李罕之
Li Yun's regime initially drew pledges of allegiance from such warlords as Gao Pian the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). Zhu Mei, however, wanted Li Keyong's cooperation as well, and therefore had Li Yun issue an edict to Li Keyong and also wrote Li Keyong himself, claiming that Emperor Xizong had already died and that Li Yun was the proper emperor. Li Keyong's strategist Gai Yu, pointing out that the people of the realm largely blamed Li Keyong for Emperor Xizong's flight from Chang'an and Li Yun's usurpation, argued for Li Keyong to refuse Li Yun's overtures. Li Keyong agreed, and therefore publicly announced continued loyalty to Emperor Xizong. When Li Keyong's declaration reached Xingyuan, it calmed the hearts of the officials at Xingyuan, who were fearful that Li Keyong would support Li Yun. Subsequently, when Zhu Mei's officer Wang Xingyu made no progress in attacking Emperor Xizong, he decided to turn against Zhu Mei; he returned to Chang'an, killed Zhu Mei, and forced Li Yun to flee to Wang Chongrong, who subsequently executed Li Yun, allowing Emperor Xizong to return to Chang'an. Meanwhile, two generals who had taken over the Heyang/Luoyang region from Zhuge Shuang's son and successor Zhuge Zhongfang (諸葛仲方), Zhang Quanyi and Li Hanzhi, sought aid from Li Keyong, as the region had recently been laid waste by Sun Ru. Li Keyong sent his officer An Jinjun (安金俊) to be the prefect of nearby Ze Prefectue (澤州, in modern Jincheng, Shanxi) with troops to aid Zhang and Li Hanzhi, allowing himself a foothold into the Heyang region. He also commissioned Li Hanzhi as the military governor of Heyang and Zhang as the mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region). (By spring 888, however, Zhang had turned against Li Hanzhi, surprised him in battle, and taken over Heyang. When Li Hanzhi sought aid from Li Keyong, Zhang sought aid from Zhu Quanzhong, who repelled Li Keyong's attack; from that point on, Zhang became an ally and follower of Zhu's, while Li Hanzhi became a key general under Li Keyong.)