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.