Instead of fighting set-piece battles against Chinese regular troops in which his tactical abilities had every opportunity to shine, he was required to conduct punitive sweeps against elusive Vietnamese guerilla concentrations.
Alih-alih bertempur melawan pasukan reguler Tiongkok di mana kemampuan taktisnya memiliki setiap kesempatan untuk bersinar, ia diminta untuk menukar hukuman terhadap konsentrasi gerilya Vietnam yang sulit dipahami.