However, before Luo Shang arrived in the province, the refugee leader, Li Te, had ousted Zhao Xin from power.
Luo Shang continued to resist Cheng-Han from Ba Commandery (巴郡; present-day Chongqing), but after his death in 310, Cheng was able to consolidate its power in southwest China.
Luo Shang inherited his uncle's talents in writing articles and found himself a position as Army Adviser under the Inspector of Jingzhou, Wang Rong.
[5] Later in 301, the Jin court in Luoyang issued an order to all refugees in Yizhou to return north to their original homes in Yongzhou and Qinzhou (秦州, modern eastern Gansu).
Luo Shang ordered Li Bi and Fei Yuan (費遠) to rescue Xin Ran but they were defeated.
Because of this, Luo Shang decided to heavily rely on his defences, fortifying it and fighting Li Te to a stalemate.
Luo Shang had his general Zhang Xing (張興) to feign surrender and scout Li Te's army.
While they were discussing, Jin forces from Jingzhou led by Sun Fu (孫阜) and Zong Dai (宗岱) made their way to Yizhou to help Luo Shang.
Luo Shang took advantage of the confusion by sending He Chong (何沖) and Chang Shen (常深) to attack Chizu.
As the two sides fought, the Di chieftains, Fu Cheng (苻成) and Kui Bo (隗伯) defected over to He Chong.
Luo Shang's subordinate Xu Yu (徐轝) begged him to ally with the Taoist hermit at Mount Qingcheng, Fan Changsheng, as he had thousands of families under his wing.
Upon his succession, Li Xiong sent a man named Pu Tai (朴泰) to trick Luo Shang into attacking Picheng (郫城, in present-day Pixian County, Sichuan).
Luo Shang's food supply had been cut off after Li Xiang captured Qianwei, leaving the city with little to no ration.
However, Chengdu eventually fell to Li Xiong, allowing him to officially break away from Jin and form his state of Cheng.
Despite his early failures, the court rewarded Luo Shang with Cavalier In Regular Attendance and Commander of Yizhou and Liangzhou in 308.
[17] Meanwhile, the Jin general, Qiao Deng, was marching west to attack Cheng and asked Luo Shang for troops, but he refused.
Luo Shang also sent Xiang Fen (向奮) to camp at Anhan (安漢, in present-day Nanchong, Sichuan), where Li Xiong attacked him but to no avail.
In 310, Luo Shang received the surrender of Baxi Commandery (巴西郡; in present-day Langzhong, Sichuan) from Wen Shi (文石).
[18] Luo Shang died of natural causes in August 310 while his campaign was still ongoing, and his office of Inspector of Yizhou was succeeded by Pi Su (皮素).
Before Luo Shang's death, Cheng's general, Zhang Bao (張寶), recaptured Zitong after feigning a surrender.
In c.February 311, Cheng reclaimed Baxi Commandery and Fucheng County, reversing Luo Shang's gains from the two previous years.