On July 2, 574, Emperor Wu of northern Zhou visited Yunyang, and his younger brother Yuwen Zhi, believing that the time had come, launched a rebellion. On the twenty-seventh day, he led his henchmen to attack Suzhangmen, and the eldest sun Lan, who was responsible for staying in Chang'an, fled to Yunyang in fear, and Wei Chiyun happened to be inside The Suzhang Gate, he immediately closed the gate with the guards, and Yuwen Zhi's rebels rushed outside the door and cut off Wei Chiyun's fingers, and Wei Chiyun reluctantly closed the Suzhang Gate. The rebels could not break through the gate, so they set fire to the gate, and Wei Chiyun was worried that after the fire was extinguished, the rebels would break into the palace, so he ordered the wood and bed boards in the palace to be thrown into the fire, and poured crude oil to make the fire bigger and bigger. After a long time, the fire was still not extinguished, and Yuwen Zhi had to retreat. Seeing the situation, Wei Yu took the opportunity to lead the remaining troops to pursue, and the rebel army was destroyed, and Yuwen Zhi led more than a hundred cavalry to pick out Chang'an and flee to Jingzhou.
On July 30, Yuwen Yong returned to Chang'an, and on August 3, he sent someone to capture Yuwen Zhi, depose him as a civilian, imprison him, and soon kill him again.
After dealing with Yuwen Zhi's change, Yuwen Yong went to Tongzhou (present-day Dali County, Shaanxi Province) and Puzhou (present-day Yongji City, Shanxi Province) to inspect border defenses, and he also ordered the border cities to strengthen their combat readiness, increase grain reserves, and expand their troops. When the Northern Qi people heard about it, they also increased their defenses accordingly. Zhu Guoyuyi suggested: "A small fight on the border, the two sides have a victory or defeat, and it has nothing to do with the overall situation." It is better to lift martial law, restore friendly relations with them, and wait until the other side has relaxed its vigilance, and then we can take advantage of their defenselessness and surprise to eliminate them in one fell swoop. Yuwen Yong obeyed.
Xunzhou Assassin Shi Wei Xiaokuan wrote three plans to eliminate Qi:
The best strategy is to go down to the Kanto region and be at the same time with Chen Jun. Ordered the army in the direction of Guangzhou (present-day Lushan County, Henan Province) to attack from Sanya (southwest of present-day Lushan County, Henan Province); recruit the elite of Shannan (south of Funiu Mountain) and flow down the Yellow River; In addition, xiongnu tribes from Beishan (北山, in present-day northern Shaanxi) were sent to cut off the main communication routes between Northern Qi Prefecture (北齐州, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and Jinzhou (present-day Linfen, Shanxi). In addition to these troops, warriors in Northern Qi were also recruited, using the high-ranking official Houlu as bait to serve as the vanguard of Northern Zhou.
The middle strategy was to continue to bide his time and further disperse the enemy with Nan Chen. From the north of Sanya Pass to the south of Wanchun (present-day Hejin, Shanxi Province), along the border between the two countries, it was necessary to carry out large-scale tun tian, reserve military food, and recruit soldiers. Once the Chen army launched an attack in the southeast, when the two sides were in a stalemate, they took advantage of the false attack to break the enemy's defensive front. If Northern Qi came to the rescue, it would firmly clear the field and wait until after the evacuation to make a comeback. Using the border guard army to deal with the central army of Northern Qi, so that Northern Zhou effortlessly but fatigued Northern Qi, within a year or two, there will definitely be chaos within them, and then take the opportunity to attack, it will certainly be destroyed in one fell swoop.
The next policy is to adopt a policy of reconciliation with Northern Qi, maintain trade relations, raise troops and store sharpness, and act with cameras.
Emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou looked at Wei Xiaokuan's recital and summoned Kaifu Yi and the third division, Yin Louqian, into the inner temple, saying, "I will use troops, which country do you think you should attack first?" Yin Louqian replied: "Northern Qi monarchs are at the mercy of their domestic slaves and courtiers, they are faint and incompetent, their general Hu Luguang has been killed for rumors, and now, Northern Qi is far away from Germany, the people's roads are blind, and the State of Qi is easily defeated." Yin Louqian's words reached Yuwen Yong's heart, and he couldn't help but laugh when he listened.
On March 2, Yuwen Yong sent Yin Louqian and Xiao Sikou Yuanwei on an envoy to the State of Qi for an on-the-spot investigation. At first, Yuwen Yong only discussed the matter of Qi with Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi and Wang Yi of Neishi (Wang Meng's nephew), and then sent Nayan Lu Yun to Anzhou (安州, in present-day Anlu, Hubei Province) to consult the governor of Anzhou, Yu Yi, and the rest of the people did not know anything. On July 24, Yuwen Yong summoned senior generals above the rank of grand general at the Great Hall of Great Virtue and informed everyone of this decision.
On July 25, Emperor Yuwen Yong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty formally issued an edict announcing the fall of Qi, and he appointed Zhu Guo, Chen Wang Yuwen Chun, Xingyang Company Ma Zhinan, Zheng Gongda Xi Zhen (Da Xi Wu's son) as the commanders of the former three armies, and Yue Wang Yuwensheng, Marquis Mo Chen Chong, and Zhao Wang Yuwenzhao as the commanders of the later three armies. Ordered Yuwen Xian, the Prince of Qi, to lead an army of 20,000 men to liyang (李陽, in modern Xun County, Henan); With Gong Yang Jian and Guangning Gong Xue Yi leading 30,000 water troops from the Wei River into the Yellow River, down the river; Marquis Mo Chenrui of Liang led an army of 20,000 men to blockade the Taihang Road (communication between present-day Henan and Shanxi provinces); Shen Gong Li Mu led an army of 30,000 men to blockade Heyang Province (河陽道; present-day Mengzhou, Henan); Duke Yuyi of Changshan led an army of 20,000 men to attack Chen Prefecture (陳州, in modern Xiangcheng, Henan) and Ruzhou (汝州, in modern Ruzhou, Henan). On July 30, Emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou personally led 60,000 men to attack Heyin (河陽, in modern Mengjin County, Henan Province). Yang Su asked to lead his father's old ministry as a vanguard, and Yuwen Yong agreed.
