This statement caused a huge stir in the army.
Many Chu soldiers lost the will to resist, only wanting to return home to see their families.
Xiang Yan was driven to distraction by these words.
"This is bad, a mutiny is brewing!!"
"Mutiny? Impossible! The Qin army hasn't even attacked yet, how could we mutiny?"
"We don't even need to wait for the Qin army to arrive, our soldiers are already restless. Damn those corrupt officials, they have ruined me!!"
At this moment, Xiang Yan wished he could personally kill those corrupt officials.
If it weren't for those corrupt officials, the Chu soldiers wouldn't have reached this state.
If it weren't for those corrupt officials, his subordinates wouldn't be in such a state of unrest.
Especially at this time, if the morale of the army faltered, it would be easy for the Qin army to exploit the weakness.
Therefore, he had to appease his army and prevent chaos.
However, he pondered for a long time before coming up with a suboptimal solution.
"It's impossible to suppress the soldiers' desire to go home by force now!"
"Any forceful suppression will inevitably lead to a backlash from the soldiers, easily making them rebellious!"
"Therefore, we can only tell them that we can ensure their families are safe!"
Ensuring safety, naturally, was impossible.
But saying so would bring some peace of mind to many soldiers.
Thus, Xiang Yan had no choice but to do so.
Soon, Xiang Yan, clad in armor, stood on a high platform and addressed the soldiers below:
"Soldiers, I know you are very worried about your families, fearing something might happen to them! You wish to go home and see them!"
"But we are soldiers. A soldier's duty is to obey orders, and a soldier cannot leave the barracks at will!!"
"Therefore, I, your general, have decided to form an investigation team and send men to check on your families!"
"If anything is amiss, we will ensure our soldiers provide immediate rescue. If all is well, they can bring back a letter from your families to bring you peace of mind!!"
Upon hearing this, silence fell.
Many did not believe it. With so many soldiers here, searching and investigating each family one by one, how long would it take to finish?
They feared that by the time their families were investigated, their parents would already be dead and gone.
However, there were still many soldiers whose eyes lit up upon hearing this.
They had placed their hopes in Xiang Yan.
So, when Xiang Yan said these words, they eagerly inquired:
"Great General, is this true??"
"Of course. You are all my soldiers, and I will naturally protect your families' safety!!"
"Thank you, General, thank you, General!!"
At this time, many were willing to believe Xiang Yan's words.
They hadn't yet realized the time involved in such an undertaking. All they knew was that if Xiang Yan did this, they might receive news from their families.
Thus, their morale was revitalized, and they felt a sense of hope for their lives.
However, that evening, after discussing amongst themselves, the soldiers understood the drawbacks of Xiang Yan's plan.
These drawbacks meant they might not know the outcome for years to come.
But by now, they had lost their earlier fervor, and they were no longer united.
Therefore, even though they harbored dissatisfaction, they did not riot again.
After all, Xiang Yan had given them a glimmer of hope, and that glimmer was enough to appease many.
When Lin Tian heard about the near mutiny in the Chu army, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"If it continues this way, the Chu army will eventually mutiny if we are willing to wait!!"
"However, this is not the way I wish to fight!"
"Inform our people to open the gates of the Chu city tomorrow. We will attack directly!!"
"Yes!!"
Lin Tian's order to attack sent a jolt through everyone.
Everyone had been waiting for this order for far too long.
They had thought they might have to wait another month or two before truly attacking the Chu city.
To their surprise, Lin Tian had already decided to attack tomorrow.
This was a monumental event for them.
Once they attacked, it would mean the war between them and Chu would truly begin.
This was the last remaining nation, and such a war would undoubtedly be watched by the entire world.
Therefore, they had to conserve their strength and fight with all their might in tomorrow's great battle.
Xiang Yan was unaware of this.
However, due to the near mutiny in the army, he was paying close attention to military matters.
He frequently appeared on the city walls, guarding against any unexpected incidents.
Yet, in his eyes, the Qin army remained no different from before.
They were still outside the city walls, waiting for the Chu civilians to enter Qin territory.
The Chu soldiers had grown accustomed to this situation.
They didn't even bother to look at the Qin army, instead watching the Chu civilians below, hoping to see if any of their family members were among them.
If they were, they might even need to go down to reunite.
Because of this, no one noticed that Lin Tian's army had moved a little closer than the day before.
At the same time, more siege equipment had been prepared in his army.
Of course, Lin Tian did not act immediately. He waited for the civilians to come out.
He waited until almost all the civilians had emerged, with only a few dozen remaining, slowly making their way to the gates of the Chu city.
They appeared emaciated, consisting of young men, elders, and women.
Although there were no children, their presence in the crowd was not unusual.
Therefore, when they reached the city gates, the Chu soldiers treated them as ordinary civilians.
However, the Qin soldiers stared intently at these individuals.
Because they knew these were not Chu civilians at all, but their own Qin people.
To make their disguise more convincing, some had deliberately starved themselves thin, some disguised themselves as elders, and some even as women.
The skill of their disguise was far superior to that of the Chu soldiers before, so much so that the Chu people did not notice anything amiss.
However, the situation changed in the next instant.
As these disguised Qin people slowly approached the city gate, they suddenly drew the small daggers they carried and, in front of everyone, stabbed and killed the Chu soldiers guarding the gate.
Then, they forcefully pushed open the Chu city gate.
...