The rebels withdrew under the cover of darkness on the night of the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month to East Village (東鄉), Wuxuan County. The imperial troops gave chase but were ambushed again. Both sides reached a stalemate near Sanli Dyke (三里圩). On the 23rd day Hong Xiuquan declared himself the "Heavenly King" (天王) in East Village. On the 3rd day of the 4th lunar month Guangxi governor Zhou Tianjue (周天爵) and Xiang Rong rallied over 6,000 troops to attack East Village but were driven back by the rebels. After suffering continual defeats, Li Xingyuan died on the 12th day of the 5th lunar month. Four days later the rebels broke out of the siege and advanced towards Xiangzhou (象州). Qing forces pursued them while the newly deployed 1,000-strong imperial army from Guangzhou led by Gen. Ulantai (烏蘭泰) was stationed at Liangshan Village (梁山村). Xiang Rong's force was deployed to Jie Ridge (界嶺) to block the rebels' route to the north.