Second Rebellion in Shouchun
In 254, the Wei regent Sima Shi, who effectively monopolised state power in Wei, deposed the emperor Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao. Wen Qin, who was serving as the Inspector (刺史) of Yang Province at the time, felt angered by Sima Shi's actions and wanted to rebel against Sima Shi. Another Wei general, Guanqiu Jian, supported Wen Qin. In the spring of 255, Guanqiu Jian, Wen Qin and others sent out a fake imperial decree in the name of Empress Dowager Guo, listing out 11 crimes allegedly committed by Sima Shi, and started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui) to remove Sima Shi and his clan and supporters from power. After receiving news from Deng Ai about the rebellion, Sima Shi secretly mobilised imperial troops and personally led them to suppress the rebellion and reached Yuejia (樂嘉; present-day Xiangcheng, Henan). Wen Qin was surprised when he heard that Sima Shi had shown up so quickly.
Wen Yang told his father, "The enemy has yet to establish a foothold. We can defeat them if we attack them now." Wen Qin heeded his son's advice and sent two separate forces to attack Sima Shi at night. That night, Wen Yang led his men to raid the Wei camp and shouted out Sima Shi's name during the attack. The Wei soldiers were shocked. Sima Shi, in his anxiety, aggravated the condition of his eye, which had recently been operated on, and caused his eye to pop out. However, he did not want his troops to find out about his condition and become even more panicky, so he bore the pain and bit his pillow and blanket to relieve the pain until they were torn to shreds. Wen Yang saw that the enemy was still superior in numbers and that his reinforcements did not show up, so he retreated before dawn.
After Wen Yang retreated, Sima Shi ordered his officers to pursue the enemy, but they said, "Wen Qin and his son are war veterans. They didn't suffer any losses, so why would they retreat and give up?" Sima Shi replied, "Strike the iron when it is hot or we'll lose momentum. (Wen) Yang is impatient and didn't receive support in time. They have lost momentum and have no choice but to retreat!" In the meantime, Wen Qin had retreated back to Shouchun, but Wen Yang told him, "We shouldn't retreat until we have inflicted significant damage on the enemy." He then led about 10 riders with him to attack the Wei forces like an unstoppable force before withdrawing. Sima Ban (司馬班), an officer under Sima Shi, led about 8,000 horsemen to pursue Wen Yang and his men. Wen Yang turned back to attack them and killed about 100 enemy soldiers while charging in and out of the enemy formation a total of six to seven times. The enemy did not dare to approach him.
The rebellion was eventually suppressed in 255 by Wei forces and Guanqiu Jian was killed. Wen Qin and his family defected to Eastern Wu, Wei's rival state. Sima Shi died of illness in Xuchang (許昌; present-day Xuchang, Henan) within the same year after the revolt was crushed.
