"The Great General has ordered that those who open the city gates and surrender will not be killed!"
"The Great General has ordered that the people of Yan can retreat. We will not kill the commoners, nor do we need their heads to claim military merit. Our merit is already sufficient!"
"The Great General has ordered that whoever can present the head of King Xi of Yan will have their entire clan spared! They will enjoy endless glory and wealth!"
Lin Tian led his great army and surrounded the capital of Yan.
However, he only surrounded the capital of Yan and did not launch any attacks.
He simply had several large horns made and had them broadcast the messages outside the city walls of Yan.
He wanted the people of Yan to know that he had no intention of killing them.
Even if not all the people believed him, as long as a portion did, it would be beneficial for Lin Tian's army.
At the same time, he announced that those who opened the city gates and surrendered would not be killed.
For this group of people, Lin Tian could offer favorable treatment.
Furthermore, he had placed a bounty on the head of King Xi of Yan.
As long as his head was presented, not only would his entire clan be spared, but they would also enjoy immense wealth and prosperity.
Such an offer was enough to tempt many.
After all, the state of Yan at this time was indeed in dire straits.
In such circumstances, who would not want to live?
When King Xi of Yan heard Lin Tian's proclamations, he immediately panicked.
He understood very well how great the temptation of survival was for everyone.
Although he still commanded a large army at this moment, and many remained loyal to him, it was not impossible for someone to take his head and claim the reward.
Therefore, King Xi of Yan became extremely cautious these past few days.
However, being cautious did not mean he was safe.
Even if the nobles of Yan had not yet considered taking his head for a reward, the hearts of the Yan people had already begun to waver.
When they heard that the Qin people had no intention of killing them, many of their thoughts changed.
"The Qin people don't want to kill us? Do you think that if the Qin people break through the city, we can survive?"
"That can't be right? The King said that the Qin people want to vent their anger by killing us. If they enter the city, will they let us go?"
"But it wasn't us who assassinated the King of Qin. We didn't even know anything about it. Why would they kill us?"
Many people held onto the hope of survival.
Especially since Lin Tian had previously conquered Han and Zhao, and had not harmed their commoners, this gave the people of Yan even more hope.
Many among them believed that since Lin Tian had declared he would not kill them, he would certainly not do so.
After all, integrity was extremely important at this time.
Especially for a Great General like Lin Tian, once he lost his integrity, he would lose far too much.
Therefore, many people actually believed Lin Tian's words.
"Since Lin Tian's army doesn't intend to kill us, do we still need to go to the city walls and face their army?"
"I don't want to. If we go to the city walls and pick up weapons, we become soldiers. Once the war breaks out, we will surely die!"
"Indeed, the power of Lin Tian's army is renowned. If we fight them, we will inevitably suffer losses, as we are not even as good as ordinary soldiers!"
These common people, although they were on the city walls to defend against Lin Tian's army, actually had little combat power.
They had not undergone formation training, and they were not skilled with their swords.
In fact, many of them did not even have weapons.
They went to the city walls merely out of the fervor in their hearts to protect their families.
But now, if their families were not threatened, the situation was completely different.
If their families could remain unharmed, then they had no need to go to the battlefield to die.
Therefore, many people's hearts became restless, and many secretly climbed down the city walls, returned home, and stopped defending the city.
This behavior not only affected the people of Yan but also the army of Yan.
Many soldiers of Yan, at this moment, could no longer hold back. They also wanted to abandon the city and return home.
Especially when they saw that Lin Tian's army not only had extraordinarily strong warhorses but also equally formidable soldiers.
This further weakened their fighting spirit.
King Xi of Yan, upon seeing this, became instantly anxious.
"No, this cannot continue. If it does, our army will collapse! We must find a way to prevent this situation!"
"But, many people have already believed the words of Qin's Lin Tian. It is very difficult for us to keep them here!"
"Not only that! Many soldiers are now thinking that those who surrender will not be killed, and they wish to surrender!"
"Your Majesty, at this point, we can no longer stop it. Our words cannot convince the hearts of the people and the soldiers!"
It was King Xi of Yan who had previously lied to the people, saying that Lin Tian would slaughter them after breaking through the city, which had led those people to voluntarily man the city walls.
Now that the lie had been exposed, naturally, not many were willing to defend the city for Yan.
Therefore, the nobles of Yan could only worry anxiously, not knowing how to rally the people and maintain the morale of the army.
Even after they had just spoken ill of Qin, Qin had already found a way to counter them.
According to their words, more and more people wanted to leave the military camp and return home.
Eventually, it even developed into people leaving openly.
This made the King of Yan and the generals of Yan extremely disheartened.
"We cannot let them continue like this. We cannot let them leave. Issue an order for strict military discipline. No one is allowed to leave the military camp, including those civilians!!"
The order prohibiting leaving the camp was a normal military regulation.
Usually, after such an order was issued, no one would leave the military camp.
Because soldiers knew that leaving the camp without permission was a sure path to death.
However, the civilians of Yan were not soldiers, and they did not have such strict military discipline.
Therefore, a large crowd of civilians gathered at the entrance of the military camp.
"Why are you not letting us leave? We just want to go home!!"
"Yes, we are not soldiers of Yan. We are only here to assist. Now that there is no fighting, can we not go home to visit?"
"Why are you not letting us leave the camp? We haven't made any mistakes!!"
Many civilians questioned the soldiers why they were not allowed to leave the camp.
Even many civilians impulsively tried to break through.
They did not want to stay in the military camp; they did not want to stay here to die.
This surge caused the faces of the guards at the camp entrance to change.
Then, without any hesitation, he drew his treasured sword and swung it at a civilian who had rushed to his side.
"The King has ordered that anyone who leaves the camp without permission will be executed!"
Killing to establish authority was a common tactic in the military, and an effective deterrent to soldiers.
However, this time, the target of his deterrence was civilians.
The civilians were stunned by this scene at first, then became extremely angry.
"Why did you kill him?!"
"What mistake did Old Wang make that you had to kill him?!"
"Executioner!! We haven't died at the hands of the Qin army yet, and we've already died at your hands. Today, you must give us an explanation, or this matter will not end here!"
Saying this, they took up their swords and charged into the camp.
The guards at the entrance were immediately scattered by them.
Many soldiers were directly killed in the chaos.
This death directly led to a major conflict between the soldiers and the civilians in the army, and all the civilians could no longer remain calm.
They all took up their weapons to resist the army's suppression.
At the same time, they hoped to get an explanation for their friends who had died at the hands of the soldiers.
More civilians took advantage of the chaos during the charge to escape.
Soon, the city of Yan descended into utter chaos.
...