Sun Ru
Soon thereafter, Qin Zongheng was assassinated by his deputy Sun Ru, who took over the army. Sun, along with Qin Yan and Bi, then attacked Gaoyou, capturing it, forcing Zhang Shenjian to flee to Yang Prefecture, where Yang Xingmi killed him. However, Sun did not trust Qin Yan and Bi, and gradually stripped them of their soldiers. Their officer Tang Hong (), believing that Sun would eventually kill them, decided to save himself by falsely accusing Qin Yan and Bi of working in concert with Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). In early 888, Sun put Qin Yan, Bi, and Zheng to death.