In spring 554, Emperor Yuan made a major diplomatic faux pas when both Western Wei and Northern Qi ambassadors arrived at Jiangling, as he treated the Northern Qi ambassadors with far greater respect than the Western Wei ones. He then compounded the insult by sending an arrogant letter to Yuwen Tai, requesting that the borders be refixed to earlier times. Yuwen made the comment, "Xiao Yi is the type of person that, as said in proverbs, 'One who has been abandoned by heaven cannot be revived by anyone else.'" He prepared an attack against Emperor Yuan, and when the Western Wei general Ma Bofu () revealed this to Emperor Yuan, Emperor Yuan did not believe it and took minimal precautions. Suspicious of Wang Lin, he even sent Wang Lin away to be the governor of Guang Province.