Chen Xia was extremely embarrassed, he had already regretted blowing things out of proportion.
He originally wanted to escalate the issue, to amplify its impact. That way, if Pang Feng made a fool of himself, lost face, and couldn't cover it up, the only outcome would be him being swept out the door.
He did this with both public and private intentions in mind.
For public reasons, he truly disagreed with Pang Feng's current training methods. Pang Feng had set aside all traditional special forces training to practice the so-called "Seven Gates," which probably had no precedent in the history of the Central Plains Army.
He opposed Pang Feng because he was worried that the Snow Eagle would be completely ruined by Pang Feng.