Whilst alive, he also deterred the powerful commander, Wang Dun from rebelling against Jin through his presence and opposition.

[1] He eventually became an Officer of Merit in Anyang County, and during his tenure, he met an official serving in Lujiang Commandery named Tao Kan.

[4] Despite Sima Rui's authority, the Inspector of Jiangzhou (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian), Hua Yi refused to take orders from him.

Fearing he may rebel, Rui made Zhou Fang the General Who Spreads Vehemence and ordered him to move to Pengze with 1,200 soldiers to prepare for Hua Yi's attack.

However, Zhou Fang respected Hua Yi due to the latter's efforts at helping the people, so he only moved to Eling County (鄂陵; in present-day Caishan, Hubei) in Xunyang to prevent military escalation.

[5] In July 311, Emperor Huai of Jin and the capital, Luoyang were captured by Han-Zhao forces in an event known as the Disaster of Yongjia.

One minister, Xun Fan, formed a provisional government, and he and his peers proclaimed Sima Rui as the leader of their alliance.

Hua Yi's allies, Wei Zhan (衛展) and Zhou Guang (周廣), defected to Sima Rui's side and attacked him from behind.

As Hua Yi's forces collapsed, he fled to Ancheng County (安成, in modern Ji'an, Jiangxi), but was pursued and captured by Zhou Fang.

For his efforts at pacifying Jiangzhou, Zhou Fang was appointed General Who Spreads Valor and Administrator of Xunyang.

To counter their tactics, Zhou Fang installed long forked beams on his ships to hinder the effectiveness of the shadoofs.

Not wanting to engage in battle, Zhou Fang secretly ordered his men to gather firewood, and after returning, get into formation and beat the drums.

When Wang Dun's base in Penkou was threatened by Du Hong, Zhou Fang led his army on foot and secretly crossed the river at Chaisang to attack him.

Du Hong managed to escape the city, supposedly after distracting Zhou Fang's men by throwing out treasures and valuable goods outside the wall.

Du Hong was later defeated by the Administrator of Nankang and forced to flee to Linhe (臨賀; around present-day Hezhou, Guangxi).

For his efforts, Sima Rui promoted Zhou Fang to Dragon-Soaring General and Commander of the Expeditionary Forces, while Wang Dun petitioned him to become Administrator of Yuzhang.

Zhou Fang marched with 8,000 men to Dunyang (沌陽; in present-day Wuhan, Hubei) to fight Du Zeng's army.

Zhou Fang then selected 800 elite soldiers, treated them with wine and instructed them not to make rash decisions until they hear the drums.

After both flanks were defeated, Zhou Fang personally beat the drums six times, and his elite soldiers sprang up and rushed towards the enemies.

He was also planning to reclaim lost Jin territory in the north from Henan, coordinating with the generals, Li Ju and Guo Mo.

[20] After the death of Zhou Fang and another rival general, Zu Ti the following year, Wang Dun would openly rebel against Emperor Yuan in 322.

[21] Another anecdote tells of Zhou Fang and Tao Kan visiting a face reader named Chen Xun (陳訓) in Lujiang Commandery.