The two raised a personal army and later joined Sima Ying's retainer, Gongshi Fan (公師藩), who rose up to avenge the prince after his removal.
In 304, he befriended one of Shi Huan's slaves, Bei (㔨) (or Fule (匐勒)), a Jie man who later went on to establish one of the most pivotal states of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Later Zhao.
The Prince of Xincai and commander of Ye, Sima Teng, fled the city, but was killed by Ji Sang's general, Li Feng (李豐) in June or July.
Sima Yue, now regent to Emperor Hui of Jin, worried greatly and sent his generals, Gou Xi and Wang Zan (王讚) to subdue Ji Sang.
Ji Sang and Shi Le were locked in a stalemate with Gou Xi for months at Pingyuan and Yangping (陽平; in present-day Shen County, Shandong).
Ji Sang and Shi Le took the decision to flee to Liu Yuan's state of Han-Zhao, but along the way, they were intercepted and beaten by Ding Shao (丁邵).
六月重茵被衲裘, In the sixth month layering on clothing and donning leopard hide, 不識寒暑斷他頭。 Unable to distinguish cold from heat he severed a man's head.