"What is going on? How could the state of Qi surrender entirely?"
"Is it true? King of Qi is personally going to Xianyang to surrender to Ying Zheng? That's too ridiculous! He's the King of Qi!!"
"Is this a plot by the King of Qi? Is there some scheme within the state of Qi? Are they, like Yan, planning to assassinate the King of Qin opportunistically?"
The state of Qi was a nation, and its direct surrender was something the state of Chu could not believe.
After all, who would willingly abandon their wealth and status to surrender to Qin and then lose everything?
Therefore, Chu found the actions of the Qi people extremely incomprehensible.
They even suspected it was a scheme by Qi, a plan to assassinate Ying Zheng or raid Qin.
However, when their scouts relayed the situation in Qi to Chu once again, many in Chu were utterly bewildered.
"The King of Qi has already departed, taking only five thousand men and the Qi ministers, heading straight for Qin! Their demeanor suggests they are truly going to surrender!"
"Moreover, the King of Qi has actually disbanded a large portion of their army! Looking at them, there's no intention of resistance!"
"Disbanding the army, and only taking five thousand soldiers to Qin? They've gone mad, they've truly gone mad!!"
If the King of Qi truly intended to assassinate the King of Qin, he would never have gone in person.
Assassination was an extremely dangerous undertaking. Regardless of success or failure, the person undertaking the assassination was destined for certain death.
Under such circumstances, if the King of Qi really wanted to assassinate Ying Zheng, he would have surely not gone himself.
He would have remained in the Qi royal palace, awaiting news of victory.
But now, the King of Qi was not in the Qi royal palace.
Instead, he was leading the Qi ministers towards Qin.
All these combined facts indicated that the King of Qi genuinely intended to surrender to Qin.
Rather than harboring any insidious plot as Chu had suspected.
This outcome was incredibly difficult for Chu to accept.
"Foolish, utterly foolish! After so many years of inheritance, the state of Qi is to be extinguished like this. King of Qi, how will you face your ancestors?"
"Shameful! This is truly a disgrace to the state of Qi! For the King of Qi to commit such a shameful act is utterly unheard of!!"
"Incompetent, useless, a coward afraid of death. How can a state like Qi not fall!!"
Within Chu, countless people cursed the King of Qi.
Their emotions were even more agitated than those of the Qi people.
Because the people of Chu knew that once Qi fell, their state of Chu would inevitably become Qin's next target.
At that point, Chu would have to face Qin alone.
A single pillar cannot support a collapsing building; this was the predicament the people of Chu had to face.
Because of this, the people of Chu became exceptionally anxious.
"No, we cannot let the state of Qi surrender like this! Qi cannot be extinguished just like that!!"
"Dispatch someone! Send someone immediately to inform the King of Qi that our state of Chu is willing to help Qi overcome this crisis! We are willing to join forces with Qi to confront Qin!"
At this moment, the people of Chu truly regretted their past decisions.
They regretted having refused the pleas for help from the state of Wei earlier.
If they had agreed to Wei's request for aid at that time and sent troops to save Wei at the crucial moment.
Then, their state of Chu would not be facing such a difficult situation now.
If they had saved Wei earlier, they could have joined forces with Wei, and together with Qi, the three states could have resisted Qin.
But when Wei sought aid, Chu hesitated and ultimately refused Wei's request.
This also led to Qi's impending surrender, leaving Chu truly alone.
This was absolutely not the situation the people of Chu wanted to see.
Therefore, they quickly sent people to contact the King of Qi, hoping he would not surrender to Qin and that Qi would join forces with Chu to resist the mighty Qin.
However, what they received was only the King of Qi's cold refusal.
"It's impossible. If Wei were still here, with our three states bordering each other, we could have acted together!"
"But now, Wei is gone, and our state of Qi has the intention to surrender. It's all too late!"
The words "too late" completely disheartened Chu.
They knew their decision had come too late. At this point, Qi was truly resolute in its path, with no turning back.
This inflexibility made everyone in Chu even more flustered.
"What do we do? What do we do now?"
"There is no other way. Our state of Chu cannot surrender to Qin like Qi did, so we can only prepare for war!"
"Issue the order! Our state of Chu will fully prepare for war, ready to fight Qin to the death at any moment!"
Within Chu, except for a very small minority, hardly anyone was willing to surrender.
In their opinion, with Chu's powerful national strength, there was still a chance to fight for it.
If they won, and Chu defeated Qin, then Chu would become the true overlord of the world.
Even if they lost, as long as they could defend their land, a loss would only mean losing some soldiers.
Therefore, the people of Chu accelerated their plan to collect ten cash from every citizen.
Everyone here included the elderly, children, and women – everyone in Chu.
This total amount immediately placed a heavy burden on many commoners in Chu.
Perhaps they could afford ten cash, but for families with many members, it might require over a hundred cash.
This was entirely different. Over a hundred cash was no longer something ordinary citizens could afford.
But at this time, the King of Chu also devised a solution.
He appealed to those without money to borrow from their relatives and friends, promising they could repay it later.
In the King of Chu's view, among the relatives and friends these commoners knew, there were always one or two wealthy individuals who could lend money.
At the same time, he also appealed to the wealthy citizens to contribute a little more, to provide more funds for the army.
Such actions were undoubtedly preposterous.
Yet, the officials and nobles of Chu diligently carried them out.
Because they knew that by doing so, they would have the opportunity to handle these funds.
Then, even a small amount of "oil and water" would make these officials and nobles immensely rich.
Therefore, in this matter, the only ones who suffered were the common people of Chu.
However, the lives of the common people were of little concern to many.
Meanwhile, as Chu levied taxes on its people, definitive news arrived from Qin: the King of Qi had truly surrendered on behalf of Qi, and he had accepted the enfeoffment from King Ying Zheng of Qin.
Upon hearing this news, the King of Chu directly cursed the King of Qi from afar.
"Cowardly King of Qi, lacking even the courage to resist, your state of Qi is destined for ruin!"
"Just wait! When our state of Chu defeats Qin, I will drag you out and whip your corpse!!"