After experiencing the Battle of Xiaoguan, the Battle of Shayuan, the Battle of Heqiao, and the Battle of Yaoshan, although the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties had their own victories and losses, the overall pattern was still dominated by the east being strong and the west being weak. In order to destroy Western Wei, Gao Huan changed the direction of his previous attack on Tongguan and attacked the city of Yubi in southern Jin, but unexpectedly encountered the famous general Wei Xiaokuan, who could not attack the city on the 60th, lost his troops, and died with hatred.
Wei Xiaokuan (509 – 580 CE), courtesy name Kuan, was a native of The Western Wei Dynasty. He successively served as Guozi Doctor, Huayin Taishou, Jingzhou Thorn History, Hezhou Thorn History, and Pillar State General, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the titles of Envoy Zhijie, Taifu, Shangzhu Guo, and Duke Xiang.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > divisive enemy</h1>
Wei Xiaokuan has been astute and intelligent since childhood, gentle and upright, and has excellent popularity. In his early years, he successively followed He Bayue and Gongsun Zhi to quell the civil unrest in Guanzhong, and was promoted to the rank of Doctor of Guozi because of his merits, acting as the shou of Huayin County.
Later, Wei Xiaokuan successively participated in the Battle of Eastern and Western Wei and made many military achievements. After the Battle of Heqiao, Yuwen Tai ordered Wei Xiaokuan to administer Yiyang Commandery as a general, and later changed to the Posthumous Assassin of Southern Yanzhou.
At this time, the Eastern Wei generals Duan Chen and Yang Jie counterattacked Yiyang, and sent Yangzhou to assassinate Shi Niu Daoheng to instigate and lure the people on the Western Wei border, and there were many followers.
Wei Xiaokuan was greatly worried about Niu Daoheng's actions, and the people did not know right from wrong, and many people fled. So Wei Xiaokuan decided to use a counter-plot to break Niu Daoheng's plot.
He ordered someone to forge Niu Daoheng's handwriting and write a letter sent to himself, agreeing on the time and place of surrender. In order to make the letter realistic, Wei Xiaokuan faked the scorched traces of lamp ash, as if the letter was written under the lamp.
Wei Xiaokuan sent the letter to Duan Chen, who began to suspect Niu Daoheng and refused to let him participate in military operations.
Wei Xiaokuan saw that the divisive plan had been completed, and the Eastern Wei generals lost peace, so they sent a surprise attack, capturing Duan Chen, Niu Daoheng and others, and Yiyang began to settle down.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Yubi insisted</h1>
In the twelfth year of the reunification, Gao Huan's troops from Shandong set out from Yecheng, changed the route of the previous four battles to attack the Tongguan Road, and instead besieged the important town of Yubi in southern Shanxi.
Gao Huan camped for tens of miles and surrounded Yubi in an attempt to provide reinforcements through the encirclement points and annihilate the main force of Eastern Wei under Yubi City.
Yuwen Tai of Eastern Wei saw through Gao Huan's plot and did not send a large army to support him, but instead took Wei Xiaokuan as a defender and held on to Yubi City.
Gao Huan ordered his men to attack the city day and night, and Wei Xiaokuan responded to the situation and saw the moves. The Eastern Wei army built Tushan in the southern city in order to attack the city from a commanding height, and Wei Xiaokuan ordered people to raise the city wall, always higher than the Eastern Wei army's Tushan.
Gao Huan changed his strategy and ordered people to dig ten tunnels south of the city to prepare to pound the city directly. Wei Xiaokuan ordered people to dig several large ditches in the city and pile them with firewood in the ditches, and once the enemy dug in, they set fire to the ditches, and with the help of the cowhide sac blowing wind, the smoke was drummed into the tunnels, and the Eastern Wei army was scorched by the fireworks, so they abandoned the tunnels to attack the city.
The Eastern Wei army also built chariots to attack the city wall, and Wei Xiaokuan had people sew huge mantles to hang under the city, causing the chariots to repeatedly crash into the air. Gao Huan ordered the people to insert a bamboo pole with pine oil and light a fire to hit the cloth. Wei Xiaokuan ordered a large net with sharp iron hooks, and the bamboo pole had been cut off before it was close to the cloth.
Gao Huan also ordered people to cut off the source of water in the city in the upper reaches of the Fenhe River, in an attempt to kill the soldiers in the city. Wei Xiaokuan ordered people to dig wells to obtain water sources, but they were inexhaustible.
Gao Huan tried all kinds of methods to attack the city, but they were all broken by Wei Xiaokuan one by one, and he did not attack half a step at all. After 60 days of siege, Eastern Wei suffered 60,000 casualties, and not only did not break through Yubi, but was occupied by Wei Xiaokuan.
Just when Gao Huanqian was poor in skills and angry and preparing to withdraw his troops, Wei Xiaokuan ordered a traitor to spread the news of Gao Huan's death in order to confuse the hearts of the army. The Eastern Wei army was panicked and could collapse at any time. Gao Huan ordered Huo Lujin to sing the "Song of Shule", and it was only when he led the singing that he stabilized the hearts of the army.
After March, Gao Huan died of depression and disappointment.