Yang Xingmi
In fall 887, with Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) recently thrown into a state of confusion and war due to internecine battles between the military governor Gao Pian and Gao's officers Lü Yongzhi, Qin Yan, Yang Xingmi, and Bi Shiduo, among others, which resulted in a Yang Xingmi victory but the capital Yang Prefecture () and surrounding regions being laid waste, Qin Zongquan sent his brother Qin Zongheng () and Sun Ru southeast to try to wrest the control of Huainan from Yang Xingmi. (Serving under them were, among others, Liu Jianfeng, Zhang Ji (), Ma Yin, and Qin Zongquan's cousin Qin Yanhui (). They quickly advanced on Yang Prefecture and seized the food supplies that Yang Xingmi had brought to Yang Prefecture during his recent siege against Qin Yan and Bi, and they put Yang Prefecture under siege. However, with Qin Zongquan recently having been defeated by Zhu Quanzhong, Qin Zongheng was ordered by Qin Zongquan to return to Cai Prefecture to aid Qin Zongquan and tried to do so. Sun, believing that Qin Zongquan was nearing defeat, refused to do so. Upon further orders by Qin Zongheng to prepare to do so, Sun killed him and took over the army. Qin Zongheng's officer An Renyi (), instead of submitting to Sun, surrendered to Yang Xingmi.