In 921, Zhu Zhen, suspicious of the intentions of the major general Liu Xun, who had sought retirement, approved Liu's retirement and had him reside at Luoyang.
In 923, Zhu Zhen, with the territory of his Later Liang state north of the Yellow River gradually taken piece by piece by his rival Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin (Li Keyong's son and successor), planned a major counterattack.