peace with Wang, captured Shang as Shang was on his way to meet with Yang, and falsely claimed that he had claimed Shang in battle. He delivered Shang to Chang'an to be executed, despite Yang's repeated attempts to have Shang spared. Shang's death ended hopes for a negotiated peace. (Meanwhile, though, Wang Ying's rebellion ended when he was killed in battle.) Soon thereafter, Song was relieved of his command of the task force, and Zeng Yuanyu () took over. Zeng soon defeated Wang Xianzhi in battle and killed him. However, Wang's followers, including Shang Junzhang's brother Shang Rang, gathered their troops and submitted to Huang. Huang continued the roving campaign, and marched south, capturing and for some time holding Guang Prefecture (廣州, in modern Guangzhou, Guangdong) as his headquarters. Meanwhile, the Shatuo chieftain Li Guochang and Li Guochang's son Li Keyong rebelled to the north, and they made an attempt to take over the modern Shanxi region, but soon they were defeated and forced to flee to the Dada (達靼, then in the Yin Mountains) tribe. Fall of Chang'an to Huang Chao and flight to Chengdu By winter 879, Huang Chao, with his soldiers stricken by tropical/subtropical illnesses that they were not accustomed to, decided to change strategy and head north. He headed north through modern Hunan preparing to confront the armies commanded by Wang Duo, who was then in overall command of the operation against him. He first defeated Wang's deputy Li Xi () at Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan); Wang, then stationed at Jiangling, panicked and fled, and Wang's officer Liu Hanhong pillaged Jiangling then became an independent rebel leader. Huang's advance, however, was repelled by other Tang generals Liu Jurong () and Cao Quanzhen () at Jingmen (荊門, in modern Jingmen, Hubei). Huang was forced to flee east, but he regrouped in the modern Jiangxi region and prepared for another advance north. As Huang did so, he had multiple engagements with the armies under the command of Gao Pian the military governor of Huainan Circuit, whom Emperor Xizong had put in command of the overall operations against Huang, replacing Wang. Gao's officer Zhang Lin () had initial successes against Huang, but Huang killed Zhang in a major confrontation in summer 880. Gao's spirit was crushed by Zhang's death, and he did not try to stop Huang's subsequent advance north, across the Yangtze River into the heart