in summer 25, liu xiu finally made a formal break with the emperor, after his generals and the emperor's fought over control of the henei and luoyang regions. he declared himself emperor (establishing the regime known later as the eastern han dynasty), and soon his general deng yu also captured the modern shanxi, further reducing the gengshi emperor's strength. feeling trapped, a number of the emperor's generals conspired to kidnap him and flee back to their home region of nanyang (in modern henan). they were discovered, and many were executed, but one, zhang ang (張卬) occupied most of chang'an, forcing the gengshi emperor to flee, just as chimei forces were approaching.