"Acting? How should we act to make the State of Wei believe us?"
"Naturally, we will fight ourselves!"
As he said this, Lin Tian smiled slightly.
He rather enjoyed this kind of acting.
Therefore, he had already decided to use this stratagem to attack Wei.
Under the discussion of everyone, they refined many details.
The next day, Lin Tian's plan began.
On this day, Lin Tian's army appeared, still attacking the State of Wei.
But this time, they were not probing as before, but deployed their trebuchets, firebombs, and other weapons.
Their trebuchets were improved, with greater power.
Their firebombs were even more potent, tied to massive stones.
As soon as the army appeared, it made the State of Wei extremely tense.
The massive stones from the trebuchets, carrying firebombs, flew towards Wei's border, creating a different kind of impact.
When the trebuchets landed, the firebombs instantly exploded.
Not only did the stones strike people, but the explosions of the firebombs also injured Wei soldiers. The raging fires caused Wei soldiers to cry out in agony.
Before Lin Tian's army had truly begun their assault, the Wei army was already screaming.
"Save me, hurry and save me!!"
"Fire! There's fire! Help me put it out quickly!!"
"Ah! I don't want to die, I don't want to die here, I don't want to die!"
Their army was too large, and they were especially afraid of the State of Qin.
Therefore, when their army defended the city, the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder.
This meant that when the massive stones and firebombs landed together, they had nowhere to escape.
Where the stones landed, the soldiers there caught fire.
The piercing screams made all the Wei soldiers extremely nervous.
They had to put out the flames while simultaneously defending against Lin Tian's army's assault.
Under their tense emotions, the Qin army indeed attacked.
They formed their "Mandarin Duck Formation" step by step, advancing forward.
During this process, archers continuously fired arrows at them, and they also had archers counterattacking.
When the trebuchets fired, they resisted together.
This process came at a cost.
However, the cost paid by Wei was significantly greater.
Because they were on the city walls in large numbers, many soldiers were killed by arrows.
Yet, even so, they still resisted Lin Tian's army with all their might.
They felt that Lin Tian's army was about to launch a full-scale attack on their State of Wei.
If they could not withstand Lin Tian's army, their border could be breached.
But who would have thought that while Lin Tian's army advanced, they would retreat upon reaching Wei's city gates?
This retreat baffled Wei.
They felt that Qin had a chance to break through their city gates and had prepared to fight to the death against the Qin army.
Why did the Qin army retreat at such a critical moment?
The Wei generals were confused, and their expressions soured when they tallied the casualties.
Although Lin Tian's army did not attack their city gates, even with these probing attacks, Wei had lost tens of thousands of soldiers.
This loss was too great compared to the losses of the Qin army, so much so that the Wei commander could not accept it.
However, not knowing Qin's objective, Wang Yi did not dare to issue any further orders.
He simply instructed the Wei army to hold the border firm.
His temperament was indeed as the Wei generals described, very mature and suitable for defense.
The next day, Lin Tian's army moved again, attacking the city once more.
This time, they once again grazed Wei's city gates before leaving.
After Wei tallied their numbers, they found themselves short by several thousand more.
On the third day, Lin Tian's army attacked again, this time with more ferocity than the previous day.
They used firebombs to blast open Wei's city gates.
The moment the city gates opened, Wei was terrified.
Fearing that Lin Tian's army would charge directly into their State of Wei, they resisted with all their might.
As if Lin Tian's army had anticipated their desperate resistance, they directly deployed archers to deal with them.
A large number of archers fired arrows, killing many Wei soldiers.
And as Wei counterattacked fiercely, Lin Tian's army retreated.
They once again left behind a field of corpses, but this time Wei's losses were even greater, with over twenty thousand soldiers lost.
The combined losses over these three days exceeded forty thousand.
Such losses made the Wei generals frown.
"This Qin army is clearly trying to deplete our forces. They want to reduce our strength little by little in this way!"
"Once our soldiers are significantly reduced, and they deem the time right, they will launch a full-scale assault!"
"This is a gradual encroachment, they are determined to conquer Wei!"
"Then, what... what should we do?"
The Wei generals all realized that if this continued, Wei would suffer greatly.
Therefore, they urgently needed a solution to break the stalemate.
Otherwise, after a few more such probing attacks by Qin, their forces might become equal to Qin's.
With equal numbers, could their State of Wei withstand Lin Tian's offensive?
Almost everyone knew without thinking that this was impossible.
Therefore, they all felt a sense of urgency.
And the Wei commander, Wang Yi, furrowed his brow even deeper.
"Pass down the order: instruct our soldiers not to crowd together too tightly. Keep a hundred thousand troops on the city walls, and the rest will be stationed below the walls, ready to provide support at any time!"
"With fewer soldiers on the city walls and less density, our casualties will surely be reduced."
"At the same time, arrange more archers behind the city gates. As soon as the Qin army breaks through our gates, we must catch them off guard and make them pay for attacking our State of Wei!!"
Wei would not take the initiative to attack. Wang Yi's tactics were all about defensive operations within the city.
However, everyone agreed with this approach.
For while it was conservative, it was safe.
Their demands were not high; they simply needed to defend their State of Wei.
On the fourth day, Qin's army indeed came to attack the State of Wei.
Again, the "Mandarin Duck Formation" led the charge, advancing step by step.
However, this time the offensive seemed less fierce than before.
Furthermore, this time they did not break through Wei's city gates. They only advanced to the gates, killed some Wei soldiers, and then retreated.
Although this method of operation was a little strange, not a single Wei soldier noticed anything amiss.
They still believed that this was the entire Qin army present.
However, they did not know that Lin Tian had already detached fifty thousand troops and temporarily left the area.
...