After rescuing the surviving soldiers from Sishui Pass, Zi Shou decided to carry his humane approach through to the end.
First in the firing line was Lu Xiong.
Zi Shou declared himself furious at Lu Xiong's defiance of his orders. How could he launch a frontal assault? How many men would die?
No frontal assaults, whatsoever! Take it through cunning! Fire attacks, flooding, tricks to seize the fortress-use them more! None of those worked? Fine, then forget retaking Sishui Pass. Surely he could fall back to Chuanyun Pass or Jiepai Pass!
Of the five formidable passes in the west, they had only lost Sishui Pass. They were nowhere near the end of the road!
And so Zi Shou not only issued repeated edicts condemning him, but also sent ten Golden Order Tablets in succession. Though this was a few fewer than he had sent Uncle Wen, he was slightly more lenient this time, giving Lu Xiong two choices: either fall back, or wait for the other two armies to arrive and encircle the enemy from three directions. In short, frontal assaults were unacceptable.
When Lu Xiong received the orders, he nearly exploded with anger on the spot.
Why had His Majesty, whose seven years of silence had ended in a stunning feat, made one foolish move after another during this Western Expedition? Had his eagerness for quick success rattled him, or had juggling affairs at home and abroad left him muddleheaded?
When an army was in the field, its commander naturally controlled the overall situation. Whether to attack or defend, when to attack or defend, and how to attack or defend-all of these decisions could only be made by the commander.
It was not truly a matter of a general in the field being free to disregard his sovereign's orders.