in any case, gengshi emperor's regime was only able to obtain nominal submission from many regions of the empire, and one of the troublesome regions was north of the yellow river. the emperor considered dispatching a general to try to pacify the region, and his cousin liu ci (劉賜), who had succeeded liu yan as prime minister, endorsed liu xiu for that task. liu yan's political enemies, including li and zhu, opposed, but after liu ci repeatedly endorsed liu xiu, the gengshi emperor relented and, in autumn 23, he sent liu xiu to the region north of the yellow river.