The uprising in 679-681 was at first unsuccessful, although it led, in 682, to the withdrawal of Qutlugh into the Gobi desert. Once they had established themselves in the Yin Mountains, Qutlugh, his brother Bögü-chor, and his closest comrade-in-arms, Tonyukuk succeeded in winning the support of most of the Turks and conducted successful military operations against the imperial forces in Shansi between 682 and 687. In 687 Ilterish kaghan left the Yin Shan mountains and turned his united and battlehardened army to the conquest of the Türk heartlands in central and northern Mongolia.