Around 195, when a famine broke out in the Guanzhong region, Su Ze fled from Fufeng Commandery to the neighbouring Anding Commandery (安定郡; around present-day Zhenyuan County, Gansu) and took refuge under a wealthy man, Shi Liang (). When Shi Liang treated him with contempt, Su Ze sighed and swore that he would return one day as the Administrator () of Anding Commandery and take revenge against Shi Liang. Around 200, he first returned to Fufeng Commandery but later decided to travel with his friend, Ji Mao (), to Mount Taibai, where they settled down temporarily and spent their time reading.