Thereafter, Sima Yi set out with an army of 40,000 men from Luoyang to attack Liaodong, with Niu Jin and Hu Zun () serving as his subordinates. Cao Rui personally saw him off at Luoyang's Ximing Gate (), where he ordered Sima Yi's brother Sima Fu and son Sima Shi, as well as other officials to attend the ceremony. During the extensive and lively festivities, in which Sima Yi met with elders and old friends, he began sighing and, feeling emotional and dissatisfied, sang a song: