The affairs of Chu had erupted, and the only action the King of Chu took was to severely punish the Chu officials.
For the King of Chu, this was his explanation to the people of Chu, and he believed that the people of Chu would surely be satisfied.
After all, he himself was very satisfied with this matter.
It was just that the King of Chu did not know that he was the only one satisfied with this matter; the people of Chu still felt that their Chu was a land of suffering.
There were still many people in Chu who wished they could go to Qin and become citizens of Qin.
This made Xiang Yan’s heart grow cold as he returned to the Chu capital.
When he met the King of Chu, he directly questioned him.
"Your Majesty, conscripting soldiers and collecting money from the people at this time is simply pushing the people to a dead end!"
"Do you also think the people have it hard? So do I, which is why I severely punished those officials. I must say, those officials were truly black-hearted; the money they embezzled was too much! Seeing that money chilled even my heart!"
"Since Your Majesty feels chilled, have you considered how our Chu should save our people? Many of our people can no longer live!"
"Can't live? Then... open the granaries to provide disaster relief, comfort those affected, and let all the people survive!"
In the King of Chu's view, as long as the people survived, there would be no problem.
After all, for the common people, survival was the most important thing.
Just like when they experienced disasters before, many people had lost everything.
Yet, even so, they had rebuilt their families with just their will to live.
The King of Chu believed that as long as these people were allowed to live, they could still form new families.
In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with his method of appeasing the people.
However, the King of Chu did not know that what the people of Chu were experiencing was not a natural disaster at all, but a man-made calamity.
Moreover, the root of this man-made calamity began with the King of Chu.
It was the officials under the King of Chu who took all their money, and then demanded that the able-bodied men from their families all join the army as soldiers, which made the people of Chu feel they had no way to survive.
Under such circumstances, for the King of Chu to still naively expect to appease the current people with methods used to appease them during natural disasters was utter delusion.
Those people only wanted their money and the able-bodied men from their families, not a handout of food.
This was something the King of Chu could not see, or perhaps, did not want to see.
But Xiang Yan saw it very clearly.
"Your Majesty, this matter is not just about giving the people a meal; many people have been forcibly conscripted into the army!"
"It is said that many old men and children have become soldiers in the army!"
"People like them can barely wield weapons; they have very little combat effectiveness. How can they go to the battlefield? This is clearly a foolish decision!"
"Therefore, your humble servant suggests that all the old men and children who have entered the army be returned to their homes, and new soldiers be recruited!"
"At the same time, return all the people's money to them, allowing them to return to their former lives!"
Although many people had already died and could not return to their previous lives.
However, this was the best solution Xiang Yan could think of.
Only with such a solution could the anger in the hearts of the people truly be quelled.
Xiang Yan believed that after they did this, even if the people still harbored anger, they would not leave Chu and would willingly remain its subjects.
However, his thoughts were beautiful, and his suggestion was not wrong, but that did not mean the King of Chu was willing to accept his suggestion.
Before seeing so much money, the King of Chu's thought was for every citizen to contribute ten copper coins, so that the Chu army would have enough funds for war.
After he confiscated the officials' residences and obtained a large sum of money, the King of Chu's thoughts changed.
He had already decided that this money belonged to him, and no one could take it away.
Therefore, when Xiang Yan mentioned returning the people's money, the King of Chu's expression changed immediately.
He did not want to return the money, but he also did not want to leave himself open to criticism.
So, he could only say to Xiang Yan with a cold face:
"I will handle this matter!"
"Now that Qin is attacking us, General should go to the front lines to lead the troops and resist the Qin army!"
"As for the reserve troops, General need not worry. I will naturally conscript them for you!"
"Your Majesty, this is the people's money, how can…!"
"Enough, General Xiang. I will handle this matter myself. Do you not trust me?"
After speaking, the King of Chu's face became even more unpleasant.
Vaguely, he was about to get angry.
This demeanor clearly told Xiang Yan that he was not allowed to speak further.
This made Xiang Yan stop speaking, hesitate, and then leave in silence.
The incident in Chu made him feel the immense power of money, and it also made him somewhat disheartened.
He suddenly felt that such a dilapidated Chu was not worth protecting.
Rather than let the people of Chu suffer in Chu, it would be better for them to become citizens of Qin.
However, when he thought of his Xiang clan, who had been noble families of Chu for generations, Chu could not collapse, and he could only suppress such thoughts.
Then, he reappeared on the battlefield with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile, in the capital, the King of Chu did make some changes.
He ordered the release of the old men and children conscripted into the army, and then increased the military pay and benefits for soldiers.
Afterward, he called upon the young and able-bodied men of Chu to actively join the army.
He even personally said:
"If you have no money or food at home, don't worry. As long as you join the army, you can support your entire family by yourself!"
He intended to stimulate the young and able-bodied men of Chu to enlist through this method.
However, he did not know that his actions further enraged countless people in Chu.
"Why do we have no money or food? Isn't it because you stole our money!"
"We don't even have food for tomorrow. In this situation, you still want to trick us into joining the army? I think you not only want our money, but you also want our lives, to send us to our deaths on the battlefield!"
"Die, all of you! If we all die, no one will come to ask you for money anymore!"
"This Chu is no longer bearable. I should have entered Qin before this, and then we wouldn't be left with nothing like this!"
The more new policies the King of Chu introduced, the stronger the desire of the people of Chu to flee Chu became.