 The Liu Song forces, under the commands of Xiao Bin () and Wang Xuanmo, quickly took Qiao'ao and Le'an (樂安, in modern Tangshan, Hebei), as Northern Wei forces abandoned those two cities quickly, and then put Huatai under siege.The Han people around Huatai were initially gladly supporting the Liu Song campaign, but Wang ordered them to submit a large number of pears, causing them to be angry and turn against Liu Song.Liu Song forces, as a consequence, could not capture Huatai quickly, and in winter 450, Emperor Taiwu crossed the Yellow River, and Wang's forces collapsed, forcing him to flee back to Qiao'ao.