one of them, Qi Cong (齊從), hit Lü Zuan in the head with a sword but could not kill him. Lü Chao also tried to assist Lü Shao, but their forces were fearful of Lü Zuan and collapsed. Lü Shao fled to a secondary palace and committed suicide. Lü Zuan took the throne. Reign Lü Zuan initially entrusted Lü Hong with all governmental matters, and also tried to show generosity by pardoning Qi Chong and Lü Chao. However, Lü Zuan and Lü Hong soon became suspicious of each other, and in spring 400, Lü Hong rebelled with his troops. Lü Zuan defeated Lü Hong's rebellion, and permitted his troops to pillage even the capital city Guzang itself, rewarding the women of the secondary district Dongwan (東苑, eastern half of Guzang) to his soldiers—including Lü Hong's wife and daughters. While he later relented and cancelled those orders under suggestion of Fang Gui (房晷), the damage had been done. When Lü Hong was subsequently captured during his flight to Southern Liang, Lü Zuan had him executed cruelly—by having his ribs repeatedly bounded. Also in 400, Lü Zuan created his wife Lady Yang empress. Lü Zuan soon started a campaign against Southern Liang, whose prince was by now Tufa Lilugu, but he was quickly defeated by Tufa Lilugu's brother Tufa Rutan. In summer, he started another campaign against Northern Liang, which was initially successful, as he put Northern Liang's new capital Zhangye (張掖, in modern Zhangye, Gansu) under siege, but as the official Jiang Ji (姜紀), who tried to persuade him not to carry out the campaign, predicted, Tufa Rutan made a major attack and even entered the city of Guzang before retreating, forcing Lü Zuan to end his campaign against Northern Liang. Despite these military defeats, Lü Zuan spent much of his time drinking and hunting. When his official Yang Ying (楊穎) tried to persuade him to change his ways, he thanked and apologized to Yang, but could not change his ways. In 401, Lü Chao, without prior approval from Lü Zuan, attacked the Xianbei chief Sipan (思盤). Sipan sent his brother Qizhen (乞珍) to file a protest with Lü Zuan, and Lü Zuan summoned Lü Chao and Sipan both to Guzang, which got Lü Chao nervous. Once Lü Zuan met with both, he threatened Lü Chao with death—but had no intent to carry the threat out; rather, he intended only to