Xi by having Xie Xiang write a letter to his brother and openly showing exceptional treatment towards Xie Xiang. The plan succeeded Dong Yuan suspected Xie Xi and had him executed. In April 271, Yu Si attacked Dong Yuan and killed him. Not wanting to face the Jin troops head-on, Tao Huang took a detour through the sea to catch the Jin forces in Jiaozhi by surprise. He fought with Yang Ji's generals, Mao Jiong and Meng Yue (孟岳) at Fengxi (封溪, in present-day Đông Anh, Hanoi) and defeated them. During the battle, they feigned a retreat to lure the Wu troops into an ambush behind the broken walls. However, Tao Huang saw through the ruse and used soldiers long jis to defeat the ambush. Meanwhile, another Jin general, Teng Xiu, was struggling to quell bandits in the south. Tao Huang advised him, "The people of the south bank rely on our iron and salt, so you should stop them from being sold in the markets. That way, they will be deprived of their farming equipments, and in two years time, they will be destroyed in one battle." Teng Xiu followed his advice and defeated the bandits. In 271, Tao Huang besieged Yang Ji and Mao Jiong's stronghold in Jiaozhi. Previously, Jin's Inspector of Jiao, Huo Yi swore an oath with the two that if they surrendered within 100 days of the siege, their families would be executed, and if they surrendered after 100 days and no reinforcements came, he would take the responsibility. However, Huo Yi died around the time of the siege, so no reinforcements were sent. In less than 100 days, the Jin army ran out of provisions, and they asked to surrender. Tao Huang had heard of the oath, so he did not accept their surrender but instead provided the defenders with supplies to complete their remaining days. Although his subordinates remonstrated him, Tao Huang argued that his actions will promote the Wu's virtue at home and abroad. After a hundred days, Yang Ji and the others surrendered as planned. For his merits, Tao Huang was officially appoited Inspector of Jiao. Tao Huang's general, Xiu Yun (脩允), wanted revenge on Mao Jiong, who had killed his father, Xiu Ze (脩則) in battle, but Tao Huang denied him as he intended to spare his life. However, Mao Jiong was soon discovered to be conspiring to assassinate Tao