 Emperor Xiaozhuang tried to get Erzhu Shilong to submit by offering him an "iron certificate" (鐵券, "tie quan", which could be used against a death-eligible crime) to Erzhu Shilong if he would be willing to give up resisting.Erzhu Shilong refused—declaring that if Erzhu Rong could be killed after accomplishing so much, the certificate was meaningless.Emperor Xiaozhuang's troops and the Erzhus' troops stalemated for half a month, before an ambush by Emperor Xiaozhuang's official Li Miao (李苗) destroyed the Yellow River bridge, causing Erzhu Shilong to decide to march north.