 However, as they travelled on the Yangtze River, Hou had him killed and his body thrown into the Yangtze, and then returned to Jiankang, claiming that Chen Chang had slipped into the river.Grateful that Hou had eliminated a rival for him, Emperor Wen created Hou the Duke of Qingyuan.In fall 560, Chen forces under Hou Tian began to engage Northern Zhou and Western Liang forces in the modern Hunan region, which Western Liang had taken from Xiao Zhuang when he fled to Northern Qi.