 As part of the Tang operations against Huang's Qi state, the Shatuo generals Qu Zhen (瞿稹) and Li Youjin (李友金, a cousin of Li Guochang's) had gone to the Datong region to recruit soldiers for Tang, and while they were able to recruit some 30,000 soldiers, Qu and Li Youjin were having difficulty controlling them.Li Youjin then persuaded the eunuch monitor of the army in the region, Chen Jingsi (陳景思), to request Emperor Xizong to officially pardon Li Guochang and Li Keyong, so that he could ask them to join in the operation.Emperor Xizong did so, and Li Youjin subsequently went to Dada himself and brought Li Keyong back to Tang territory from Dada, along with 10,000 Dada soldiers.