The excavation of the irrigation ditches naturally mobilized a large number of machines, causing construction to begin in many parts of the Qin kingdom.
Fortunately, only machines were used this time, so there was no talk of exhausting the people and depleting resources.
However, their actions did attract the attention of some people.
Among them, the most concerned were the people of Lingnan.
However, the Lingnan people were somewhat bewildered about why Qin was digging irrigation ditches.
“What are these Qin people planning to do? Are they going to build ditches for us??”
“That’s impossible, right? Are the Qin people that kind? Why would they build ditches for us for no reason??”
“I don’t understand either, but judging by their posture, it seems they are indeed building ditches here. They can’t possibly want us to cultivate the land, can they??”
These Lingnan people paid great attention to Qin’s movements.
After all, the most powerful force in this world was Great Qin.
And they were located next to Great Qin, in a way, they shared the same fate as Great Qin.
However, they did not belong to Great Qin; they were still their own people, and even had their own army.
Therefore, they were truly puzzled by Qin’s actions.
Logically, they had not done anything good for Great Qin recently, nor had they expressed any desire to submit to Great Qin.
Under such circumstances, why would Great Qin dig ditches for them?
So, after the matter of digging ditches arose, many of them were very confused.
However, they did not know Qin’s purpose, which made them very lost.
They could only watch the Qin people dig ditches, not knowing what they were doing, nor did they try to stop them.
Of course, the reason they didn’t stop them was that they hadn’t seen the Qin army.
As long as the Qin army did not appear, they had nothing to fear.
After all, ordinary civilians could not possibly defeat them.
Only a powerful army could truly conquer them.
Now that the Qin army had not appeared, everything that Qin was doing posed no threat.
Not to mention, these people felt that digging these ditches would actually be beneficial to them.
As long as they utilized these ditches well, they could indeed grow crops.
By next year, they would be able to reap a bountiful harvest.
On the other hand, they felt that the ditches dug by Qin would not be too deep.
Even if such ditches were dug, the impact would not be significant.
If they wanted to cut off such ditches, they could do so easily.
With this thought in mind, they watched the artisans of Qin dig the ditches.
And their presence naturally attracted the attention of the Qin soldiers.
The Qin soldiers had not not come; they had simply not appeared.
Once these Lingnan people dared to come out and cause trouble while the artisans were digging ditches, the Qin soldiers would certainly charge out immediately.
At that time, although they might not be able to conquer all of Lingnan, dealing with those who caused trouble would be no problem at all.
It was precisely because of this assurance that the artisans digging the ditches dug with such peace of mind.
On the other hand, the Qin soldiers were also actively recruiting.
“We can tell you clearly: we are going to attack Lingnan!!”
“Our Great Qin has already conquered countless territories. Under heaven, there is no land that does not belong to Great Qin. Now, this Lingnan land must also belong to our Great Qin!!”
“And we are building ditches to facilitate transportation!”
“As soon as the ditches are completed, we will immediately send troops to Lingnan!!”
“What? Great Qin is going to send troops to Lingnan??”
These speakers were from the smaller factions in Lingnan.
Their own strength was not strong, and they were extremely awed by Great Qin.
Now, upon hearing that Great Qin was going to attack Lingnan, many of them panicked.
They all wanted to survive; none of them wanted to die.
Therefore, they all spoke anxiously at this time:
“Please do not attack us, we have no ill intentions towards Great Qin!!”
“Yes! Our tribesmen are innocent. They have done nothing wrong to Great Qin. We survive by hunting, please give us a way to live!”
“We are willing to surrender, we are willing to surrender to Great Qin, please do not kill us, please accept our surrender!”
They hoped that Great Qin would accept their surrender at this time.
In their hearts, they had a strong desire to survive.
After all, their forces were too weak and insignificant in the face of a behemoth like Great Qin.
The Qin envoy naturally knew their thoughts.
Their reactions were within the envoy’s expectations.
And because of this, after these people spoke, the envoys pretended to hesitate for a moment, then said:
“If you want to surrender, it’s not impossible!!”
