When Sima Shang arrived at Yanmen, he heard the news that Lin Tian was injured and poisoned.
This made him incredibly astonished.
"Lin Tian is injured and poisoned? What happened?"
"It was our people; we sent assassins to assassinate Lin Tian!"
"Assassinating Lin Tian? Do you think you can succeed in assassinating Lin Tian with his immensely powerful combat strength?"
"This is… because the assassination wasn't a direct confrontation. Striking from behind, perhaps we'd have a chance!"
"Did any assassins return?"
"This… not a single one returned!"
As he said this, the expressions of the generals at Yanmen became visibly dejected.
The news of Lin Tian's injury had already spread. If no one had returned by now, it meant all of them had died in Lin Tian's camp.
Although many of them were Koreans, there were also brave warriors from their Zhao state.
Now that these warriors had paid the price of their lives for their plan, it was hard for them to feel happy.
Of course, more importantly, they understood that their assassination plan had likely failed.
At this moment, Sima Shang shattered their illusions, directly providing a definitive answer.
"According to your account, if Lin Tian were truly injured, he would have been deeply poisoned and died on the spot!"
"But now, the news circulating is that although he was poisoned, he didn't die!"
"This is actually highly unreasonable!"
"If news like this is spread, it can only be to confuse our perception!"
"Lin Tian of Qin is definitely alive and well. Your previous plan must have completely failed!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's hearts sank.
Although they had long suspected such a possibility, everyone couldn't help but feel disappointed when it was stated.
"Is Lin Tian of Qin truly that formidable? Is there truly nothing we can do against him?"
"If it's a matter of individual combat, we definitely have no way against him!"
"But a battlefield is never a one-person fight. Although his individual combat power is immense, he is ultimately too weak compared to an entire army!"
"Therefore, if we want to defeat Lin Tian, we should leverage our strengths against him, not compete with him on his strengths. Otherwise, we will suffer greatly!"
Before arriving at Yanmen, Sima Shang had gained a deep understanding of Lin Tian.
He knew that in terms of individual combat capability, they were no match for Lin Tian.
Moreover, Lin Tian was cunning and resourceful, requiring extreme caution when defending the city.
A moment of carelessness could easily lead to Lin Tian exploiting a weakness, and if Lin Tian seized an opportunity, it would be a huge trouble for them.
Therefore, a direct confrontation and overwhelming Lin Tian head-on was their best option.
Because a direct confrontation ultimately depended on the strength of the two armies, Lin Tian's influence in such a war would be minimized.
With this in mind, Sima Shang had a rough plan to deal with Lin Tian.
"Since Lin Tian claims to be poisoned and ill, let's help him out!"
"Help him? How?"
"Help him spread the word that he is poisoned and severely injured. Perhaps if it's said enough times, some people will believe it!"
The "some people" Sima Shang referred to were naturally Lin Tian's soldiers.
If these soldiers believed it, it would be a massive blow to them.
If their commander was severely injured and on the verge of death, would these soldiers have the heart to fight against the Zhao army?
Of course, this was also said for the Zhao soldiers at Yanmen.
Upon hearing this, the Zhao generals' morale would surely soar, and when the real battle commenced, they could unleash even greater combat power.
All of these factors combined would invisibly increase Zhao's chances of victory.
Furthermore, these were advantages that others might easily overlook.
After all, how could high-ranking generals care about what ordinary soldiers thought?
Sima Shang was gambling, betting that Lin Tian wouldn't pay too much attention to this matter.
Of course, Sima Shang wasn't placing all his hopes on this gamble, as the uncertainty was too great.
Therefore, he ordered the conscription of all able-bodied young men in Yanmen capable of fighting, and had them trained for a few days.
During these few days, he was also having people spread the news that Lin Tian had been severely poisoned and was on the brink of death.
As such rumors spread, the Zhao soldiers at Yanmen were all invigorated.
"Excellent! Lin Tian of Qin is severely poisoned and gravely injured; this is precisely our opportunity to attack Lin Tian's army!"
"That's right, I've long been annoyed by Lin Tian's army. They previously killed so many of our soldiers through despicable means; this time, we must make them pay with blood!"
"General Sima has also ordered the conscription of the youth. An attack on Lin Tian's army is a sure thing! Brothers, train well; this time, we must chop off Lin Tian of Qin's head!"
Many Zhao soldiers were eager to fight, wanting to take advantage of Lin Tian's severe injuries to attack him and take revenge.
Many had even planned how they would surround and kill Lin Tian on the battlefield and how they would cut off his head.
However, when such news reached Lin Tian's camp, his army showed no reaction.
This was because many of them had seen Lin Tian earlier, looking hale and hearty, with no signs of injury.
Conversely, the assassins who had tried to kill Lin Tian were still hanging in the military camp.
Lin Tian, within the military camp, paid close attention to external news.
At the same time, he learned that Sima Shang of Zhao had led an army of five thousand to reinforce Yanmen.
Therefore, Lin Tian predicted that Zhao would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to demoralize his army.
"General, your prediction was spot on. Those Zhao people are indeed spreading rumors about you!"
"Mm! Pay attention to the soldiers' morale; don't let our soldiers be truly affected by them!"
"At the same time, have the soldiers prepare for battle. Since they have already spread rumors, it means the time for them to act is drawing near!"
"Rest assured, General, we will pay special attention to this matter!"
Hearing this reply, Lin Tian nodded and looked towards Yanmen in the distance, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, within Yanmen, the rumors grew more and more outrageous.
Some of them even spread the word that Lin Tian was about to die.
Upon hearing such rumors, the Zhao soldiers' desire to fight grew even more fervent.
Many even let out loud shouts:
"Lin Tian of Qin, please don't die so soon, I haven't personally cut off your head yet!"
"Haha! I have the same thought. I really want to know if the head of Qin's Sword God is harder than others. I hope Lin Tian doesn't die too quickly!"
"Let us all pray together! Pray that Lin Tian of Qin does not die too quickly, and pray that we have the opportunity to personally kill Lin Tian of Qin!"