as excuse Zhu Quanzhong in March/April 891 marched against Weibo in person, with generals Ge and Ding in charge of subordinate commands, capturing four counties and routing the Weibo army in a battle at Neihuang. Following these defeats Luo was forced to sue for peace and accept an alliance with Zhu. Elsewhere Li Keyong had by this time soundly beaten Zhang in the field was now restored to his former titles by the Emperor. In November/December 891 Su Prefecture finally fell to Zhu's armies after Ge and Ding flooded the city with water. This was followed the next month by the surrender of Cao Prefecture after the assassination of its prefect, Guo Ci () by one of his own commanders, Guo Zhu (). In March 892 Zhu led his army in an attack on Yun Prefecture, giving command of the vanguard to his first son Zhu Youyu. Zhu Youyu's career did not get a promising start with Zhu Quanzhong suffering two defeats due to Youyu's failure to link up with the main army. Despite these setbacks Zhu Quanzhong entrusted his son with an independent command and during the following winter Zhu Youyu captured Tianping's Pu Prefecture and then put Shi Pu under siege at Xu Prefecture. However, when inspector-in-chief (Zhu Quanzhong's adoptive son) Zhu Yougong () charged Zhu Youyu with incompetence after a battle with Zhu Jin, Zhu Quanzhong chose to reassign the army to Pang Shigu. In April/May 893 Pang Shigu captured Xu and Shi committed suicide, eliminating one of Zhu Quanzhong's rivals for dominance of the region. (Because of Zhu Yougong's accusations, Zhu Quanzhong nearly had Zhu Youyu executed, but after intercession by Zhu Quanzhong's wife Lady Zhang, Zhu Youyu was spared.) To succeed Shi Pu as governor at Xuzhou Zhu Quanzhong chose one of his own personal associates, Zhang Tingfan. The only other prefecture of the province was given to general Ge Congzhou. Though Ge Congzhou was often absent on campaign it is unlikely that Zhang Tingfan could take advantage of this to expand his own power. By weakening the position of new governors in this way Zhu Quanzhong could control the various prefectures directly and ensure nobody built up an independent power base to rival his own. Seizure of Tianping and Taining With Shi Pu dead and Ganhua under his control, Zhu Quanzhong now concentrated on destroying Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin. He attacked Zhu Xuan