“However, our Great Qin needs to see your sincerity!!”
“Sincerity? We have sincerity, we are willing to show our sincerity!”
“Yes! Yes! We are willing to show our sincerity, we are willing to give half of our food, we are willing to give the food we have stored from hunting!”
“Yes! I am willing to give half of the furs of my tribe, we are willing to offer our most sincere sincerity!”
These tribal people nodded repeatedly upon hearing the word sincerity, and then offered what they considered their most sincere gifts.
One was food, and the other was furs stored for winter.
To them, these were absolutely essential for survival.
However, when the Qin envoy heard this, he shook his head repeatedly.
Although these things were precious to these tribal people, they were nothing to Great Qin.
Moreover, Great Qin did not want their possessions, but their people.
They wanted their people to participate in the war, to have Lingnan people fight against Lingnan people.
Only in this way could the victory of this war be ensured.
Therefore, the Qin envoy spoke at this time.
“The things you are talking about are not what our Great Qin needs! What our Great Qin needs is your people!!”
“People??”
“Yes! Our Great Qin is not familiar with the land of Lingnan, so we need people who are familiar with Lingnan to lead us and help us familiarize ourselves with Lingnan!!”
“If necessary, we will also need people from Lingnan to participate in the war!!”
“What? Our people have to fight? This…?”
Upon hearing that Great Qin needed their tribesmen to fight, they were all unwilling.
After all, they were not large tribes and did not have many people to begin with.
And warfare required the strong young men.
Once their tribes lacked enough strong young men, their tribes would truly decline.
Therefore, they were unwilling to provide people.
However, they also knew that Great Qin was immensely powerful.
That kind of power was beyond their ability to refuse.
If they refused, no one could guarantee what would happen later.
Under such circumstances, they could only argue and beg Great Qin not to send their strong young men to fight.
However, before their pleas could be spoken, the Qin envoy spoke first.
“Don’t worry, we don’t need too many of your strong young men, only one-third will suffice!!”
“Furthermore, we will not use your strong young men in vain!!”
“Your tribes will not only receive grain and clothing from our Great Qin, but also cattle and sheep, and even many tools!!”
“With these things, your tribes will not only avoid starvation, but will also grow stronger!!”
“What? We can receive food? How much food can we receive??”
The civilization of these tribes was still very backward, and food was the most important thing to them.
Therefore, upon learning that they could receive food, each of them became extremely concerned.
And the Qin envoy offered them a condition they simply could not refuse.
“As long as you are willing to assist us, our Great Qin can provide each of your tribes with one year’s worth of food!”
“One year??”
“Yes! For one year, you will not have to worry about eating and drinking! At the same time, those strong young men who join the army will also receive military rations and money!”
“Hiss!!”
The offer of a year’s worth of food made many people gasp in awe.
These tribal people relied mostly on hunting to obtain food.
When they were lucky, they had plenty of gains.
But when they were unlucky, many people in their tribes might not have enough to eat.
Moreover, hunting was also very dangerous.
Every year, people died during hunts, some falling to their deaths, and some being killed by prey.
Many of them, after paying the price of their lives, could only achieve a basic level of sustenance.
And now, a year’s worth of food was placed before them. How could these people not be tempted?
After swallowing their saliva, many of them said:
“Okay! We’ll do this!”
“Agreed?”
“Agreed, our tribesmen need this food!”
“It’s good that you’ve thought it through!”
“Furthermore, attacking Lingnan is actually not a bad thing for you!”
“After our Great Qin conquers Lingnan, you will also be our Great Qin subjects. At that time, you will all be like our Great Qin subjects, and everyone will be able to eat their fill!”
Everyone being able to eat their fill was indeed a great temptation for these Lingnan people.
But they also knew that one had to eat one mouthful at a time.
The matter of assisting the Qin army in attacking Lingnan had not yet been completed, so how could they dream of becoming Great Qin subjects?
Therefore, they suppressed their inner impulses and only desired the year’s worth of food.
The Qin envoy understood their thoughts.
They were not in a hurry; things had to be done step by step.
…