Beyond the gates of Yanmen Commandery, it was not empty land, but piles of massive stones blocking the way.
The people of Yanmen Commandery had devised many methods to defend against the Yan army.
Relying solely on their military strength, it was clearly impossible to resist the Yan army's assault on the city gates.
Under the onslaught of their army, the gates of Yanmen Commandery would inevitably be breached quickly.
With this in mind, the people of Yanmen Commandery had blocked all the city gates two days prior.
Except for a small number of people who could leave by rope, no one could exit.
And for the Yan army to break into Yanmen Commandery, it would not be so simple.
Without being able to break through the blockade of giant stones at the city gates, they had no way to get their vast army into the city.
As the Yan army had said, they had completely sealed their own gates.
Such an action posed a significant problem for the Yan army.
Prince Dan of Yan, upon hearing the soldiers' reports, was even more astonished.
"What? They actually used giant stones to block the city gates and sealed themselves in?"
"Yes! Our soldiers can't break down their gates, and even if we smash the gates, we won't be able to get in!"
"Ah! Why are these Qin people so detestable? Are they trying to starve themselves to death?"
Sealing their gates like Yanmen Commandery did could indeed lead to their own demise.
Of course, this would require time.
They would need to deplete all the grain and supplies within Yanmen Commandery before they would be trapped.
Such occurrences were quite normal on the battlefield.
In a genuine siege, it was not unusual for a city to be encircled for half a year.
If they had followed the normal siege methods, Prince Dan of Yan could have allowed his army to slowly grind them down, wearing out the soldiers and civilians of Yanmen Commandery until they could no longer resist, and Yanmen Commandery would have fallen without a fight.
However, Prince Dan of Yan did not wish to fight such a war.
He harbored a vague premonition that they could not afford to drag it out, as delaying might lead to unforeseen issues.
Therefore, he changed his combat strategy.
"Since we can't break through their gates, we'll climb the city walls directly!"
"Have our soldiers ascend to the battlements and break through Yanmen Commandery from above!!"
Since the city gates could not be breached, they naturally had to find another direction to attack Yanmen Commandery.
As long as Yanmen Commandery was taken, the outcome would be the same.
Under the command of Prince Dan of Yan, the Yan soldiers ceased their assault on the city gates and began to erect ladders, preparing to climb the walls of Yanmen Commandery.
However, this situation was also within the calculations of the Yanmen Commandery generals.
They simultaneously pushed back the Yan soldiers attempting to climb the battlements, preventing them from scaling the walls, while also hurling fire pots to burn their ladders and kill Yan soldiers.
They employed numerous tactics, continuously repelling the Yan army's assault.
Later, their fire pots ran out.
They began to use stones and rolling logs to batter the Yan army.
This method of attack and defense was a tremendous ordeal for both the Yan army and the soldiers of Yanmen Commandery.
The relentless attacks resulted in many Yan soldiers dying on the path of assault.
Killed by arrows, blown up by fire pots, burned, crushed by stones, and battered by rolling logs.
The corpses of these Yan soldiers numbered over ten thousand.
The defending soldiers and civilians of Yanmen Commandery, in their constant defense, were utterly exhausted.
Through this grueling ordeal, the defending soldiers and civilians of Yanmen Commandery held out until the next morning.
By then, they were not only exhausted, but there was also nothing left on the city walls for defense.
No more giant stones, no more rolling logs, and certainly no more fire pots.
All they had were the swords in their hands.
Although the Yan army had suffered many casualties, they continued their assault.
Their soldiers were numerous, and their rotations were swift, so the soldiers charging forward still had strength.
This brought despair to the defending soldiers and civilians of Yanmen Commandery.
At this moment, their faces were etched with bitter smiles.
"Brothers, it seems we can only go this far!"
"We couldn't hold it, we ultimately failed to defend General's Yanmen Commandery!"
"So be it. I had already resolved to die for my country long ago. Today, let my blood stain this land!"
"We, the people of Yanmen Commandery, are willing to join the generals and spill our blood on the soil of our homeland!"
At this point, both the defending soldiers and the civilians of Yanmen Commandery had resigned themselves to death.
Grasping their swords, they were prepared to face death head-on.
Before them, Yan soldiers were still climbing the siege ladders to ascend the walls.
For them, the time for a decisive battle had arrived.
However, before the Yan army could fully climb over, a different sound echoed from afar in Yanmen Commandery.
It was the sound of horses' hooves.
Urgent and numerous.
This sound was somewhat familiar to Prince Dan of Yan.
He looked into the far distance and saw an army approaching.
Their banners were black, and one could faintly discern the character "Lin" on them.
Indicating that this army belonged to Lin Tian of Qin.
"This trick again!!!"
Seeing this, Prince Dan of Yan, surprisingly, was not afraid. Instead, he felt anger.
The Qin army had used this very tactic last time to deceive him and force his army to retreat.
Therefore, this time, he not only did not order his army to retreat but instead instructed them to accelerate their attack, disregarding this approaching army.
But gradually, some began to sense something was amiss.
Because this approaching army was not only fast but also very numerous and possessed a formidable momentum.
Charging forward relentlessly, directly towards them.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that every single soldier in this army was a cavalryman exuding immense power.
The general leading them possessed an aura of invincibility.
This filled them with a sense of dread.
"Your Highness, something seems… not right!"
"Hm? What's not right?"
"That… that army, they truly seem to be Lin Tian's army. Lin Tian's army is actually coming back!"
"What??"
Such news was a significant shock to Prince Dan of Yan.
He paid little attention to other armies.
Even if Wang Jian himself led an army, he would still press his attack on Yanmen Commandery, determined to capture it.
They had already spent the entire night here, losing over ten thousand troops, and they could not simply abandon their efforts.
But the return of Lin Tian's army changed everything.
If Lin Tian's army was truly back, and he remained here, with the current state of their forces, they would not just lose ten thousand troops.
They would lose their entire army.
Therefore, Prince Dan of Yan stared at the distant army with wide eyes, full of disbelief.
...