In 681, he assisted his brother, Ilterish Qaghan, in a revolt against Tang dominion, and succeeded in reviving the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
In summer 696, The Khitan chieftains Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong, brothers-in-law, angry over the mistreatment of the Khitan people by the Zhou official Zhao Wenhui (趙文翽), the prefect of Ying Prefecture (Chinese: 營州, roughly Chaoyang County, Liaoning), rebelled, with Li assuming the title of Wushang Khan.
Armies that Wu Zetian sent to suppress Li and Sun's rebellion were defeated by Khitan forces, which in turn attacked Zhou proper.
[11][12][better source needed] Wu Zetian tried to allay the situation by making peace with khagan at fairly costly terms—the return of Turkic people who had previously submitted to Zhou and providing Turks with seeds, silk, tools, and iron.
After securing Chinese border, in winter, he turned his attention to further expansion to north, notably subjugating Yenisei Kyrgyz and killing their khagan.
Zhang Jianzhi opposed, stating, "In ancient times, no Chinese imperial prince had ever married a barbarian woman as his wife."
This opposition drew displeasure from Wu Zetian, as she wanted peace with Turks, and she demoted Zhang to be the prefect of He Prefecture (合州, modern northern Chongqing).
In August 698, Qapaghan attacked Dingzhou, captured and killed its governor Sun Yangao (孙彦高), burning the city alongside.
Wu Zetian angered to the point that she issued a proclamation that if anyone killed the khagan would be granted title Prince.
In October, khagan let Yan Zhiwei (阎知微) to go back to China, who was captured and executed on charges of treason.
In 705, Tujue forces commanded by Mojilian entered Lingwu, defeating Shazha Chongyi (沙吒忠义), he was dismissed from service.