Prince of Qi
Xu's preparations for taking the throne continued, however. As he feared that Yang Meng would rise against him, he had others accuse Yang Meng of hosting criminals and hoarding weapons, and had Yang Meng demoted to the rank of duke and had him put under house arrest at He Prefecture (和州, in modern Hefei, Anhui). He also summoned Xu Jingtong back to Jinling to serve as his deputy, while sending another son, Xu Jingqian (), to Jiangdu to oversee the government. In winter 935, when Yang again issued an edict granting Xu Zhigao the titles of "Shangfu", "Taishi" (), Grand Chancellor, Generalissimo (大元帥, "Da Yuanshuai"), and Prince of Qi, carving 10 prefectures out of Wu territory to constitute the Principality of Qi. Xu accepted the Prince of Qi, "Taishi", and Generalissimo titles at that time, declining the "Shangfu" and Grand Chancellor titles.