多少百姓深陷水火
“and how many people are suffering?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“but do you know how many soldiers' efforts were wasted,”
多少百姓深陷水火
“and how many people are suffering?”
“Look at the devastation you caused to our people.”
In Confucian political morality, causing ordinary citizens to suffer ('falling into water and fire') represents the ultimate failure of leadership and legitimacy.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
deep distress; extreme suffering (short for 深渊水火 / 水深火热)
A classical idiom metaphor describing living conditions of extreme devastation, warfare, or oppression.
to fall deeply into; to be trapped in
Used metaphorically to denote becoming completely stuck in a terrible crisis or predicament.