but wanted to use the troops for his own malicious purposes. Either way, Sima Yi was suspicious of Wang Ling's intention, and so he refused to approve the request. On 7 June 251, upon receiving intelligence of Wang Ling's plot from two officials named Yang Hong () and Huang Hua (), Sima Yi immediately mobilised troops to attack Wang Ling and moved by travelling down the river while bestowing additional authority upon Zhuge Dan and ordering him to lead his own forces to encroach upon Wang Ling's position. He first issued a pardon to Wang Ling and sent a secretary to call for his surrender, while Sima Yi's army ultimately reached Gancheng () within a few days and advanced to within 100 "chi" of Wang Ling's base to put pressure on him. Wang Ling knew that Sima Yi already knew about his plans to rebel, and he also knew that his forces were too weak, so he gave up, sent his subordinate Wang Yu () to apologise on his behalf, and handed over his official seal and ceremonial axe to Sima Yi. When Sima Yi's army reached Qiutou (), Wang Ling tied himself up, but Sima Yi, acting on imperial order, sent a Registrar () to unbind Wang Ling and reassure him of his safety and return to him his official seal and ceremonial axe.