in charge of defending Pingyang against the Northern Qi counterattack. The Northern Qi forces sieged Pingyang with all effort—and after several days, were able to breach the wall—but at this point, Gao Wei stopped his attack and summoned Consort Feng so she could witness the fall of the city. When she arrived, however, Northern Zhou forces had already filled in the breach, and therefore held the city. With Pingyang under siege, Emperor Wu launched another attack to try to lift the siege on Pingyang. Gao Anagong advised against direct faceoff with Emperor Wu's troops, but Gao Wei, egged on by eunuchs, chose to directly engage Emperor Wu, and the armies engaged in a battle around year 577. A minor fallback by some of Gao Wei's troops caused Consort Feng and Mu Tipo to panic, and they suggested an immediate retreat—and Gao Wei abandoned his troops and fled to Jinyang, causing his army to collapse. Once at Jinyang, instead of preparing for resistance, Gao Wei instead planned to have his cousins Gao Yanzong the Prince of Ande and Gao Xiaoheng (高孝珩) the Prince of Guangning defend Jinyang, planning to himself flee north to Shuo Province, against Gao Yanzong's advice. He first sent Empress Dowager Hu and Gao Heng to Shuo Province. When Northern Zhou forces arrived at Jinyang, he left Jinyang under Gao Yanzong's command and fled, initially intending to flee to Shuo Province or Tujue, but after persuasion by the general Mei Shenglang (梅勝郎), headed back to Yecheng, accompanied by Gao Anagong. Meanwhile, Mu Tipo abandoned Gao Wei and surrendered to Northern Zhou. His mother Lady Lu committed suicide, and his family members were all either executed or sentenced to hard labor. Meanwhile, Tang Yong, still at Jinyang, along with other generals, persuaded Gao Yanzong to take the throne himself—stating to him that if he did not, they could not die for him. When Gao Wei heard this news, he commented, "I would rather that Bing Province [the province containing Jinyang] fall into Zhou's hands than Ande's hands." Soon, Northern Zhou forces put Jinyang under siege, and they were able to breach the defenses at the east gate—but a counterattack by Gao Yanzong's troops led to a major rout against Northern Zhou forces, in which Emperor Wu almost died. However, Gao Yanzong's troops went into celebration and could not regroup. The next day, another Northern Zhou attack finally captured the