 In winter 576, rival Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou launched a major attack on Northern Qi, capturing the important city of Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen, Shanxi).At that time, Gao Wei and Consort Feng were on a hunt at Qilian Lake (祁連池, in modern Xinzhou, Shanxi), and when Gao Wei learned that Pingyang had fallen, he wanted to rush to recapture it, but Consort Feng wanted to hunt for one more round, so he agreed.When he eventually gathered his troops, he put Pingyang under siege, intending to recapture it.