Linebarger understood the Chinese concept of "face": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(socio

Linebarger understood the Chinese concept of "face": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Ch... Young men with guns might have been more willing to go down fighting if they'd felt their surrender was dishonorable. Linebarger's tactic "sweetened the deal", and very likely saved a lot of lives.