With the Northern Expedition's advance halted, Chiang wired the government in Guangzhou, demanding an end to the still ongoing Canton–Hong Kong strike, which continued to hamper his supply chain. Negotiations with the British began on 23 September, with the strike finally called off on 10 October. This eased access to supplies for the NRA, and freed up manpower, in the form of the strikers, for the continued push north. On the same day, Wu Peifu's remaining forces at Wuchang surrendered, completing the NRA's conquest of Hubei province. As bloody fighting continued in Jiangxi, the civil governor of Zhejiang province, Xia Chao, one of Sun's subordinates, defected to the KMT government in Guangzhou. Zhejiang inhabitants had become increasingly dissatisfied with the rule of Sun, who was foreign to the province, and on 16 October, Xia declared its independence. Chiang Kai-shek, a native of Zhejiang, was able to convince Xia to side with the KMT. Following his defection, Xia launched an attack on Sun-controlled Shanghai, but was almost immediately forced to withdraw back to Zhejiang; Sun had detected Xia's plans days earlier. Sun's forces subsequently marched on Zhejiang, crushing the rebellion by 23 October. Xia was executed, along with hundreds of his troops, while thousands of civilians were massacred at Xia's former headquarters.