"Retreat, retreat quickly!!"
"Go, let's go now!!"
The soldiers were already very fearful of Lin Tian's army. Now that Crown Prince Dan had issued his orders, the Yan army had no reason to linger and fled madly.
Therefore, before the Qin army even reached the gates of Yanmen, the Yan army had completely withdrawn.
Moreover, they retreated a full twenty li without daring to look back.
As for the garrison and civilians of Yanmen, they were waiting at the gate to welcome the Qin army.
In their view, Lin Tian must have returned with his army, and they needed to welcome him and thank him for arriving so promptly to save them.
However, as this Qin army approached, they realized something was amiss.
This army was not the ten thousand strong force they expected. At a glance, it was at most a few thousand soldiers.
More prevalent were empty horses without riders.
And although this army flew the Qin flag and Lin Tian's banner, none of the faces were familiar to the people of Yanmen Commandery.
Lin Tian was not among them, nor was Li Mu, nor even Wang Wu and the others.
Thus, the garrison and civilians of Yanmen Commandery were utterly bewildered.
"Aren't you General Lin Tian's army? Why are there so few of you, and why don't you look like General Lin Tian's soldiers?"
"We are indeed not General Lin Tian's soldiers. We were merely impersonating General Lin Tian's army to scare Crown Prince Dan of Yan! We never expected they would actually be scared off!"
"What? You were impersonating them? General Lin Tian and the others haven't returned yet?"
Even the Yan army's garrison and civilians hadn't expected that the Qin army arriving to reinforce them was actually impersonating Lin Tian's army.
Such a move was beyond everyone's anticipation.
But it had to be said, it was indeed a good plan.
As soon as they appeared, the Yan army immediately retreated, fleeing without looking back.
The effectiveness was undeniable, showing the general who came to reinforce them was very sharp.
In fact, the general who came to reinforce them hadn't expected the Yan army to retreat so decisively.
He had initially intended to scare the Yan army to buy some time for the garrison and civilians of Yanmen.
Once they drew closer, he would fight the Yan army to the death.
Even if they died, they would not let the Yan army occupy Qin's Yanmen Commandery.
He never imagined the outcome would be so successful, with the Yan army retreating in fear.
This was an unexpected bonus for the Qin general who came to reinforce them.
"The Yan army has been scared off, and they shouldn't be attacking the city today. We should consider how to defend Yanmen Commandery!"
"At the same time, we should also go and find General Lin Tian and his army. Only when General Lin Tian truly returns can we truly defend Yanmen Commandery!"
This statement was immediately met with agreement from everyone.
Following this, everyone began to redeploy Yanmen Commandery's defenses, repairing damaged fortifications, reinstalling breached city gates, and even bringing out the few hundred "hidden trump cards" – firebombs – left by Lin Tian.
Some cavalry were also dispatched to search for Lin Tian's army.
It could be said that the soldiers and civilians of Yanmen Commandery were working at a feverish pace.
Meanwhile, the Yan army on the other side remained completely oblivious.
After retreating, they were still in a state of constant anxiety.
"Are they pursuing? Is Lin Tian's army pursuing?"
"No, there are no pursuers behind us!!"
"Hoo! That's good, that's good! If they had pursued, we would have been in serious trouble."
They were truly terrified of Lin Tian's army.
Therefore, the fact that Lin Tian's army was not pursuing them was a cause for celebration.
However, even so, they dispatched some scouts to survey the surroundings of their camp, to see if Lin Tian's army had secretly infiltrated.
Upon learning there were no pursuers, they did not relax. Instead, they dispatched more troops for night patrols to prevent any surprise attacks from Lin Tian.
The previous defeat had left a deep psychological scar on Crown Prince Dan.
This time, Crown Prince Dan was exceedingly cautious.
However, one day passed, and nothing happened.
On the second day, Crown Prince Dan continued his vigilant defense, ready to respond to any attack from Lin Tian's army.
But on the second day, nothing happened either, and Lin Tian's army still did not appear.
This, while bringing Crown Prince Dan some relief, also left him somewhat puzzled.
"Why hasn't Lin Tian sent his army to attack us? Is he plotting something?"
Crown Prince Dan held a great deal of fear for Lin Tian.
Therefore, even though there was no further news of Lin Tian's army, he remained on high alert.
That night, his defenses were even stronger.
However, such defenses were merely guarding against the air.
That day, still no one attacked or ambushed them.
The third day was the same, very quiet, so quiet it made Crown Prince Dan somewhat frustrated.
He pondered why Lin Tian had taken no action.
He also considered whether he should send his army to attack Yanmen Commandery again.
However, the thought of Lin Tian's army's might made him lack the courage.
Fortunately, on the third night, there was a change in the situation.
Their army was still defending strictly, so they discovered that someone was attempting to sneak into their camp.
Moreover, as these individuals retreated, they even left behind a few firebombs.
This immediately alarmed everyone.
"It's them indeed! Lin Tian's army has returned!"
"These people are too detestable, trying to ambush our army again! Fortunately, our army was already prepared!"
"This is all thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's masterful command, otherwise, we would have been successfully ambushed by these Qin people tonight!"
"Hmph! The same trick, and the Qin people think they can use it a second time? We are not fools!"
The Yan soldiers were overjoyed that they had repelled Lin Tian's army's surprise attack that night.
Even Crown Prince Dan couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy.
For them, this was a good beginning.
However, even though they had defended against Lin Tian's army's attack, Crown Prince Dan did not dare to take the initiative to march on Yanmen Commandery.
He remained in a state of passive defense.
This passive defense continued for another three days. Six days passed, and Lin Tian's army still had not launched an attack, which made the Yan army very surprised and restless.
People are always filled with fear of the unknown.
It was at this moment that a piece of news suddenly arrived.
"Your Highness, this is terrible! Our spies have sent intelligence that there is no Lin Tian's army in Yanmen Commandery!"
"No Lin Tian's army? How is that possible? We saw it with our own eyes that day!!"
"What we saw that day was not Lin Tian's army at all, but another Qin army impersonating them!"
"What? They were fake?"