Gao Renhou's origins had been lost to history even by the time that the New Book of Tang, which contained a biography of his, was written.
As part of Chen's operations to prevent Huang from pursuing Emperor Xizong, he sent the Crow Corps north.
Chen initially sent his officers Yang Xingqian (楊行遷), Hu Honglüe (胡洪略), and Mo Kuangshi (莫匡時) against these rebels,[2] but they were largely ineffective; worse, to avoid being punished themselves, they often killed innocent civilians and claimed that the dead civilians were agrarian rebels.
Gao then engaged Qian's lieutenant Luo Hunqing (羅渾擎) at Shuangliu (雙流, in modern Chengdu).
Gao then allowed the surrendered rebels to return to their homes safely, further causing the morale of Qian's followers to fail.
Because of Gao's accomplishments against Qian, Chen made him the defender (防禦使, Fangyushi) of Mei Prefecture (眉州, in modern Meishan, Sichuan).
[3] Meanwhile, Chen Jingxuan had had to deal with another agrarian rebellion, led by Han Xiusheng and Qu Xingcong, that began in summer 882 in the Three Gorges region.
In spring 883, Chen sent Gao Renhou to attack Han and Qu instead, promising to have him made the military governor of Dongchuan if he succeeded.
Gao built 12 camps around Dongchuan's capital Zi Prefecture (梓州) to wear out Yang Shili's army.
Yang Shili's officers Zheng Junxiong (鄭君雄) and Zhang Shi'an (張士安) reacted by launching a surprise attack against Gao's camps at night.