Xiao Ju's limitation was that he had considered only Zhu Xie Chiri's personal character, while overlooking the family he came from and its relationship with the Beitang Imperial Clan.
In Meng Zhao's own words, Zhu Xie Chiri was a royal hound—utterly loyal, biting whoever he was ordered to bite.
Listen carefully: the royal family, not the Imperial Court. Those were two different concepts.
The royal family referred solely to the Beitang Imperial Clan, whereas the Imperial Court was a complex organization woven together from forces of all sides.
Especially when imperial power was weak, that division became even more pronounced.
Zhu Xie Chiri was likely the person the imperial clan had sent to gather Lingwu City's military authority into his hands. He bore a royal mission, one he had to fulfill.
He could fail through lack of ability, but he would never abandon military authority over a little loss of face or a little wounded pride and return to the capital.
That would not only invite the imperial family's suspicion upon himself, but also cause his family to be neglected.
For a military household like theirs, once it lost the imperial family's favor, it would essentially begin its decline.
Still, Meng Zhao generally leaned toward Xiao Ju's strategy.
At the very least, if he displayed something outstanding in martial arts, those who could speak for him at court would have grounds to do so, and no one could accuse them of favoritism.
What he feared was being a useless good-for-nothing who needed others to forcefully push him into power. That would harm both others and himself.
"Zhu Xie Chiri is mine to handle. So long as we do not truly face each other in command of armies, I will not lose to him in other respects.
"So, there is a