As commander of a roving army For the next few years, Shi led his roving band, which he appeared to have largely recruited himself, throughout central China, losing few battles but largely interested in pillaging and not in holding territory. From the beginning, though, Shi showed willingness to accept learned men into his army to serve as advisors and officers, unlike many other agrarian revolt leaders, and he gained many followers, mostly from the Jie and other non-
Han ethnicities, but including some Han as well. After Liu Yuan's death in 310, Shi continued to submit to the authority of Liu Yuan's son and successor
Liu Cong. In summer 311, Shi's prestige and power increased greatly when he was able to utterly defeat the largest Jin force remaining in central China. The Jin regent
Sima Yue the Prince of Donghai had died in April that year, and the large force that he commanded was trying to escort his funeral train back to his principality of Donghai (roughly modern
Linyi,
Shandong). Shi Le
intercepted them at Ku (苦縣, in modern
Zhoukou,
Henan), and while the Jin force was much larger than his, Shi's force was mostly cavalry, and it surrounded and disrupted the procession of the Jin force so that it stampeded itself into oblivion. The many Jin princes and officials were captured by Shi, and Shi executed them all. Shi, from that point on, became a feared general. In July 311, several major Han generals, including Shi,
Huyan Yan,
Liu Yao, and
Wang Mi, converged on the Jin capital Luoyang, which had been left defenseless by Sima Yue. Without major resistance, the capital fell in the
Disaster of Yongjia, and
Emperor Huai of Jin was captured and later executed in 313. Later that year, Shi captured the powerful Jin general
Gou Xi and assassinated fellow Han general Wang, merging their forces with his own. As Shi's army grew, he increasingly trusted his young distant nephew
Shi Hu as a general, and under the violent but talented Shi Hu, Shi Le's army became known for its cruel treatment of civilians but was also whipped into shape, rarely losing battles. In spring 312, though, Shi Le, preparing to have his army cross the
Yangtze River to attack
Jianye, then under the control of the Jin general
Sima Rui the Prince of Langye, encountered difficulties as his army was trapped in the rain. Fearful that Jin forces were going to attack, Shi's key advisor Diao Ying (刁膺) suggested promising to submit to Sima Rui. Another advisor
Zhang Bin disagreed, noting that Shi had dealt Jin too much damage previously to be able to submit to them. Instead, he advised Shi to retreat north—noting that Jin forces were so fearful of him that they would not likely attack—and that he should capture a defensible city to serve as headquarters so that he could start to hold and increase his territory. Under Zhang's advice, Shi, later that year, captured
Xiangguo and made it his headquarters. He became increasingly reliant on Zhang for advice, and he respected Zhang so much that he no longer referred to him by name. It was also during this time when Shi Le was introduced to the
Kuchan Buddhist monk,
Fotudeng, by one of his generals. Fotudeng supposedly impressed Shi Le with his supernatural abilities and predictions, so Shi Le recruited him as one of his advisors.
After settlement in Xiangguo In early 313,
Wang Jun, the Jin governor of
Youzhou (modern
Beijing,
Tianjin, and northern
Hebei), allied with the
Xianbei Duan chief
Duan Jilujuan (段疾陸眷) the Duke of
Liaoxi, made a major assault on Xiangguo, the defense of which had not yet been completed. Shi's general
Kong Chang, however, made a surprise attack against Duan forces, capturing Duan Jilujuan's cousin
Duan Mobo. Most of Shi's generals wanted to execute Duan Mobo, but instead Shi treated Duan Mobo with courtesy and returned him to Duan forces. The Duan then withdrew and began to disassociate themselves from Wang. Subsequent to this battle, Shi began to use Xiangguo as a base of operations and gradually took increasingly larger pieces of territory under his control—still under Han's name, but acting independently. As it became increasingly clear that Liu Cong, who was talented but violent and wasteful, had become distracted by sensual pleasures and was not able to make Han into an efficient state, Shi began to act even more independently. In early 314, Shi considered plans to destroy the still powerful Wang. Knowing that Wang long had dreams of becoming an emperor, since he believed that his name was prophesied as one for an emperor, Shi pretended to be ready to submit to him and offered him the imperial throne. Wang, trusting Shi's intentions, no longer defended against him. Several months later, Shi, under the guise of offering tribute, made a surprise attack on Wang's headquarters in
Ji (薊, in modern
Beijing), capturing and executing Wang. In fall 315, Liu Cong officially granted Shi imperial authority in the eastern empire, formalizing Shi's hold on his domain. In early 317, Shi defeated the Jin governor of Bing Province,
Liu Kun, who had previously posed a major threat to Han, and took Bing Province under his control, forcing Liu to flee to You Province to join Duan. In 318, Liu Cong died and was succeeded by his son
Liu Can. Shortly after, however, Liu Can was killed by his father-in-law
Jin Zhun in a coup, and Jin slaughtered all members of the imperial Liu household in the capital Pingyang (平陽, in modern
Linfen,
Shanxi). Both Shi and Liu Yao, a cousin of Liu Cong, led their armies against Jin Zhun. Liu Yao declared himself emperor, and Shi decided, at that time, to submit to Liu Yao's authority. Liu Yao created him the Duke of Zhao. Subsequently, Jin Zhun, with his forces under pressure from two sides, was assassinated and succeeded by his cousin Jin Ming (靳明), who abandoned Pingyang and surrendered to Liu Yao. Shi entered the capital but did not occupy it. Shi Le burned palaces in Pingyang. With the capital heavily damaged by the coup and the subsequent battles, Liu Yao moved the capital to
Chang'an. In early 319, Shi sent a delegation to pay tribute to Liu Yao. Liu Yao was very pleased, and made Shi the Prince of Zhao. However, subsequently, Liu Yao became suspicious that Shi was about to rebel, so killed Shi's lead delegate. Shi became angry, and later that year declared independence under the title of Prince of Zhao. == Independence and reign as Prince of Zhao ==