During the late Warring States period, rival kingdoms clashed endlessly for supremacy. In 293 BCE, King Zhao of Qin sent his great general Bai Qi to annihilate the combined forces of Han and Wei at Yique (in present-day Henan), slaughtering 240,000 soldiers and plundering vast treasures, leaving the families of the slain wailing in unbearable grief.
The Qin army repeatedly attacked the states of Han and Wei, seizing hundreds of cities and causing countless deaths. They then besieged Daliang (modern Kaifeng), the capital of Wei. As the city was about to fall, the states of Qi and Zhao threatened to send reinforcements, prompting King Zhao of Qin to change his strategy and order his forces to attack Chu instead.
Bai Qi's army swiftly invaded Chu, forcing King Qingxiang of Chu to flee the capital, bringing another catastrophe to the people of Chu. A year later, Bai Qi led Qin forces to the gates of Daliang, the Wei capital, aiming to crush Wei in one blow. However, Han troops rushed to Wei's rescue, preventing the Qin army from capturing Daliang, and Bai Qi was forced to withdraw.
In this situation, King Zhaoxiang of Qin pretended to make peace with the states of Han and Wei, proposing they join forces to attack Chu. However, after several months, neither state sent troops. When Chu learned that Qin was planning another invasion, they dispatched the envoy Huang Xie to Qin to negotiate peace.
Huang Xie, a Chu noble serving as Left Adviser, traveled to Qin and submitted a memorial to King Zhao, arguing, "The real threat to Qin is not Chu, but Han and Wei. Their people have been slaughtered by you beyond count; the survivors are homeless and destitute, harboring an irreconcilable hatred for Qin."
Huang Xie continued, 'Now, Your Majesty has allied with two hostile states to attack our Chu, which only strengthens them. Moreover, if your army passes through Han and Wei, a sudden betrayal could spell disaster for Qin. Therefore, we should form an alliance to eliminate Han and Wei—that is the only sound strategy.'
King Zhao of Qin found Huang Xie's words quite reasonable, so he recalled the general Bai Qi and formed an alliance with the state of Chu.
Later, the idiom "the people are destitute" came to describe extreme hardship where commoners can barely survive.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Lord Chunshen"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "民不聊生" came to describe extreme hardship where commoners can barely survive.