Sun Ru
Qin Yan and Bi Shiduo, however, were then defeated by the joint forces of Yang Xingmi the prefect of Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei, Anhui) and Lü Yongzhi. They fled Yang Prefecture and joined forces with Sun Ru, but Sun subsequently executed them, leaving Zhao Huang without an ally to the north. In 888, Sun defeated Yang Xingmi, causing Yang to flee back to Lu Prefecture. Yang was fearful that Sun would attack him there, too, and pondered an attack against Zhong Chuan the military governor of Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi) to try to take over Zhennan. Yang's strategist Yuan Xi (袁襲), however, convinced him that Zhao was an easier target — as, according to Yuan, Zhao had not ruled the circuit for long and had governed it violently and arbitrarily, causing his soldiers to be alienated. Yuan further suggested that Yang persuade Sun Duan (孫端) the prefect of He Prefecture (和州, in modern Chaohu, Anhui) and Zhang Xiong, who ruled Shangyuan (上元, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), to attack Zhao first, and then attack Zhao when Zhao was concentrating on repelling Zhao and Zhang. Yang agreed.