Ge Nie was defeated and remained in the army, teaching soldiers sword techniques.
Even if Lin Tian knew Ge Nie's purpose, he did not expose him.
To Lin Tian, this was insignificant.
But for the soldiers in the army, the impact was immense.
With Ge Nie, the Sword Saint, teaching them sword techniques, their progress was substantial.
Previously, the sword techniques they practiced were taught by Lin Tian.
However, after Lin Tian taught them one set of sword techniques, he did not teach them any more.
Their subsequent progress was solely achieved through combat.
Such combat enhanced their practical skills.
However, it did not bring about significant changes in their sword techniques.
Ge Nie's teaching of sword techniques was entirely different.
Ge Nie was a Sword Saint, who had dedicated years to sword techniques. While Lin Tian's soldiers' sword techniques were superior to those of ordinary soldiers, they were no match for Ge Nie.
Therefore, Ge Nie was more than capable of teaching Lin Tian's soldiers and officers.
Many also enjoyed being taught by Ge Nie, because although he was aloof, he was incredibly serious when teaching sword techniques.
Every time he taught sword techniques, the officers and soldiers in the army progressed rapidly.
The strength of Lin Tian's officers and soldiers was also steadily improving.
This improvement brought joy to the soldiers and instilled fear in their enemies.
Especially when the people of Chu learned that the legendary Sword Saint Ge Nie had become the chief instructor of Lin Tian's army, they were even more terrified.
"No, if this trend continues, the combat effectiveness of Qin's Lin Tian will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced, and our Chu soldiers will be even more outmatched!"
"This Ge Nie, is he intending to be an enemy of our Chu? Why is he helping Qin at this time?"
"Recruitment, we must recruit more soldiers, only then can we withstand the Qin army!"
The matter of recruitment was raised again.
This also meant that Chu needed more money.
Of course, the matter of Chu demanding ten wen from every commoner last time had not ended, and they had not yet collected all the money from the populace.
It was just that, compared to the slow pace before, their speed of collecting money had increased.
Moreover, their methods were more violent than before.
"The King has ordered that all citizens must pay ten wen to aid Chu's front lines in battle. Those who do not pay will be severely punished!"
"The King has ordered that those with more money should pay more. If you have ten mu of land, you should pay one hundred wen per person!"
"Our nation is in distress, and everyone should contribute to Chu. Therefore, I don't care what your reason is; even if you have to borrow money, you must pay it!"
After such words, chaos erupted in various parts of Chu.
To the King of Chu, he merely wanted everyone to pay ten wen so that Chu would have money to supply the front-line soldiers and pay military expenses.
But for the officials below, this was an excellent opportunity to enrich themselves.
Especially since many of them had magnified the King of Chu's statement that those with more money should pay more, leading many commoners to be deemed wealthy.
Many commoners were required to pay one hundred wen per person. For families with several children, they needed to pay several hundred wen.
If there were more people, they would have to pay even more.
This caused the commoners of Chu to lament.
"How can we afford to pay so much money?"
"This is not asking us to pay money, this is practically confiscating our homes!"
"We can't live anymore, we can't live anymore. If we can't pay the money, they ask us to borrow. When everyone has to pay, who has money to lend us? If we borrow money, what will we use to repay it? What will we eat in the coming days?"
These were the questions asked by many commoners of Chu, but no one could answer them.
Or rather, no one was willing to answer them.
When those officials saw large sums of money flowing into their pockets, they no longer cared about the lives of the commoners.
This was not all. When the King of Chu ordered conscription, they also demanded that many commoners' able-bodied men enlist and become soldiers to serve Chu.
This conscription order drove countless commoners to despair.
"We have no money to begin with, and now we have to send the laborers in our families to become soldiers. Is this going to make our entire family starve to death at home?"
"We can't live anymore, we can't live anymore. If the laborers in our family go to the army, our family will be without descendants!"
"This is going to destroy us, this is leaving us no way to live!"
At this moment, many commoners' eyes were red.
Originally, Chu was not at war, and they were still full of hope for their future lives.
They felt that through their hard work, their lives would surely get better and better.
But now, they all felt despair.
With the King of Chu's two decrees, all the commoners were pushed to a dead end.
Let alone the future, they felt they might not even survive next month.
Moreover, they felt that their families might become extinct, and their entire households might perish.
As this thought arose, everyone became restless.
Under desperate circumstances, they all longed for a way to survive.
"No, we can't stay in Chu any longer, or our families will surely be wiped out!"
"This is too cruel. The King is too cruel. He has not considered our lives at all; he does not regard us as citizens of Chu!"
"Let's leave here. We must leave here. We must find a way to live for ourselves! Let's go to Qin, let's survive!"
When someone shouted about going to Qin, countless commoners' hearts became restless.
If it were before, they would certainly not have been willing to leave their homes and go to the unknown Qin.
But now, when they could no longer survive, the situation was different.
"I heard that Qin is willing to accept people from all states, and they treat people from all states equally. Many commoners have even been allocated land. If we go to Qin, we will surely survive!"
"I've heard such rumors too. It is said that when Qin and Zhao were fighting, many Zhao soldiers fled to Qin, and Qin accepted them unconditionally. This shows that entering Qin will not be too bad for us!"
"I don't expect any good outcome anymore. I just hope that my family can stay together, and I hope my family can survive, instead of being constantly squeezed for money and having our families torn apart!"
"No matter what, let's go to Qin and survive!"
In the face of the inability to survive, countless commoners of Chu made up their minds to seek a way to survive in Qin.