Tianxiong's division be cancelled. Zhang thus decided to surrender the circuit to Jin. Li Cunxu shortly thereafter arrived at Tianxiong and took over control of the circuit. Intense campaigns between the Later Liang army, under Liu Xun's command, and the Jin army subsequently were waged, but the Jin army was continuously victorious over the Later Liang army, and two ambitious surprise-attack attempts by Liu and Wang Tan () on the Jin capital Taiyuan were repelled by Jin. By fall 916, nearly all of the Later Liang territory north of the Yellow River had fallen to Jin. (During the campaign, the Later Liang morale was sufficiently shaken such that there was even a mutiny against Zhu Zhen at Daliang itself, led by the officer Li Ba (), during which Zhu Zhen had to personally lead guards to defend the palace gate, but the general Du Yanqiu shortly after crushed the mutineers.) During the campaign, Zhu's wife Consort Zhang died. (Zhu had wanted to create her empress, but she continuously declined in light of the fact that he had not yet offered sacrifice to heaven and earth to solemnify his reign.) His younger brother Zhu Youjing () the Prince of Kang, who had long wanted to displace him, tried to use the occasion of Consort Zhang's funeral as an opportunity to rise to assassinate Zhu Zhen. The emperor, however, discovered this as the assassination was about to take place, and, after fleeing, had the imperial guards locate and kill the hidden assassins, and then executed Zhu Youjing. After this incident, it was said that Zhu only trusted Zhao, as well as Consort Zhang's brothers Zhang Handing () and Zhang Hanjie () and cousins Zhang Hanlun () and Zhang Hanrong (), such that he only listened to their advice, to the exclusion of others, including the senior chancellor Jing Xiang and director of imperial governance Li Zhen, both greatly trusted by Emperor Taizu previously. In 917, an erstwhile vassal of Later Liang's, Liu Yan the military governor of Qinghai Circuit (清海, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong), declared himself emperor of a new independent state of Yue (shortly after to be renamed Han, and therefore known historically as Southern Han). Also in 917, Liu Xun, who had for some time refused to report to Daliang after his defeats at Li Cunxu's hands, finally did go to Daliang to pay homage to Zhu. Zhu relieved him