Lei then withdrew. During Later Liang During Emperor Taizu's reign In 907, Zhu Quanzhong had Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. He commissioned Gao Jichang as the full military governor of Jingnan. By this point, Jingnan, which formerly consisted of eight prefectures (counting Jiangling Municipality as a prefecture), had suffered much through warfare, and most of its prefectures had been taken by warlords ruling other circuits. Even Jiangling itself had its walls and buildings in disrepair, and its population greatly reduced. When Gao arrived at Jiangling, he comforted the people and encouraged them to return, and it was said that the people's lives began to return to normal. In fall 907, Lei Yangong, with aid from Ma Yin the Prince of Chu (even though that Ma was formally a Later Liang vassal), attacked Jiangling. Gao stationed troops at Gong'an (公安, in modern Jingzhou) to cut off Lei's food supply route, and then defeated him. He withdrew, as did Chu troops. Later, Lei attacked Cenyang (涔陽, also in modern Jingzhou) and Gong'an, but could not capture them. After these attacks by Lei, Emperor Taizu resolved to destroy him, as he was then often pillaging the nearby circuits, and also was a vassal to one of Later Liang's rival states, Hongnong. Emperor Taizu therefore ordered that his titles be stripped, and ordered Gao and Ma to attack him. In winter 907, Gao sent Ni Kefu to rendezvous with the Chu general Qin Yanhui () to attack Wuzhen's capital Lang Prefecture (). Lei sought aid from Hongnong, and Yang Wo the Prince of Hongnong sent his generals Ling Ye () and Li Rao () to try to aid him. Ling and Li, however, were intercepted by the Chu general Xu Dexun, who captured them; Ma subsequently executed them. Subsequently, Yang, apparently again trying to save Lei, sent troops to attack Later Liang's Zhongyi and Jingnan Circuits, but both attacks were repelled, with Gao defeating the Hongnong general Li Hou (). By summer 908, Lang Prefecture fell to Qin, and Lei fled to Hongnong. Wuzhen was absorbed into Chu territory. Apparently in response, Gao stationed troops at Hankou to cut off the tributary route between Chu and Later Liang's capital Luoyang. Ma subsequently sent Xu to attack the Jingnan troops stationed there, but before Xu could