When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he was appointed as the Inspector of Xu Province and he succeeded in clearing the area of rebel forces. He was sent to the northwestern frontiers during the Liang Province Rebellion, where he served under Zhang Wen. During the campaign, he insulted Zhang Wen and angered him. However, Sun Jian and Dong Zhuo served on the same campaign, and both of them also were unhappy with Zhang Wen's leadership as well. In the chaos of Dong Zhuo's "coup d'état" and the battles that followed, Tao Qian, having returned to Xu Province, gained control of the neighbouring Yang Province. However, after that he showed no ambition to expand his territory any further.