Xiao Baorong.) In spring 501, Xiao Yingzhou declared Xiao Baorong emperor (as Emperor He), a declaration that Xiao Yan recognized. Xiao Yingzhou had himself and Xiao Yan given equivalent titles, and Xiao Yingzhou remained at Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), the capital of Jing Province, with the new emperor, while Xiao Yan continued to advance against the old emperor Xiao Baojuan. With Xiao Baojuan having lost the love of his generals (and having to fight off several more coup attempts within Jiankang itself), Xiao Yan was able to win battle after battle, capturing Yingcheng (郢城, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) in summer 501, and then forcing the surrender of Chen Bozhi (陳伯之), the governor of Jiang Province, in fall 501. In winter 501, he reached Jiankang and quickly captured the outer city, and then put the palace under siege. Meanwhile, Xiao Yingzhou, unable to fend off attacks that the general Xiao Gui (蕭璝), loyal to Xiao Baojuan, was launching from the west, died in anxiety. Xiao Yan's brother Xiao Dan (蕭儋) quickly arrived in Jiangling to take over custody of Emperor He, along with Xiao Yingzhou's lieutenant Xiaohou Xiang (夏侯詳). From that point on, the control of the new emperor was no longer contested. Around the new year 502, Xiao Baojuan's generals Wang Zhenguo (王珍國) and Zhang Ji (張稷), fearful that Xiao Baojuan would kill them because they were unable to lift the siege, assassinated Xiao Baojuan and surrendered. Xiao Yan entered the palace triumphantly, and, making Xiao Zhaoye's mother Empress Dowager Wang Baoming titular regent, he had himself made the supreme commander and the Duke of Jian'an. Establishment of the Liang dynasty Xiao Yan soon began to carry out plans to take over imperial title himself. Consulting with his old friends Shen Yue and Fan Yun, he began to put his brothers and associates into important posts, while having Empress Dowager Wang grant him higher and higher honors and titles, while delaying Emperor He's return to the capital. He also began to execute Emperor He's brothers and cousins one by one, to eliminate the possibility of their resisting his moves. (Emperor He's brother Xiao Baoyin the Prince of Poyang, however, would escape to Northern Wei, and for decades would pose a threat as a Northern Wei general.) He had himself created the Duke of Liang, and then the Prince of Liang, and given the nine bestowments, all signs of