A moment later, the man reputed to have the highest intelligence score of this age and a command score in the top five visibly began to hesitate, even taking the initiative to question his earlier judgment.
"Be that as it may, can these men really serve as reinforcements and fight a hard battle?" Wang Meng looked a little nervous beneath the already bright morning sun.
"They're fighting with their backs to the river, after all, and Duke Huan's army is here too. There's no reason they wouldn't fight their hardest, is there?" Xi Chao was plainly losing confidence himself. "Weren't you the one who said it? Once Duke Huan crosses the Ba River and brings his troops to Chang'an, these men will stop sitting on the fence."
"What good will fighting their hardest do? There are dozens of clans here, and they can't even distinguish one another's banners, horns, or drums. Once attacked, might they suffer a crushing rout instead, or even crash into the Imperial Army's proper formations?" Wang Meng retorted instinctively.
"But in this situation, we can't just hold twenty thousand troops and do nothing, can we?" Xi Chao also began rebutting him on instinct. "Aren't the Di troops newly raised too? They're no different from these Guanzhong heroes! If you insist on talking about banners and drums... you're the Protector-General of Weibei. Why haven't you put them in order these past few days?"
"Is that something that can be done overnight? Getting them to keep moving is already an achievement." Wang Meng's blood surged for a moment, but he suppressed his anger and proposed a new plan. "What if we only send Huyan Du and Weiming into battle? Then have the others pose as a diversionary force and raid that small city southwest of Chang'an?"
"If those