In January 238, Cao Rui summoned Sima Yi back to the imperial capital Luoyang to lead a campaign against Liaodong. When asked by the emperor as to how Gongsun Yuan will respond, Sima Yi stated that there were three choices available: to flee, to resist, and to defend his capital city, with the last being the worst choice, and the one he was most likely going to employ against Sima Yi after putting up some initial resistance. When further asked by the emperor on how long it will take, Sima Yi said that he needed only one year in total to lead the troops to Liaodong, to suppress the revolt, and to then return and repose. At the time, the Wei government had forced many men into military service or recruited them for manual labour to work on Cao Rui's palace construction/renovation projects. Sima Yi felt that doing so would increase the burden on the common people and make them resent the Wei government, so he advised Cao Rui to halt the projects and focus on dealing with the more pressing issues.