.

Zhang Chi found the scene laughable. They had barely won a minor skirmish, and already they were squabbling over credit. How could such a group hope to defeat the tiger-like armies of the Hu? It was no wonder Shu had suffered defeat after defeat for years. These men were generals, yet it was doubtful if they had ever fought a true battle against the Hu in their lives. They were pathetic.

And yet, the pathetic often have their detestable side. They were spineless in the face of foreign invaders, but full of bluster when dealing with their own kind. How could such men not be detestable?

Seeing the officers at the table on the verge of a brawl, Sun Rubai did not know what to do. He glanced at Zhang Chi, but Zhang Chi remained silent, smiling and eating as if the people before him did not exist.

"Governor, Pingwu is a small city, and after being besieged for so long, it is inevitable that our hospitality is lacking," Sun Rubai said, forced to speak since Zhang Chi remained quiet. "I truly have nothing worthy to offer you."

Sun Rubai did not understand the complex relationships within the reinforcements. He assumed these officers were all Zhang Chi’s men. Seeing them make such a scene while Zhang Chi did nothing to restrain them, he feared this might even be something Zhang Chi had orchestrated. Furthermore, given the earlier talk of demanding rewards, and knowing the nature of politics in Shu from years of experience, he assumed the worst. With the city in ruins and the people’s future uncertain, how could he possibly scrounge up any rewards for them?

Zhang Chi still did not speak, but Zhao Qian stepped in to mediate. Being a descendant of Zhao Yun, though he had long mingled in officialdom and learned the arts of sycophancy, he still retained a shred of national sentiment. "Generals, please, let us be calm. We have only repelled one wave of the Hu; their main force will certainly not give up. The situation is dire, and it is better to work together against our common enemy."

Zhang Chi nodded, feeling that this Zhao Qian seemed a bit better than the rest.

"This general understands the bigger picture," General Fang said, not wanting the situation to spiral out of control. He sneered, "I just find it distasteful that those with a mere few thousand men would have the gall to claim all the credit, like a firefly trying to outshine the moon. I just spoke my mind."

With a wave of his hand, the Yizhou officers sheathed their swords and sat back down. Seeing that the opposition was too numerous and that he would gain nothing by continuing the fight, the officer from Baxi snorted in disdain and sat in gloomy silence.