Ye had just been sacked and abandoned by the Chief Controller of You province, Wang Jun, so Sima Yue was able to send his brother to the city.
Sima Mo sided with his brother, but early in the campaign, his base was threatened by a popular revolt led by Gongshi Fan.
Many of Mo's followers intended to join the revolt, causing him to panic, but the Administrator of Guangping, Ding Shao (丁邵) led his army to assist him, as did Sima Xiao's general, Gou Xi.
With Gongshi Fan away, Sima Mo sent his general, Song Zhou (宋冑) to attack Heqiao (河穚; southwest of present-day Mengzhou, Henan).
Sima Mo planned on melting down copper statues and bronze tripods into cooking utensils to sell them in exchange for food, but his followers advised against it.
In 309, a native from Pingyang (平陽; in modern Linfen, Shanxi), Liu Mangdang (劉芒蕩) proclaimed himself as a descendant of the Han dynasty and allied himself with the tribes around Mount Malan (馬蘭山) in Beidi Commandery to raise an army.
Pei Bao fled to the administrator of Anding Commandery (安定郡, present-day Zhenyuan, Gansu province), Jia Ya, who sheltered him.
The Inspector of Yong province Ding Chuo (丁綽) had previously slandered Jia Ya to Sima Mo, so he also sent another general, Xie Ban (謝班), to campaign against him.
[15] In April 311, Sima Yue died of illness near Xuchang, and the imperial army under him was annihilated by Han forces the following month.
In response to the fall of Luoyang, he merely sent his general, Zhao Ran to defend the strategic city of Puban (蒲坂; southwest of present-day Yongji, Shanxi).