brother's generals made him very unpopular among his men. Shortly after Zu Yue's appointment, Later Zhao forces quickly retook lands that they had lost to Zu Ti. Zu Yue failed to hold out and lost Xiangcheng, Chengfu (城父, in present-day Bozhou, Anhui) and Chenliu as a result. In 324, Zu Yue joined the loyalist side during Wang Dun's second insurrection against Jin after he was summoned to the capital by Emperor Ming. Zu Yue drove out Wang's Administrator of Huainan Ren Tai (任台) at Shouyang (壽陽, in present-day Lu'an, Anhui). After the death of Emperor Ming the following year, his brother-in-law Yu Liang, became the regent for his nephew, Emperor Cheng of Jin. Zu Yue saw himself as an independent warlord and wished to exercise his own authority over his holdings. He had hope that the new government would give him the privilege to hand out offices to his subordinates, much like his contemporaries, but this did not happen. He soon sent multiple petitions demanding for it, but they were either rejected or ignored. Even worse, when an imperial edict promoting ministers was declared, he, along with Tao Kan, were left out from the edict, and all this caused Zu Yue to suspect that Yu Liang was purposefully snubbing him. In 326, Zu Yue was attacked by Later Zhao forces under Shi Cong (石聰) at Shouchun. Zu sent edicts to Jiankang demanding for help but none came. The court only considered action when Shi Cong attacked Junqiu (浚遒, in present-day Feidong County, Anhui) and Fuling (阜陵; in present-day Quanjiao County, Anhui). However, before reinforcements could be sent, the warlord, Su Jun, sent his general Han Huang first and repelled Shi Cong. Zu Yue's relationship with the court deteriorated even further when he heard of the court's plan to make a defensive dyke. The dyke would cut him off from the capital, leaving him isolated in the face of a future invasion. Su Jun's Rebellion The next year, Su Jun rebelled against the Jin dynasty. Su Jun knew of Zu Yue's grudge with Yu Liang and the government, so he was offered to join forces. Zu Yue was delighted, and sent nephew Zu Huan and brother-in-law Xu Liu to aid Su Jun in capturing Jiankang. There were attempts to discourage Zu Yue from joining Su Jun by Huan Xuan and Zu Ti's widow, but Zu Yue refused to listen. When Su