"They have been patient for so many days, they are finally going to make a move!!"
"I thought your Qin forces wouldn't attack our city, but it turns out they were just pretending!!"
"It's obvious that your Qin state wants to attack our Chu state. Before, they only pretended not to send troops against us, wanting us to lower our guard. Now that they see it's not working, they've immediately bared their fangs!!"
At this moment, Xiang Yan's army did not know that Lin Tian's army appeared here not for the Chu soldiers, but for the common people of Chu.
Lin Tian's goal was to win the hearts of the Chu people.
Once he achieved this, taking over Chu would be a natural progression.
However, the Chu people had no idea what Lin Tian was trying to do.
Therefore, they still mistakenly believed that Lin Tian's army had endured for a long time and was now revealing their ambition to attack their Chu army.
However, when Lin Tian's army spoke, these Chu soldiers were completely stunned.
"Your city has detained our Qin citizens, release our Qin citizens quickly!!"
"Qin citizens? We only have Chu citizens here, where would we get Qin citizens??"
"It's not for you to say whether we have Qin citizens or not, but whether those citizens are willing to become Qin citizens! According to the news we received, many people have appeared in your city. Please release those people!!"
"Hmph! Stop spreading falsehoods here. In our Chu state, we only have Chu citizens, and absolutely no Qin citizens!!"
The Chu soldiers found Lin Tian's army's words baffling.
Even Xiang Yan did not understand why Lin Tian's army would say such things.
In his heart, he leaned more towards the idea that Lin Tian was looking for an opportunity to attack their army, and that was why he was saying these words.
However, at this moment, some commoners voluntarily came forward.
As soon as these ragged commoners appeared, they knelt before Xiang Yan.
Then, they tearfully said:
"General Xiang, please give us a way to live!!"
"Hmm? Give you a way to live, what do you mean??"
"General Xiang, we are truly suffering. We cannot go on living. We beg General Xiang to give us a way to live, to let us leave this city! Those Qin generals talking about Qin citizens, that's us!!"
"Hmm?? You are clearly our Chu citizens, when did you become Qin citizens? You...!!"
Xiang Yan wanted to ask if they were Qin spies.
But seeing the state of these commoners, he knew they were real people, so he did not say anything.
But Chu citizens becoming Qin citizens was something Xiang Yan could not understand.
"Great General, we have no food, nor money. In Chu, we are doomed!"
"I believe, General Xiang, you also know why we have become like this!!"
"So, we just want to go to Qin to seek a way to live!!"
As they said this, these Chu commoners cried even louder.
If they could resist, they would have done so long ago.
Yet, the one who made them this way was the King of Chu.
Even Xiang Yan was unwilling to offend the King of Chu.
Not to mention that these commoners had also heard that the Xiang clan was already highly regarded by the King and had an army of five hundred thousand.
Under such circumstances, they still dared to beg Xiang Yan for a way to live, which showed great courage.
And after they said these words, Xiang Yan finally understood why these commoners were here.
Xiang Yan also felt guilty about this matter.
Although he knew it was all wrong, he was utterly unable to stop it, nor could he persuade the King of Chu to return the commoners' property to them.
Therefore, Xiang Yan felt partly responsible for the Chu commoners becoming like this.
However, in his heart, these commoners were still Chu citizens, and he did not want Chu citizens to become Qin citizens.
Thus, he asked:
"How do you know that you will have a way to live if you enter Qin? Did the Qin people make you any promises??"
"Yes, they did! General Lin of Qin made us a promise. He promised us that as long as we enter Qin, we will be Qin citizens!!"
"Not only that, but he also gave us food and money. He can let us commoners survive!"
Lin Tian not only said this, but he also did it.
Many Chu citizens had already entered Qin and started their new lives.
Because of this, there would be a continuous stream of commoners coming to the border of Chu.
They hoped to enter Qin through this border and become Qin citizens.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yan's face was filled with disbelief.
"This, this is impossible, how could Qin's Lin Tian be so benevolent??"
"It's true, it's all true! Moreover, the first thing General Lin's army did upon entering our Chu state was not to kill people everywhere, but to help our commoners. Countless people have witnessed this!"
"We came here originally thinking that General Lin's army had already occupied this place, and we could naturally become Qin citizens. Little did we expect...!"
Little did they expect that Lin Tian's army had not yet occupied this place, but Xiang Yan's army was already firmly guarding it.
Of course, the Chu commoners did not dare to say this out loud.
But the meaning conveyed by their eyes was very clear.
Therefore, many of Xiang Yan's generals were instantly enraged.
"Silence, what do you mean by that? Are you blaming our army for defending our city??"
"You group of ruffians, we are here to defend the city that belongs to our Chu state, and you still blame us? I think you have the guts of a leopard!"
"Spies, you are all Qin spies! You came here to confuse our Great General. I think you all deserve to die!!"
After speaking, someone drew their sword and was about to slay these commoners.
This posture greatly frightened these Chu commoners.
They knelt on the ground and kowtowed, crying for mercy.
"Great General, spare us! Great General, spare us!!"
"Great General, spare us! We are not spies, we are just ordinary people!!"
"We just want to live. We truly just want to live! We beg the Great General to open the city gate and let us out. We don't want to die!!"
These commoners' requests were very simple. They just wanted to find a way to live for their families in this chaotic world.
Therefore, when they kowtowed, they did so with great effort and sincerity.
However, what they said made the Chu generals even more enraged.
"You ruffians, not only do you not fight to the death for our Chu state, but you also want to open our city gate at this crucial moment to let the Qin army in!"
"I think you are Qin spies, die!!"
This time, a general actually drew his sword and lunged towards the commoners.
...