Emperor Muzong reacted by, against the advice of the general Yang Yuanqing (), moving Tian Hongzheng the military governor of Weibo—whose submission to the imperial government in 812 had been a crucial step in the Yuanhe Restoration and who had been a major participant in the subsequent campaigns against Chengde and Pinglu—to Chengde, Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), Liu Wu from Yicheng to Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Li Su from Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Weibo, and made Tian Hongzheng's son Tian Bu the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan). Wang Chengyuan, despite the opposition of his soldiers, departed Chengde and turned control of the circuit over to Tian Hongzheng. Tian Hongzheng, however, was apprehensive that the soldiers under him—whom he had fought on the battlefield for years and many of whom bore hatred for him—would mutiny, and thus brought 2,000 Weibo soldiers to Chengde to serve as his personal guard. When he requested that the imperial government supply the salaries of these Weibo soldiers, however, the acting director of finances, Cui Ling (), a relative of the chancellor Cui Zhi, not understanding the seriousness of the situation, believed that it was the Chengde soldiers' responsibility to protect their military governor, refused. Tian was forced to return the Weibo soldiers to Weibo.