In 1869, Christian missionaries in Liyuantun of
Guan County reached an agreement with local landlords to convert a temple dedicated to the
Jade Emperor into a church. This decision sparked widespread opposition from the villagers, who impeded the conversion in the following decades. By 1892, the temple was demolished. In response, the leaders of the protest, known as
Shiba Kui (), invited Zhao and his followers to join their cause. In the spring of 1897, the Christians in Liyuantun attempted to construct a church on the site of the former temple. On 24 March, Zhao and his disciples arrived in Liyuantun and held a boxing show for three days. More than 3,000 people arrived to protest against the local government and missionaries. Fighting broke out on 27 April, which led to the destruction of the newly constructed church. By early 1898, Zhao started using the name
Yihequan () for his group, as many practitioners of
Meihuaquan sought to distance themselves from anti-foreign and anti-Christian activities. Around the same time, Cao Ti, the acting governor of Guan County, initiated negotiations with the boxers. Zhao agreed to the terms proposed by Cao, and dismissed his followers in exchange for relocation of the planned church and official pardon for the boxers. In June, under pressure from the French minister to China
Stephen Pichon, the Qing government overturned the previous resolution to favor the missionaries. On 24 October 1898, Zhao and the Eighteen Chiefs gathered in Jiangjiazhuang, Guan County. With a group of 3,000 people, they started an uprising under the slogan "Fu Qing Mie Yang" (), and attacked churches as well as armed strongholds of the local Christians. On 27 October, Zhao's group broke off from other boxers and returned to Wei County. Initially surrendering to the government on 31 October, they later rejoined the rebellion on 3 November. Qing army managed to quell the uprising on the next day. Most of the boxers scattered, while Zhao and a small group of followers fled to
Linqing and went into hiding. In 1900, Zhao and his followers carried out multiple attacks on churches in
Fucheng and Linqing. On 6 November, they were surrounded by the troops of Yuan Shikai, the then governor of Shandong, in Houwei Village of Wei County. Despite sustaining significant casualties, Zhao managed to lead the remaining forces in a breakout and retreated to
Guangzong, Zhili. He and his followers continued to attack churches and carry out
Junliang () operations in southern and central Zhili. == Arrest ==