in winter 25, after being held by yan a few months, the gengshi emperor saw his situation as futile and requested liu gong to negotiate surrender terms. a promise was made that he would be made the prince of changsha. emperor penzi's general xie lu (謝祿) arrived at yan's camp and escorted the gengshi emperor back to chang'an to offer his seal (seized from wang mang) to emperor penzi. chimei generals, notwithstanding the earlier promise, wanted to execute him. it was only liu gong's final intercession (in which he threatened to commit suicide at the execution site) that allowed the gengshi emperor to be spared at this point, and he was created the prince of changsha. he, however, was forced to stay in xie's headquarters, and liu gong protected him on a number of occasions.