Upon hearing of Emperor Houfei's death, the general Shen Youzhi accused Xiao Daocheng of wanting to usurp the throne, and he started a rebellion from his Jing Province (荊州, modern central and western Hubei), although he then ill-advisedly became bogged down in his progress in sieging Yingcheng (郢城, in modern Wuhan, Hubei). Meanwhile, an attempted coup by Yuan Can and Liu Bing to seize back power for the imperial clan failed in late 477, and both Yuan and Liu Bing were killed, permitting Xiao to further consolidate his power. By spring 478, Shen also had been defeated, and he committed suicide. Xiao no longer had opposition. He began to have himself bestowed with higher and higher offices and honors, posturing himself for the throne. He was also gradually assassinating some of Emperor Shun's brothers.