Zhu Can - Initial Uprising

Initial Uprising

Zhu Can was from Bo Province (毫州, roughly modern Bozhou, Anhui), and he was initially a minor official with his local county government. He joined the military when men were sought to combat the agrarian rebels at Changbai Mountain (長白山, in modern Binzhou, Shandong, not the mountain range in Jilin), but in or before 615 he defected and led a group of rebels himself, which became known as the Kedahan Bandits (可達寒賊). He declared himself the Prince of Jialouluo (迦樓羅王), and he eventually crossed the Huai River south to attack the various commanderies of modern southern Henan, northern Hubei, and southern Shaanxi. It was said that Zhu was very cruel, and that wherever he went, he often massacred the population.