Not a few, but a large number of commoners wished to enter the Qin state for survival.
Therefore, a great many Chu citizens suddenly appeared at the Chu border, attempting to cross over to Qin.
Initially, the Chu people were unaware.
But when they were unable to conscript enough soldiers, they realized something was amiss.
"What is happening? How can it be that with so many people in our Chu state, we cannot even muster thirty thousand soldiers?"
"General Li, tell me, what on earth is going on?"
"Your Majesty, it's not that our Chu state lacks people. It's that our people are unwilling to enlist voluntarily, making it very difficult for us to recruit soldiers!!"
"Unwilling to enlist voluntarily? Impossible! I refuse to believe that the soldiers of Chu are unpatriotic!!"
The King of Chu did not believe this explanation.
This disbelief caused anxiety for the general in charge of conscription.
He knew better than anyone why Chu was struggling to recruit soldiers.
It was indeed as he said; the Chu people were unwilling to serve.
However, the reason they were unwilling was that they did not want to be separated from their families, nor did they want their families to starve at home.
Thus, they would rather flee Chu than become soldiers on the battlefield.
The root cause of this situation was that they, the officials, extorted too much money from the commoners.
Many officials in Chu were involved in this matter; they had all taken their share of the money.
After all, who could resist such lucrative gains?
However, this matter could not be known to the King of Chu, lest he fly into a rage.
Therefore, the general surnamed Li quickly spoke up:
"Your Majesty, please grant me another half a month. Within half a month, I will surely persuade our Chu people to actively enlist!!"
Hearing this, the King of Chu did not doubt him.
Although he felt a bit of blame towards General Li for not handling this matter well, he decided to give General Li an opportunity to redeem himself.
Hence, he said:
"Very well! Then I shall grant you another half a month. Within half a month, I must see a thirty thousand strong army, or you shall be held accountable!!"
"Yes!!"
Upon hearing the King of Chu's words, General Li couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow and breathe a sigh of relief.
After leaving the Chu royal palace, he immediately issued orders to his soldiers.
"Now, gather the troops and go to the border to capture people. Bring back all the soldiers who have fled!!"
"Yes!!"
With these orders, a large number of soldiers immediately appeared at the Chu border.
They were not there to attack Qin, but to capture their own Chu people.
And the people they captured were quite distinctive.
Adult males.
As for women and children, they paid them no mind.
Consequently, many households had their adult males taken away, and the sound of wailing filled the air.
"Let go of my grandfather, let go of my grandfather!!"
"Wuwuwu! Don't take my father, spare my father!!"
"Please, I beg you, please let my husband and son go. Without them, our family cannot survive!!"
"Officer, I am sixty years old. I can barely lift a sword. Why, why must I still go to war!!"
To make up the numbers, General Li did not care about age and had them taken away.
Even many children who were relatively tall were captured to fill the quota.
Anyone who resisted was met with drawn swords and immediate killing.
This resulted in many families having all their male members taken to the military camp, leaving only women behind.
Such actions plunged countless people into despair.
Their households were already devoid of wealth, and now with all the male breadwinners gone, they had lost all hope of survival.
Thus, many among them chose to dash their heads against stones, committing suicide.
Such a tragic end terrified many, and countless children cried incessantly.
The entire Chu border region became a veritable hell on earth.
Yet, many Chu officials turned a blind eye, as if nothing had happened, completely indifferent to the fate of these people.
However, within Qin, Qin soldiers noticed that something was amiss here.
Therefore, they reported this news upwards.
In Xianyang City, Lin Tian soon received the news.
When he heard that many Chu citizens were committing suicide at the Chu border, he was filled with astonishment.
"Are you certain that the Chu citizens committed suicide at the Chu border, and that this is not some scheme or trick?"
"No, according to our soldiers' reports, the Chu border is filled with lamentations. Many citizens feel they cannot go on living, and thus they choose to commit suicide!!"
"It seems an unforeseen change has occurred within Chu!!"
Lin Tian was not yet aware of the turmoil within Chu.
However, within a day, secret agents operating in Chu sent back the news.
Upon seeing the intelligence reports, Ying Zheng and Lin Tian were both stunned.
"The King of Chu demanded ten copper coins from each citizen to aid Chu, so they would have enough funds to fight Qin?"
"The Chu officials forcibly extorted one hundred copper coins from the people for the war effort, and every citizen had to pay?"
"To muster thirty thousand soldiers, Chu went to the border and captured fleeing citizens, not sparing the elderly or children? Many households were left with only women. These women, having no money, could not survive and chose to commit suicide? This, this...!!"
This series of revelations completely shocked Ying Zheng and Lin Tian.
They never imagined that such absurd events would occur in Chu at such a critical juncture.
If they had not confirmed the authenticity of this intelligence multiple times, they would have suspected Chu of staging a performance to deceive them.
However, after confirmation, Ying Zheng and Lin Tian could only sigh.
"This is a colossal corruption case! The officials of Chu have truly become black-hearted!!"
"Ten copper coins became one hundred, a tenfold increase. Their audacity is simply too great!!"
"Not only that, they colluded, deceiving the King of Chu together. The King acted as if he were blind and deaf, completely unaware of all this!!"
"Greed moves people! With such immense profit involved, everyone's heart has turned black. Our Qin state must take this as a warning!!"
Although Lin Tian knew that profit could drive countless people to madness,
Witnessing such extreme madness firsthand, Lin Tian couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.