Xizong had previously entered ordering Tian into exile, Emperor Zhaozong ordered Chen back to Chang'an and commissioned Wei Zhaodu as his replacement. When Chen refused to be replaced, Emperor Zhaozong ordered a general campaign against him, with Wei in command, assisted by Wang, Gu, and Yang Fugong's adoptive nephew Yang Shouliang the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). While the campaign against Chen was starting, another campaign that had been ongoing during the latter years of Emperor Zhaozong's reign was ending. Qin Zongquan, formerly the Tang military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), had declared himself emperor at Fengguo's capital Cai Prefecture () in 885 and had sent out armies to conquer the nearby Tang circuits. By 888, his power had waned under attacks by Tang's military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), Zhu Quanzhong, and in late 888 he was overthrown in a coup by his officer Shen Cong (); he was subsequently delivered to Zhu, who then delivered him to Chang'an to be executed. Even though Yang Fugong had been instrumental in having Emperor Zhaozong made emperor, by 889 conflicts had begun between the emperor and the chief eunuch, leading to a public argument between Yang and the chancellors Kong Wei on one occasion over Kong's accusation that Yang was disrespecting the emperor. Nothing further came of the dispute publicly at this point, however. Nevertheless, at the suggestion of Kong's colleague Zhang Jun, who advocated that a strong imperial army directly under the emperor was essential for the restoration of imperial power to counteract the warlords and the eunuch-commanded Shence Armies, Emperor Zhaozong began recruiting an imperial army that eventually numbered 100,000 by spring 890. At that point, Kong and Zhang believed that it was time to test this army, to show its strengths in the struggle against Yang at court. Zhang, therefore, advocated a campaign against the warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi)—one of the most powerful warlords of the realm and archrival to the also powerful Zhu Quanzhong—as both Zhu and Li Kuangwei the military governor of Lulong were at that time also requesting an imperial campaign against the expanding Li Keyong. Emperor Zhaozong, despite his reservations, approved the campaign, which got under way in summer 890, with Zhu's army attacking Zhaoyi Circuit