During his early years, he pledged his allegiance to Zhu Yuanzhang and joined the army in Jiqing (present-day Nanjing).
After conquering Changzhou, he was appointed as the Vice Commander of the Guards (親軍副都指揮使).
He then went to Wuzhou and other places and was eventually promoted to the position of Assistant Administrator of the Huguang Province (湖廣行省參政), stationed in Jiangling.
Later, he led an attack on Hunan and was promoted to the Province's Manager of Governmental Affairs (行省平章政事).
Along with other generals, including Zhou Dexing (周德興) and Zhang Bin (張彬), he attacked Guangxi.