Murong Xiang, meanwhile, declared himself emperor, and put Tuoba Gu to death to try to show his resolve. In the fall, however, Murong Lin made a surprise attack on him, killing him and taking over Zhongshan. Murong Lin also claimed imperial title, but was unable to stand Northern Wei military pressure, and Zhongshan fell to Tuoba Gui, who was largely gentle to Zhongshan's population despite their resistance—although he slaughtered the clans of those who advocated Tuoba Gu's death. It was around this time, however, that his army suffered a serious plague that might have killed as much as half of the army and livestock. When his generals tried to persuade him to suspend the campaign, Tuoba Gui gave a response that might be quite demonstrative of his personality: