Siege of Jicheng The Siege of Jicheng was a part of the campaign Ma Chao initiated in an attempt to retake Liang Province after the coalition of Guanxi ( west of Hangu Pass ) was defeated at the Battle of Tong Pass in the winter of 211 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . Background . After the coalition melted down , Ma Chao took the remainder of his army toward Lantian , where he could prepare a stand against Cao Cao . Unexpectedly , Su Bo in Hejian rebelled , and Cao Cao decided to lead his main army to quell the uprising , sparing Ma Chao the time to recuperate . Thus , Ma Chao gradually regained his strength , and once again wielded great influence over local non - Han people . To resist Cao Cao , Ma Chao had recruited many Qiang and Hu soldiers , and received reinforcements form Zhang Lu of Hanzhong . He had planned to conquer all counties in Longxi ( west of Long Ridges ) , and within a year , all cities except Jicheng ( capital city of Tianshui Commandery ) in the area surrendered to the allied force . The siege . In 213 Ma Chao started to besiege Jicheng , but it proved to be difficult . Even the Inspector of Liang Province , Wei Kang ( 韋康 ) , faced an extremely numerical disadvantage , his assistant , Yang Fu , greatly encouraged the defenders by taking lead in protecting the city . Yang Fu recruited scholars and clansmen numbered to around 1 , 000 to place under the command of his cousin , Yang Yue , and he himself acted as Yang Yue ' s strategist . Yang Fu told Yang Yue to set up the crescent moon formation atop the city wall to counter Ma Chao ' s siege and wait for reinforcement from the east . However , from the first month to the eighth month , there had never been any sign that a relief force was on its way , so Wei Kang sent his staff , Yan Wen , out in the middle of a night in an attempt to get help from Xiahou Yuan , who was stationed at Chang ' an . Unfortunately , the old Yan Wen was caught by Ma Chao ' s soldiers , and Ma Chao tried to use the respected elder to his advantage . The warlord forced the captive to go to the city ' s front and tell the defenders that no hope would come from Chang ' an . However , the stubborn old man shouted , " A grand force from the east is coming , keep holding until they arrive ! " For this Ma Chao asked Yan Wen whether the latter treasured his very own life , but Yan did not reply . Since Ma Chao had been struggling to breach the city wall for a long time , he wanted to lure the influential Yan Wen to change allegiance , so he gave Yan Wen another chance , asking whether the latter knew anyone inside the city who would welcome the invaders , but the old man still remained silent . Now , Ma Chao was irritated and censured the elder venomously , causing Yan Wen to finally stand up and say , " A gentleman serving a lord can die for him but not betray him , yet you desired an old man to conduct evil speeches ! Am I a person who would rather live in shame ? " Then , a speechless Ma Chao executed Yan Wen in rage . After witnessing the death of Yan Wen , however , both Wei Kang and the Administrator of Jicheng were terrified , and they hesitated to resist further . Although Yang Fu strongly opposed surrender , Wei Kang opened the city gates and let Ma Chao in . Once Ma Chao got himself inside the fortress - city , he arrested Yang Yue , and asked Zhang Lu ' s general , Yang Ang , to murder Wei Kang and the Administrator of Jicheng . Aftermath . At the beginning of the siege , Cao Cao was fighting Sun Quan in Ruxukou , and after he returned to the city of Ye , he was busy launching the establishment of the principality of Cao Wei . Therefore , he was too occupied to send reinforcement , only until the eighth month did he let Xiahou Yuan lead a relief force to Jicheng . Not knowing the city had already fallen , Xiahou ' s unit ran into that of Ma Chao ' s 200 " li " outside of Jicheng , where general Xiahou was defeated . Such a victory greatly impressed King Qianwan , leader of the Di tribe , so the latter allied with Ma Chao , who now named himself General Who Conquers The West , Governor of Bing Province . Conquering Jicheng , Ma Chao had gained a base from which to command the majority of Liang and exert influence around the area . However , Ma Chao ' s success would not last long , as Yang Fu contacted some former officers of Wei Kang to rebel against Ma Chao simultaneously at the ninth month of 215 . At the end , Ma Chao , Pang De , and his cousin Ma Dai fled Liang Province and took refuge under Zhang Lu . Modern references . The Siege on Jicheng is featured in Koei ' s video game " " and is called Battle of Ji Castle .