was said that it was after this point that Li Maozhen became fearful and began to consider surrendering the emperor to Zhu. By winter 902, Fengxiang had nearly completely exhausted its food supplies, such that the people resorted to cannibalism. Li Maozhen's further attempts to fight out of the siege were repelled. Further, when Li Maoxun made another attempt to aid Fengxiang, Zhu counterattacked and captured Baoda, forcing Li Maoxun to surrender. With his northern territories lost to Zhu and southern territories lost to Wang Jian, Li Maozhen saw no other alternative but to negotiate with Zhu, and he began secret negotiations. In spring 903, Li Maozhen secretly met with Emperor Zhaozong alone (i.e., without eunuchs in attendance) and proposed to slaughter Han and the other leading eunuchs to seek peace with Zhu. Li Maozhen subsequently carried out the slaughter and delivered the heads to Zhu. After negotiating marriages between his son Li Jikan () and Emperor Zhaozong's daughter Princess Pingyuan and between Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Mi () the Prince of Jing and the daughter of the chancellor Su Jian (an ally of Li Maozhen's), Li Maozhen opened the city gates and surrendered the emperor to Zhu, who escorted the emperor back to Chang'an. (Thereafter, Zhu and Cui Yin carried out a general slaughter of all eunuchs.) Thereafter, Emperor Zhaozong had Zhu send a letter to Li Maozhen demanding the return of Princess Pingyuan; Li Maozhen did not dare another confrontation, and returned her to Emperor Zhaozong. Li Maozhen also offered to be relieved of the title of Shangshu Ling, and was again made Zhongshu Ling. In spring 904, Zhu, suspecting Cui of planning to reorganize the imperial guards in order to oppose him, killed Cui. Hearing this news, Yang Chongben, who had been angry that Zhu had raped his wife during the time that his wife was a hostage of Zhu's, resubmitted to Li Maozhen and changed his name back to Li Jihui. Their joint forces, claiming that Zhu was about to usurp the Tang throne, then headed toward Chang'an. Zhu, believing that his own hold on Chang'an was tenuous, reacted by destroying the palace and most buildings in Chang'an, and forcing Emperor Zhaozong and the people of Chang'an to relocate east, making Luoyang the new capital. Meanwhile, Wang joined Li Maozhen's call for return of the emperor to Chang'an and entered into a peace agreement with Li