Deception is a trademark of the enemy.
Deception is a trap of the enemy.
Let's look before we leap. First to divide the country in two with a central campaign, then conquer the south and then the north with respective campaigns. Gibeon was only a few miles from Ai, and the Gibeonites realized that they were probably next in line to be conquered. They dressed in old garments and pretended to be from a far country. They wanted them to think they were from a far country and hadn't heard of recent events.