in communications with Zhu and were encouraging him to attack Sun, killed Qin Yan and Bi. Meanwhile, Yang Xingmi, believing that he could not contend with Sun for control of Yang Prefecture at this point, began to evacuate his own troops back to his original base at Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei, Anhui), and when Sun finally attacked Yang Prefecture in summer 888, he captured it fairly easily as Yang Xingmi fled. Sun thereafter claimed the title of military governor of Huainan. Subsequent campaign against Yang Xingmi, defeat, and death Yang Xingmi, instead of returning to Lu Prefecture, captured Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng, Anhui), the capital of Xuanshe Circuit (); he was subsequently named the governor (觀察使, Guanchashi) of Xuanshe by then-emperor Emperor Zhaozong (Emperor Xizong's brother and successor). As he was doing so, Sun Ru attacked Lu Prefecture, and Yang's subordinate Cai Chou (), whom Yang left in charge of Lu, surrendered it. Meanwhile, in late 889, Zhu Quanzhong, who had been named the military governor of Huainan by the imperial government in addition to the circuits that he already held, sent his officer Pang Shigu () to attack Huainan, but after Sun defeated him in spring 890 at Lingting (陵亭, in modern Taizhou, Jiangsu), Pang withdrew. Still, fearing a joint attack by Zhu and Yang, Sun sought peaceful relations with Zhu, and Zhu initially agreed; at Zhu's recommendation, Emperor Zhaozong named Sun the military governor of Huainan, but soon thereafter, Zhu broke off the relations and killed Sun's emissaries. At this time, Yang still held some of prefectures southeast of Yang Prefecture — Chang (常州, in modern Changzhou, Jiangsu), Run (潤州, in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), and Su (蘇州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu). In fall 890, Sun, while himself attacking Run Prefecture, had Liu Jianfeng capture Chang Prefecture, killing Yang's subordinate Zhang Xingzhou (). Around the new year 891, Sun further took Su Prefecture and killed Yang's subordinate Li You (). Upon hearing that Su had fallen, An Renyi, whom Yang had put in charge of Run Prefecture, abandoned it, and Sun took control of the region. In spring 891, Sun continued to pursue his campaign against Yang, pushing closer to Xuan Prefecture and defeating Yang's forces under An and Tian Jun multiple times, although his advances were briefly thwarted by Li Shenfu. Sun advanced to Huangchi (黃池, in modern Wuhu, Anhui), and Yang's forces, under