also around this time that Li Qi, trying to ensure his future safety, began to expand his forces. In particular, he selected the strongest archers and made them into a special Wanqiang Corps (), while selected the ethnically Xiongnu or Xi soldiers and made them into a special Fanluo Corps (). The Wanqiang and Fanluo soldiers were paid 10 times as much as the regular soldiers, in order to garner their loyalty. They referred to him as their adopted father. It was also said that he often forced women from good households to become his concubines (one of those concubines, a Lady Zheng, would later enter the imperial palace and become the mother of Emperor Xuānzong.) Li Qi's staff members Lu Tan () and Li Yue (), after being unable to persuade him to curb his actions, left his staff. During Emperor Shunzong's reign Emperor Dezong died in 805, and his son Emperor Shunzong took the throne. Soon after Emperor Shunzong became emperor, he made Li Qi the military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (i.e., Zhexi) but stripped him of the position of director of salt and iron monopolies, transferring the position to the chancellor Du You. It was said that while Li Qi thus lost the lucrative economic responsibilities, he gained a military command, and therefore did not resist the orders. During Emperor Xianzong's reign Later in 805, Emperor Shunzong, who was seriously ill, yielded the throne to his son Emperor Xianzong. By this point, it was commonly thought that Li Qi would eventually rebel — so much so that when the official Du Jian () was made the prefect of Su Prefecture (蘇州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) late in 805, Du declined on the basis that he believed that Li Qi would soon rebel and that Du and his clan would be killed in the rebellion. Emperor Xianzong accepted Du's rationale and kept him at the imperial government. After the rebellious general Liu Pi, who occupied Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) was defeated and killed by imperial forces in 806, however, many regional governors became apprehensive and offered to pay homage to the new emperor. Li Qi also did so in 807, and Emperor Xianzong agreed and sent a eunuch to Zhenhai's capital Jingkou to comfort Li Qi and his soldiers. However, although Li Qi made his assistant Wang Dan () acting military governor in his