In the twelfth year of Jian’an, Liu Qi awoke in his sickbed to discover that not only was his life nearly over, but his stepmother Cai Shi and Cai Mao were conspiring to poison him. A top crisis-management expert in his previous life, he knew that passive defense could only lead to death. After resolving the immediate threat of assassination, Liu Qi advanced cautiously, using strategic retreats to secure the post of Administrator of Jiangxia and escape the cage of Xiangyang. In Jiangxia, he promoted low-ranking officer Wei Yan, put the veteran Huang Zhong to good use, and forged ties with the frontier general Wen Ping. To counter Cao Cao’s imminent southward advance, he sent men to intercept Xu Shu’s mother, freeing Xu Shu of all worries at home. He even threw caution to the wind, sending soldiers to surround Longzhong and forcibly “invite” Zhuge Liang and his entire family out of retirement. When Liu Biao fell gravely ill and Cai Mao tried to forge an imperial edict, Liu Qi marched Jiangxia’s battle-hardened elite to Xiangyang and swiftly purged Jingzhou of its internal rot. As Cao Cao advanced south with a million troops, a new Jingzhou, united as iron, brimming with brilliant strategists and fierce generals, sent the balance of power across the realm into uncharted territory.