The above troops are about 180,000 people.
Emperor Yuwen yong of the Zhou Dynasty led the main force directly to Heyang (河陽, in modern Mengzhou, Henan). The Internal History Shi Yuwen Bow Wen believed that although Northern Qi was desolate, there was no shortage of capable people. Heyang (河陽, in present-day Mengzhou, Henan Province) was an important transportation hub for Northern Qi, with a large number of elite troops stationed there, and it was difficult to attack with all its might. Fenqu (汾曲, in modern Linfen, Shanxi) should be attacked.
Sui bo's subordinate Bao Hong also opposed a direct attack on Luoyang, and should attack Fen and Lu Prefectures, and directly attack Jinyang (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi Province), taking it by surprise. In addition, there were many people who advocated the use of troops in Shanxi, but Emperor Wu of Zhou did not listen.
After the Zhou army entered the territory of Northern Qi, Qiu did not commit any crimes, and it was strictly forbidden to cut down trees and trample on crops, and those who violated the law were beheaded. On August 25, Yuwen Yong personally led an army to attack the Northern Qi Heyin Dacheng (北 Qiheyin Dacheng) (present-day eastern Mengjin County, Henan Province) and conquered it. Yuwen Xian, the King of Qi, led his troops to conquer Wuji (武济, in present-day Mengjin County, Henan Province), instead besieged Luokou (where Luoshui flows into the Yellow River), conquered the eastern and western cities, and burned the Yellow River pontoon bridge erected by Northern Qi near Luokou with a fire boat. That night, Fu Fu, the governor of Northern Qi Yongqiao, rushed west from Yongqiao (永桥, in present-day Wuzhi County, Henan Province) to Zhongtan City (on the island in the heart of the Yellow River southwest of present-day Mengzhou, Henan Province) for reinforcements. The Northern Zhou army had already conquered the southern city and surrounded the city of Zhongtan, attacking for twenty consecutive days, but still could not succeed. Northern Qiluo Prefecture Assassin Shi Du lonely Yongye firmly held jin yongcheng, and Yuwen Yong personally led an army to attack the city, but did not capture it. Du Lonely Yongye rushed to make two thousand mangers overnight, and when the Northern Zhou people heard about it, they thought that Northern Qi reinforcements might soon arrive.
In September, Northern Qi's right-hand man Gao Anaqiu led an army south from Jinyang to defend against the Zhou army. After the Qi army marched to Heyang (河陽, in modern Mengzhou, Henan), Yuwen Yong happened to be ill, and the Zhou army began to retreat westward. The Qi army also burned its own warships, and Fu Fu said to Xingtai Beg Fu Guihe: "The Zhou army is tired, and I request to lead two thousand elite soldiers to pursue." But Beggar Guihe did not agree. The rest of the Zhou army also won victories, conquering more than thirty cities in Northern Qi, and all of them were abandoned and retreated west. Only Yaowang City (in present-day Jiyuan, Henan Province) was in a precarious position, leaving Yi Tongsan Si Han Zheng to garrison, but soon Han Zheng surrendered to Northern Qi.
Yuwen Yong's first harvest lasted more than a month and can be said to have returned without success.
It can be said that whether it is Wei Xiaokuan's first plan or the plan that Yuwen Yong actually adopted, there are all unreasonable points. The core of Wei Xiaokuan's first plan was to advance east from Xuanguan with the main force and kill all the way to Yecheng along the valley on the north bank of the Yellow River. The premise of this move is that the northern front can contain the Qi army in Jinyang and cut off the passage to the south of the Taihang Mountains, and the southern front can also contain the Qi army in Luoyang and Yuzhou, but this is obviously very risky, once the northern and southern lines cannot contain the Qi army, the rear and flanks of the Main Zhou Army will be immediately exposed to the Qi army's attack, and it is bound to fall into the danger of having no return, so Wei Xiaokuan's strategy is insufficient.
Although Yuwen Yong critically adopted Wei Xiaokuan's suggestion, he did not focus the first attack on Yicheng, but in Luoyang, which was much more secure than Wei Xiaokuan's suggestion. However, judging from the results of the actual battle, the original plan to use the army of Qi Wang Yuwenxian to break through to Liyang is obviously unrealistic, and it is also based on the assumption of successfully blocking the Qi army of Jinyang to go south, and the actual situation may be that although the Zhou army has won a series of victories, it has not realized the original idea, that is, it has not completely blocked the passage of the Qi army in Jinyang to the south, so that the 20,000 horses of Qi Wang Yuwenxian did not dare to go forward and continue to go deeper, so they joined the Luoyang battlefield, and this returned to the old road of the luoyang battles between the two countries.
History said that the reason why the Zhou army withdrew was that Yuwen Yong was ill, in fact, it may not be credible. The actual situation may be that although the Total Strength of the Zhou Army was quite large, it was extremely dispersed due to the large number of troops originally planned for interception, and after the arrival of the Qi army reinforcements, in this part of the Luoyang Battlefield, the Zhou Army did not have the advantage, and in order to prevent the recurrence of the fiasco at Mount Yao, Yuwen Yong had to wisely take the initiative to withdraw. Another factor may be that Tuguhun may have launched an offensive in western Northern Zhou while the Zhou army was moving east, and Emperor Wu of Zhou had to return to his division to deal with Tuguhun.