Additionally, Shi Le was an important figure in the rise of Buddhism in 4th-century China, as he allowed the Kuchan monk, Fotudeng to wield considerable influence in his court.

Eventually, he became a leader of bandits, and at one point he befriended Ji Sang, one of Sima Ying the Prince of Chengdu's military commanders.

After Gongsun was subsequently defeated and killed, Ji became leader of the rebellion and made Shi his key general—now with the goal of avenging Sima Ying, who was forced to commit suicide in late 306.

However, their rebellion, while briefly successful in capturing Yecheng in 307 and killing Sima Teng (司馬騰)[6] the Prince of Xincai, ultimately was defeated in the winter of that year, and Shi instead joined Liu Yuan, an ethnically Xiongnu former Sima Ying subordinate who had by now declared independence from Jin and established his own state Han-Zhao.

From the beginning, though, Shi showed willingness to accept learned men into his army to serve as advisors and officers, unlike many other agrarian revolt leaders, and he gained many followers, mostly from the Jie and other non-Han ethnicities, but including some Han as well.

In summer 311, Shi's prestige and power increased greatly when he was able to utterly defeat the largest Jin force remaining in central China.

In July 311, several major Han generals, including Shi, Huyan Yan, Liu Yao, and Wang Mi, converged on the Jin capital Luoyang, which had been left defenseless by Sima Yue.

Without major resistance, the capital fell (Disaster of Yongjia), and Emperor Huai of Jin was captured and later executed in 313.

Fearful that Jin forces were going to attack, Shi's key advisor Diao Ying (刁膺) suggested promising to submit to Sima Rui.

Another advisor Zhang Bin disagreed, noting that Shi had dealt Jin too much damage previously to be able to submit to them.

Instead, he advised Shi to retreat north—noting that Jin forces were so fearful of him that they would not likely attack—and that he should capture a defensible city to serve as headquarters so that he could start to hold and increase his territory.

Under Zhang's advice, Shi, later that year, captured Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xintai, Hebei) and made it his headquarters.

In early 313, Wang Jun, the Jin governor of Youzhou (modern Beijing, Tianjin, and northern Hebei), allied with the Xianbei Duan chief Duan Jilujuan (段疾陸眷) the Duke of Liaoxi, made a major assault on Xiangguo, the defense of which had not yet been completed.

Subsequent to this battle, Shi began to use Xiangguo as a base of operations and gradually took increasingly larger pieces of territory under his control—still under Han's name, but acting independently.

As it became increasingly clear that Liu Cong, who was talented but violent and wasteful, had become distracted by sensual pleasures and was not able to make Han into an efficient state, Shi began to act even more independently.

For a while longer, Duan served as the leader of the Jin forces remaining in Ji Province, but in 321, Shi Hu captured him as well.

Shi, however, reached a stalemate to the south with the Jin governor of Yu Province (豫州, modern eastern Henan and northwestern Anhui) Zu Ti, and eventually the sides reached an informal détente with the Yellow River serving as the border, leading to peace and trade relations.

Later that year, Shi Hu attacked and captured Xu Kan, a minor warlord based in Taishan Commandery who vacillated between allegiance to Jin and Later Zhao.

Shi Le personally led his force to aid Luoyang, engaging Liu Yao in battle and capturing him.