They also killed the former chancellors Wei Zhaodu and Li Xi, whom they blamed for approving Li Keyong's petition, and further considered deposing Emperor Zhaozong and replacing him with his brother Li Bao (李保) the Prince of Ji. However, by this point, they heard that Li Keyong had already mobilized his troops and therefore decided they needed to concentrate on defending against him. They left troops at Chang'an to control Emperor Zhaozong (under command of Wang Xingyu's brother Wang Xingshi (王行實) and Li Maozhen's adoptive son Li Jipeng (李繼鵬)), and returned to their own circuits. Li Keyong, hearing the news of the actions that Wang Xingyu, Li Maozhen, and Han took at the capital, launched his troops and issued a declaration accusing them of treason. He first attacked Wang Yao, killing him, and then advanced to Hezhong to rendezvous with Wang Ke. He quickly advanced to Chaoyi (朝邑, in modern Weinan), defeating Wang Xingyue there, and Wang Xingyue abandoned Kuangguo and fled. When news of this arrived at Chang'an, Wang Xingshi and the eunuch Liu Jingxuan (劉景宣) wanted to seize Emperor Zhaozong and flee to Jingnan's capital Bin Prefecture (邠州), while Li Jipeng and the eunuch Luo Quanguan (駱全瓘) wanted to seize Emperor Zhaozong and flee to Fengxiang. This erupted into street battles between Wang Xingshi and Li Jipeng, along with the Shence Armies (which they had taken over). Emperor Zhaozong's own personal guards fought off both Wang Xingshi and Li Jipeng, who then withdrew and headed for Jingnan and Fengxiang respectively. Emperor Zhaozong, under the protection of the imperial guard officers Li Yun (李筠) and Li Jushi (李居實), fled out of Chang'an and fled into the Qinling Mountains. Meanwhile, Li Keyong entered Kuangguo's capital Tong Prefecture. Emperor Zhaozong, in flight, issued an edict to him and Wang Ke, ordering them to attack Wang Xingyu, while ordering Zhang Fan (張鐇) the military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu) to block off any forces from Fengxiang.