In Caverns Below by Stanton A. Coblentz — Read

Anxious as I had been to avoid complications with Loa, her coming had not been the only reason for my sudden decision. For a long while, the difficulties occasioned by my reform measures had been growing more serious and the voices of popular complaint more menacing; hence I was anxious to find some way of diverting public attention. Moreover, the war with Zu, which dragged on interminably, was daily becoming more vexing; I still did not dare to antagonize public opinion by ending the conflict, as I had originally planned; and, to make matters worse, the enemy had lately attacked with new energy and resourcefulness. Already they had wrested from us a stretch of Nullnull seven yards deep and fifty-nine yards wide -- a defeat which, though our papers did their best to conceal it, had somehow become public knowledge, vastly weakening my prestige.

I therefore realized that, in order to regain the ground I had lost, Wu must retake the ground it had lost; and I understood that, in attaining this objective, my presence on the field would be the best stimulus to the troops. Not that I actually cared a pin for Nullnull; but, knowing my reputation to be at stake, I was willing to risk all for the sake of a little of this barren land. As to whether I was competent to lead the troops, I felt no doubt at all; all our generals were so thoroughly versed in thoughtlessness that they did not seem hard to surpass; and, besides, had I not had six months' experience during the World War, as a lieutenant in the Commissary Department?