Zhang Tianxi of Liangzhou had shown literary talent in his youth, and his reputation had spread far and wide. Though he lived in Gan Province and Liangzhou, he had the habits of Jiangdong's celebrated gentlemen: he enjoyed abstract discourse, spoke elegantly, and paid great attention to his bearing and deportment. Two years earlier, after proclaiming himself Grand General, Governor of Liangzhou, and Duke of Xiping, he had grown arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute, spending his days on outings and banquets, lost in wine and women, and neglecting affairs of government. When his subordinates remonstrated with him, Zhang Tianxi answered with confident eloquence: "It is not that I delight in outings. Every excursion brings me some gain. When I behold morning blossoms, I respect men of outstanding talent; when I admire fragrant orchids, I cherish ministers of virtue; when I see pines and bamboo, I think of worthy men of steadfast integrity; when I stand beside clear streams, I esteem incorruptible conduct; when I survey creeping weeds, I despise greedy, filthy officials; when I encounter violent winds, I loathe vicious, cunning men. If I extend these lessons and develop them through analogy, surely nothing will be overlooked." He was a man adept at dressing up his faults and whitewashing his wrongs-
Early that year, Zhang Tianxi had also deposed the Heir Apparent Dahuai and installed Dayu, the son of his favored concubine of the Jiao Clan, in his place, arousing resentment and indignation among the people. When he heard that Wang Meng was overseeing Yang An, Yao Chang, and eight other generals in an attack with sixty thousand infantry and cavalry, Zhang Tianxi remained smugly unafraid. "I judge that the Qin Army will retreat within ten days or a month," he said. "Huan Wen is about to attack Chang'an, and Fu Yonggu