Prince Dan of Yan was confined to his residence, his spirits greatly dejected. He knew that Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Ying Zheng had failed. He even knew that it was due to Qin Wuyang's extreme weakness, as he hadn't offered any assistance whatsoever. And then, Lin Tian had appeared, leading to Jing Ke's failure. This filled him with regret. If he had waited a little longer, for the expert Jing Ke had mentioned, the situation might have been different. But now, Jing Ke was dead, his plot exposed, and everything had changed.
"This time, I'm afraid I truly won't be able to be the Crown Prince!" Ji Dan knew the character of King Xi of Yan; if he decided not to let Prince Dan be the Crown Prince, he would never allow it. Thinking of losing his chance at the throne of Yan, Prince Dan was filled with resentment. However, his power was no match for the King of Yan, so despite his unwillingness, he could only accept it helplessly. He was awaiting someone from the royal palace to deliver an imperial decree.
As he waited, people from the royal palace did indeed appear. But it wasn't just an envoy to deliver an imperial decree; it was also royal guards. These guards, swords in hand and eyes filled with killing intent, advanced towards Prince Dan. The imposing sight left Prince Dan momentarily stunned.
"What? What are you doing?" Prince Dan vaguely sensed that these people had not come merely to deliver the King of Yan's decree. Their actions were filled with an intense killing intent. This caused Prince Dan to slowly retreat as he spoke.
The envoy, without any courtesy, addressed Prince Dan: "By order of the King, Crown Prince Dan has acted recklessly, attempting to assassinate King Ying Zheng of Qin for his own selfish gain, plunging the state of Yan into a situation of disloyalty and injustice, a crime of utmost gravity!"
"Therefore, Prince Dan's head shall be severed and sent to General Lin Tian of Qin as atonement!!"
"What?" These words shocked Prince Dan to his core. He knew the King of Yan would send an envoy, wanting him to take the blame and be punished. But he never imagined that King Xi of Yan would not only punish him but also seek his life. This was something Prince Dan could never accept.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could my father be so heartless? How could he kill his own son?"
"I don't believe it! I want to see my father! I want to see my father!!" Prince Dan turned and ran. While he genuinely wanted to seek clarification from the King of Yan, his primary concern was fear. What if the King of Yan truly intended this? If he went to the King of Yan, wouldn't he be walking into a trap? Therefore, he needed to escape from here. Only by escaping would his safety be guaranteed, and he would survive. Other matters could be verified later.
With this thought, Prince Dan ran for his life. Pursuing him were a large number of guards. Consequently, many retainers and guards of Prince Dan's mansion witnessed other soldiers chasing Prince Dan, who was fleeing in a desperate manner under a barrage of swords. This instinctively made many retainers and guards want to save Prince Dan, to rescue the person who supported them.
However, at this moment, the pursuing guards shouted: "The King has decreed that Prince Dan is untalented and lacking virtue, bringing ruin to the state of Yan! Effective immediately, his position as Crown Prince is revoked!"
"The war between Qin and Yan was caused by Prince Dan! Therefore, his head shall be severed to prove the friendship between Qin and Yan!!" These words immediately made many people halt. Although they were retainers of Prince Dan, many of them were also subjects of Yan. They naturally had to obey the King's orders. Thus, aside from a small minority, no one helped Prince Dan of Yan. With the help of that small minority, Ji Dan did manage to escape Prince Dan's mansion.
However, this did not mean he escaped the pursuit. Instead, more troops were chasing Prince Dan through the royal capital of Yan. Even many ordinary citizens witnessed it. In the end, Prince Dan was cut down by a hail of swords, his body covered in wounds. There were wounds from swords and arrows. They treated Prince Dan as a heinous enemy, showing no mercy in their attacks. Therefore, when Ji Dan died, his corpse was riddled with holes.
After beheading Ji Dan, the soldiers did not bother to collect his body, leaving it to lie in the marketplace. Subsequently, they carefully wrapped Ji Dan's head and sent it with an envoy to Lin Tian.
When Lin Tian learned of this, he was astonished. "Crown Prince Dan of Yan was killed in the marketplace, his body uncollected, and it was the King of Yan's order??"
"Yes, this is the sincerity of our state of Yan!!"
"The assassination of the King of Qin was not the will of our state of Yan; it was merely Prince Dan's unilateral decision!"
"Sincerity? Your King is truly ruthless!!" The King of Yan had resorted to such a cruel method because he believed that Prince Dan's head could earn Qin's forgiveness. Even if it couldn't make Qin cease hostilities, it could at least stall Qin's advance, preventing them from attacking the city so quickly. As long as this was achieved, the King of Yan would be content. He did not wish to die, nor did he want to be a ruler of a conquered nation. Prince Dan, as a figure of such importance, should have served to buy them some time. Even if Qin had truly decided to attack the royal capital of Yan, it could buy time for the King of Yan and his retinue to retreat.
At this moment, the envoy from Yan was extremely humble. After Lin Tian uttered his words, he quickly interjected. "Precisely because Prince Dan is important, it demonstrates our state of Yan's sincerity!"
"After all, our King was willing to kill even Prince Dan, which shows that our King was truly unaware and is indeed remorseful!"
"Therefore, we implore General Lin to accept our sincerity!!"
"A single head, what sort of sincerity is that? Such a head might be important to your state of Yan, but to me, it is merely a useless thing. This sincerity is not enough!!" With that, Lin Tian, without any hesitation, kicked away the box containing the head of Prince Dan of Yan. He truly disdained such a useless individual. If he hadn't been the Crown Prince of Yan, Lin Tian wouldn't have even glanced at him. This action caused the envoy from Yan's face to turn deathly pale. Although he knew Lin Tian would present other conditions before coming, he had not expected Lin Tian to belittle the head of Prince Dan to such an extent.
"Then, then what kind of sincerity does General Lin desire?"
"My demand is simple. When leaving Xianyang City, our King also told me that the conquest of Yan would suffice!"
"Therefore, if your state of Yan surrenders without resistance, I can consider sparing your lives!"
"Otherwise, do not blame me for exterminating all the nobles of your state of Yan!!"