Kuo briefly served as regent, and when Emperor Daizong subsequently died, he succeeded Emperor Daizong (as Emperor Dezong). Early attempts to destroy warlord power (early Jianzhong era) After Emperor Dezong took the throne, within the span of less than a year, he carried out several actions to set out his policy differences with his father: The chancellor Chang Gun, whom Emperor Dezong suspected of being overly powerful, was exiled, replaced with Cui Youfu; subsequently, at Cui's recommendation, Yang Yan was also made chancellor. Guo Ziyi, who had much military authority, was effectively forced into retirement (albeit with many honorific titles), with his commands divided between Li Huaiguang, Chang Qianguang (), and Hun Jian (). Emperor Dezong had the animals in the imperial menagerie released, had many ladies in waiting sent out of the palace, and ordered that eunuchs serving as imperial messengers not be allowed to receive gifts. Cui Ning the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), who had governed the circuit for more than a decade and only nominally obeyed imperial authority, was detained (although titularly promoted) at Chang'an, and the imperial government took back control of Xichuan. At Yang's suggestion, the tax system was reformed—with the intention to decrease the tax burden on the landowners and farmers and bring merchants, who were previously not taxed, into the taxation system—under a new tax law known as the Law of the Two Taxes (兩稅法, Liangshui Fa). Emperor Dezong further resumed the search for his mother Consort Shen, whom he honored as an empress dowager in absentia. He commissioned officials, as well as Shen clan members, to be in charge of the search, and gave many members of the Shen clan honors. In 781, the searchers mistakenly believed that an adoptive daughter of Gao Lishi, a powerful eunuch during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, was Empress Dowager Shen, and she was taken to Chang'an to be honored as such. However, her brother Gao Chengyue () found out and reported to Emperor Dezong. She subsequently admitted to not being the real Empress Dowager Shen. Emperor Dezong did not punish her or anyone else involved, fearing that doing so would hamper the search for his mother. Later in his reign, there were several more incidents were others claimed to be Empress Dowager Shen, but were discovered to be imposters, and the real Empress Dowager Shen was never found. Meanwhile,