By 490 BC, after the destruction of the houses of Fan (范) and Zhonghang (中行), control of the State of Jin, then the largest state in China, was contested by four elite families: Zhi, Wei, Zhao, and Han. With multiple military victories under his belt, Zhi Bo Yao (智伯瑤) of the house of Zhi exerted the most influence in the Jin court – all decisions of the state had to pass through him. He also controlled the most territory within the state. The reigning duke of Jin, Duke Ai, was powerless to restrain him. So Zhi Bo, in his pride, began to demand lands from the other three houses. The houses of Wei and Han reluctantly complied to evade Zhi Bo's wrath, but Viscount Xiang of Zhao (趙襄子) refused to cede the territories of Lin (藺) and Gaolang (皋狼), both in modern-day Lishi, to Zhi. Zhi Bo, in retr