 Xiao considered defending Qiao'ao against the coming Northern Wei assault, but Shen persuaded him that doing so was futile, and despite orders from Emperor Wen to defend Qiao'ao, Xiao led the main forces back to Licheng (歷城, in modern Ji'nan, Shandong) to preserve the strength of the army.Meanwhile, due to Wang's defeat at Huatai, although the general Liu Wenjing () was able to capture Tong Pass in the west and threaten Northern Wei's Guanzhong region, Emperor Wen chose to recall Liu and abandon the western advances as well.In retaliation for the Liu Song attack, Emperor Taiwu launched an all-out attack against Liu Song's northern provinces.