Wang Du
Meanwhile, a similar crisis was developing at another Jin ally, Yiwu Circuit. Wang Chuzhi feared that if Jin conquered Zhao lands, Yiwu would inevitably also be incorporated into Jin territory, and therefore advocated pardoning Zhang Wenli. When his proposal was rebuffed by Li Cunxu, Wang Chuzhi decided to secretly make an overture to Khitan's Emperor Taizu to invite him to invade Jin, through his son Wang Yu (), who was then a Jin officer on the Khitan border. Wang Yu agreed, but extracted a promise from Wang Chuzhi that he be made heir, displacing Wang Chuzhi's adoptive son Wang Du, whom Wang Chuzhi had designated as heir. However, the Yiwu officers did not want to see a Khitan invasion, and Wang Du used this sentiment to lead a coup against Wang Chuzhi. He put Wang Chuzhi and Wang Chuzhi's wife under house arrest, while slaughtering Wang Chuzhi's descendants at Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture (). He then reported what happened to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu commissioned him as the acting military governor of Yiwu, thus effectively turning Yiwu into a vassal.