Meanwhile, Tian Hongzheng (a relative of Tian Ji'an's, who had died in 812) the military governor of Weibo - under whose governance Weibo had become imperial territory - stationed his forces near Weibo's borders with Chengde.
By 817, the expenditures of the imperial forces in waging campaigns against Chengde and Zhangyi simultaneously were so high and the returns so low that Emperor Xianzong was reconsidering his strategy.