 It was also said that whenever Zhong was planning a campaign, he would first offer sacrifices at Buddhist temples, and stack the offered pastries into the forms of rhinoceroses and elephants.Late in his governance, he levied heavy taxes; in response, the merchants abandoned trade routes that went through Zhennan Circuit.In 896, Zhong, as well as Qian Liu the military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang) and Du Hong the military governor of Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern Wuhan, Hubei), in fear of expansions by Yang Xingmi the military governor of Huainan, sought aid from the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) to the north, to stem Yang's expansion.