"General..."
"These men weren't actually trying to oppose you deliberately."
The leader of the Western Mountain Qiang spoke up as well.
Looking at the empty banquet, he forced an awkward smile onto his round face.
"What they need is respect. So long as you show them some respect, they'll repay you tenfold... once, a general slaughtered his own ox to entertain them, and they repaid him with dozens of cattle."
"Most of them are like that. Since coming here, you haven't met them, nor have you given them enough... they don't know you very well, either, yet you ordered them to come and even threatened them. Naturally, they have some complaints."
Shi Bao nodded and asked, "Then why don't you have any complaints?"
The two leaders exchanged a glance and said with bitter smiles, "We've heard of your fearsome reputation, General, so we dared not stay away."
Shi Bao shook his head. "It isn't because you've heard of my fearsome reputation. It's because you've received instruction and understand that military orders cannot be disobeyed."
The White Mountain leader could not help saying, "General, why get angry with these people?"
"They've never studied and are coarse in their ways. You need only show a little tolerance. They're actually very easy to coax. Even if you only gave them an ox, they would help you fight."
Shi Bao shook his head.
"A general of our Great Wei does not need to give his own subordinates cattle to summon them."
"They are my subordinates and His Majesty's subjects. They should accept my command and pay taxes."
"Just as you did, they should come promptly upon receiving an order."
"If I give them an ox today to make them fight for me, couldn't Jiang Wei give them an ox tomorrow to make them fight