"You should all know by now that Li Mu of Zhao is leading a hundred thousand troops to attack us!"
"We know, General, what… what should we do?"
Li Mu's name was already famous throughout the land.
Perhaps generals like Wang Jian would not fear Li Mu.
But other generals, upon hearing Li Mu's name, couldn't help but tremble.
Especially now that they had become generals and knew more, they understood Li Mu's terrifying prowess even better.
Now that Li Mu was personally leading a hundred thousand troops to attack them, even Zhang Han found it unbearable.
Many felt their legs weaken, their fear of Li Mu too profound.
"Regarding Li Mu leading a large army to attack us, many generals have suggested that we withdraw from Yanmen, abandon Daicheng, and defend from the rear!"
"How can that be? Daicheng and Yanmen were won with the lives of our soldiers, how can we simply give them up?"
"Yes! We cannot give them up. Our soldiers paid the price of their lives for this, how can we hand it over to the Zhao people?"
"General, I will not leave. Yanmen was conquered by us, it is already a city of Qin. Even if we die, we will not let our Qin city be given to the Zhao people just like that!"
People like Wang Wu, who had risen from humble origins.
In their hearts, there was already a nascent feeling of 'Are kings and generals born with a silver spoon?'
Although they knew of Li Mu's might, they would never agree to simply cede Yanmen, Daicheng, and other counties.
Therefore, even if it meant death, they were willing to fight Li Mu.
Moreover, they understood Lin Tian very well. They knew Lin Tian's character and that he would not easily give up what he had gained.
His proposal now must have been made with a plan in mind, and he merely wanted to gauge everyone's reaction.
As expected, after Wang Wu and the others spoke, Lin Tian spoke again.
"Actually, my intention is also not to retreat!"
"Furthermore, I already have a general plan in mind for how to deal with Li Mu's army!"
Upon hearing this, many breathed a sigh of relief.
They had great faith in Lin Tian's military capabilities.
Otherwise, Lin Tian would not have become the General of Zhao Conquest at such a young age.
Nor would he have been able to cultivate such a powerful army.
Therefore, when Lin Tian said he had a way to deal with Li Mu's army, many instinctively chose to believe him.
At the same time, their hearts filled with anticipation.
They wanted to know what method Lin Tian would use to deal with Li Mu's hundred thousand troops.
However, at this moment, Lin Tian did not go into specifics about how to deal with Li Mu's army. He merely asked them to do something peculiar.
Lin Tian requested them to collect all the cattle within Daicheng and Yanmen, except for calves; he wanted all of them.
This order caused quite a stir in and around Daicheng and Yanmen, and the news spread.
This included Li Mu, who was leading his hundred thousand troops to Yanmen.
"General, what do they want so many cattle for? Is it for food?"
"It's possible for food, but surely not this many?"
"It's indeed impossible to eat that many. Therefore, they are taking the cattle from the populace. It's likely they intend to disrupt the agriculture of Daicheng and Yanmen. That way, even if we win, the people will be severely weakened!"
Cattle were essential farming tools. Without them, it was impossible to plow the land.
Cattle were highly valued in all the states.
Except in special circumstances, killing cattle was forbidden.
This prohibition against slaughtering draft cattle was even enforced during the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, killing a single cow was a serious crime.
Thus, many generals agreed that by Lin Tian taking all the cattle and then slaughtering them, he would indeed disrupt the agriculture of Daicheng and Yanmen.
Without sufficient manpower, it would truly be devastating to the farmlands.
Even Li Mu, upon hearing this, found it plausible.
However, deep down, he still felt a slight unease.
Given Lin Tian's military talent, it was unlikely he would be passive when Zhao's hundred thousand troops were approaching.
He could understand the scorched-earth tactic of slaughtering cattle.
But apart from that, there should have been some other means of resistance from Qin's Lin Tian.
Yet, he had received no news of any such measures.
This made Li Mu feel that he needed to be even more cautious.
"No matter what Lin Tian of Qin intends to do with those cattle, this time, we must retake Yanmen!"
"Lord Wu An, rest assured, Yanmen belongs to our Zhao. No one can take it away. Lin Tian is merely staying there for a few days!"
"Indeed! Yanmen is my homeland. This time, we are punishing the Qin dogs and returning to our roots!"
"I have already investigated. The Qin's Lin Tian and his forces are only thirty to forty thousand remaining. We have a hundred thousand troops here. Their numbers are insufficient to defeat us; they are no match for us!"
"So they are only thirty to forty thousand? If they had fifty thousand, we would need to plan carefully. With only thirty to forty thousand, taking Yanmen will be a piece of cake!"
The immense numerical advantage gave the Zhao army a strong sense of superiority.
Judging by the disparity in numbers, they were certain to win this battle.
Moreover, Li Mu was personally leading the troops this time, making it even more unlikely for Lin Tian to be their opponent.
Therefore, before the war even began, their faces already showed the joy of victory.
Li Mu was not satisfied with their current state.
But considering that Yanmen was only their first objective and their ultimate goal was Jinyang, to trap Wang Jian's army in Zhao, he refrained from reprimanding these generals.
Previously, the armies of Daicheng and Yanmen had suffered a crushing defeat, with Si Ma Shang even being killed. This was a significant blow to troop morale.
Now, they needed this kind of absolute confidence to unleash their full fighting power.
Thus, Li Mu's army marched towards Yanmen with a mindset of certain victory.
Upon their arrival at Yanmen, they became even more at ease.
The number of soldiers within Yanmen had not increased. Although Lin Tian's army was arrayed on the city walls, it was clear that their numbers were small.
Compared to their Zhao army of a hundred thousand, these numbers were insignificant.
Especially with Li Mu standing at the forefront of their army, gazing at Yanmen, it further boosted the confidence of many.
On one hand, they trusted their combat prowess; on the other hand, they trusted Li Mu's command abilities.
"This Yanmen is already meat on our chopping board!"
"Haha! I can't wait to enter Yanmen. This is my homeland; I miss the taste of home!"
"General, give the order! Let us attack the city!"