Although Liu Qi was Liu Biao's firstborn son, his younger brother
Liu Cong had better prospects of succeeding Liu Biao because he married the niece of
Lady Cai, Liu Biao's second wife. The Cai family faction, whose members included
Cai Mao and Zhang Yun (), had a powerful presence in Liu Biao's administration. As the Cai family faction gained influence, they increasingly pressured Liu Biao to designate Liu Cong as his heir to the governorship of Jing Province. When Liu Qi turned to
Zhuge Liang for advice on self-preservation, the latter refused to help him. It is recorded that Liu Qi tricked Zhuge Liang into climbing up a tower while visiting the garden. While they were chatting and feasting in the tower, Liu Qi secretly instructed his servants to remove the ladder. He then told Zhuge Liang, "Now, nothing goes up to Heaven and nothing goes down to Earth. Whatever you say will be heard by me only. Can't you say something now?" Zhuge Liang replied, "Sir, haven't you read that
Shensheng was in danger because he remained in
Jin while
Chong'er was safe because he was outside Jin?" Liu Qi understood what Zhuge Liang was alluding to, and secretly came up with an idea. Following the death of
Huang Zu after the
Battle of Jiangxia in 208, Liu Qi volunteered to be the new Administrator of
Jiangxia (present-day
Xinzhou District, Wuhan,
Hubei), about 250 km southeast of Jing Province's capital in
Xiangyang. Sources differ on whether Liu Qi requested this appointment to escape the fraternal conflict or if he was forced out of the capital by the Cai family faction. In any case, he seemed to have been tasked with leading a counterattack against the forces of the warlord
Sun Quan, who had seized control of Jiangxia Commandery following his victory over Huang Zu. Shortly after Liu Qi's move to Jiangxia Commandery, Liu Biao died suddenly in Xiangyang and Liu Cong succeeded him as the Governor of Jing Province. Liu Qi henceforth treated Liu Cong like an enemy, and may have attacked him had not it not been for the arrival of
Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao's army arrived from the north, not far from Xiangyang. Liu Qi fled south across the
Yangtze. Lacking the numbers and political support to wage war with Cao Cao, Liu Cong took the advice of 15 of his senior advisers and surrendered his governorship of Jing Province to Cao Cao. Not long after this,
Liu Bei, somewhat in dire straits after his disastrous defeat at the
Battle of Changban, crossed the
Han River into Jiangxia Commandery with some dozens of close associates and met up with Liu Qi. Liu Qi took his army and escorted Liu Bei back over the Han River to collect Liu Bei's forces that had scattered after the Battle of Changban. ==Battle of Red Cliffs==