Battle
Siege of Jicheng 冀城之圍
About this event
The Siege of Jicheng was the battle in which Ma Chao, defeated at Weinan, led the various Rong peoples to attack the commanderies and counties of Longshang and surrounded Ji, the seat of Liang Province. Yang Fu and others held Ji from the 1st month to the 8th month, but no relief came, and when the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Yan Wen, who had gone out to ask for help, was captured and killed, the Inspector and the Administrator opened the gates and surrendered. Ma Chao killed them and took Ji. Records, Wei 25 §27–28Records, Wei 18 §83–85Records, Shu 6 §28
Chen Shou recorded this battle in the biography of Yang Fu in Records of Wei 25, the biography of Yan Wen in Records of Wei 18, the biography of Xiahou Yuan in Records of Wei 9, and the section on Ma Chao in the Biographies of Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang and Zhao in Records of Shu 6. The biography of Xiahou Yuan records it among the entries for the 17th year of Jian'an (212). The Romance depicts it briefly in Chapter 64 as the passage in which Ma Chao takes Ji. Records, Wei 25 §27–28Records, Wei 18 §83–85Records, Wei 9 §17Records, Shu 6 §28Romance, Ch. 64 §33–35
Course of events in the Records
When Ma Chao, defeated at Weinan, took refuge among the various Rong peoples, Cao Cao pursued him as far as Anding, but when Su Bo rebelled in Hejian he prepared to return east. Yang Fu said that Ma Chao had the valor of Han Xin and Ying Bu and had greatly won the hearts of the Qiang and Hu, so that if the main army went back without making strict preparations, the commanderies of Longshang would no longer belong to the state. Cao Cao agreed, but the army returned in haste and the preparations were incomplete. Records, Wei 25 §26Records, Shu 6 §28
When Ma Chao led the chieftains of the various Rong to attack the commanderies and counties of Longshang, all of them responded to him, but Ji alone held firm in support of the heads of the province and commandery. Ma Chao, having absorbed the forces of Longyou and receiving the help even of Yang Ang, a senior general sent by Zhang Lu, attacked the city with more than 10,000 men. Yang Fu led over a thousand fighting men from among the local gentry and the young men of his clan and had his cousin Yang Yue build a half-moon camp on the walls to fight them. They held out from the 1st month to the 8th month, but no relief came. Records, Wei 25 §27
According to the biography of Yan Wen, the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Yan Wen, unable to stop the people of Shanggui from welcoming Ma Chao, returned to the province, and when Ma Chao pressed his siege of Ji, the provincial seat, he slipped out secretly through the water at night to report the emergency to Xiahou Yuan. Captured at the border of Xianqin, he pretended to agree to Ma Chao's demand that he say no help was coming from the east, then shouted below the walls, "The main army will arrive within three days; hold on!" The people in the city wept and cried "Long live!", and Yan Wen, who never changed his mind, was put to death. Records, Wei 18 §83–85
According to the biography of Yang Fu, after Yan Wen's death the Inspector and the Administrator turned pale and began planning to surrender. Yang Fu wept and urged them, saying he would hold the city to the death, but the Inspector and the Administrator in the end asked for peace and opened the gates. Ma Chao came in, imprisoned Yang Yue and had Yang Ang kill the Inspector and the Administrator. The biography of Ma Chao records that Ma Chao killed Wei Kang, Inspector of Liang Province, took Ji and gained control of its people, then styled himself General Who Conquers the West and Governor of Bing Province and supervised the military affairs of Liang Province. The biography of Xiahou Yuan says that Xiahou Yuan went to rescue Wei Kang, but Wei Kang was defeated before he arrived, and that he fought Ma Chao more than 200 li from Ji to no advantage. Records, Wei 25 §28Records, Shu 6 §28–29Records, Wei 9 §17
In the Romance
In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Ma Chao, some two years after entering Qiang territory, joined forces with Qiang troops and attacked and took the provinces and commanderies of Longxi, but could not take Ji. The Inspector Wei Kang repeatedly asked Xiahou Yuan for help, but Xiahou Yuan could not move his troops without orders from Cao Cao, and Wei Kang proposed surrendering to Ma Chao. Romance, Ch. 64 §33
The Army Adviser Yang Fu wept and remonstrated, but Wei Kang threw open the gates and surrendered, and Ma Chao, saying that Wei Kang was surrendering only because he was hard pressed and not sincerely, beheaded all forty-odd members of his household. Yang Fu, however, who had urged against surrender, Ma Chao spared as a man of righteousness and employed again as Army Adviser, and he also made Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu, whom Yang Fu recommended, officers. Romance, Ch. 64 §34–35
Where the Romance differs
Wei Kang's end: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Ma Chao beheaded all forty-odd members of the household of Wei Kang, who had opened the gates. In the biography of Yang Fu in the Records, Ma Chao entered the city and had Yang Ang kill the Inspector and the Administrator. Romance, Ch. 64 §34Records, Wei 25 §28
Why no relief came: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Xiahou Yuan could not move his troops because he had received no orders from Cao Cao. In the Records, the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Yan Wen went out to inform Xiahou Yuan and was captured and killed, and the biography of Xiahou Yuan records that Xiahou Yuan went to rescue Wei Kang but Wei Kang was defeated before he arrived. Romance, Ch. 64 §33Records, Wei 18 §83–85Records, Wei 9 §17
Yang Fu after the surrender: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Ma Chao employed Yang Fu as Army Adviser, calling him a man of righteousness. The biography of Yang Fu in the Records says that Ma Chao imprisoned Yang Fu's cousin Yang Yue, and records only that Yang Fu afterward obtained leave on the pretext of his wife's funeral and went to see Jiang Xu; there is no record of Ma Chao employing him. Romance, Ch. 64 §34–35Records, Wei 25 §28–29
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Belligerents
| Item | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| Factions | Ma Chao faction, Zhang Lu faction | Wei |
| Commanders | Ma Chao, Yang Ang | Wei Kang, Yang Fu |
| Strength | 凡萬餘人 | 阜率國士大夫及宗族子弟勝兵者千餘人 |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Shu 6 §28