He Qi

He Qi (onyomi: Ga Sei) is an officer who served Wu. He is known for his extravagant tastes in armor, ships, and weaponry. He also led a campaign against the Shanyue in southern Yang Province and conquered the area for Sun Quan.

Role in Games
He Qi appears as a Wu officer in their mid to late battles in Dynasty Warriors 8. At the Battle of Ruxukou in Wu's story, he tells the player to intercept the messenger who tries to request reinforcements from the Shanyue. Should the player fail to prevent the messenger from escaping, he will advise to quickly take out Cao Cao before the Shanyue reinforcements arrive. Otherwise, he will thank the player for defeating the messenger for him.

He Qi serves Wu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms as well, though only appearing in the later titles. He is a decent leader due to his 80's leadership and 70's war stats, his intelligence may vary between the 70's and 80's depending on the game. His politics range around the 60's and his charisma in the 70's. He Qi is usually skilled with infantry units and is a good naval commander, as most of Wu's officers. His skill in the eleventh game replenishes his unit's will when defeating an enemy unit.

Quotes

 * "The enemy appears to have requested reinforcements from the Shanyue tribesmen! However, their messenger should still be close by..."
 * "Ahh, you eliminated the messenger for me. That should prevent the Shanyue from getting involved."
 * He Qi; Dynasty Warriors 8

Historical Information
He Qi was born in Shanyin, Yang Province and was the son of He Fu, the Chief of Yongning county. He entered the service of governor Wang Lang and became Chief of Yan county when he killed a man named Si Cong who broke the law. He Qi rallied the people of Shanyin and pursued other members of Si's family, capturing them and bringing them to justice. This greatly increased He Qi's reputation in the area.

In 196, Wang Lang was defeated by the warlord Sun Ce and fled to Dongye. He Qi surrendered to Sun Ce and was appointed Chief of Shanyin, the position his late father had held for some time. He was put under the command of Han Yan and tasked to pursue Wang Lang's forces. However, Han Yan was soon killed in battle with Wang Lang's forces and He Qi succeeded him, becoming Chief Commandant of Kuaiji and continuing the mission. Fearing He Qi's reputation, the Chief of Hongnuan Shang Sheng wanted to surrender, but he was killed by his own men and the rebel leader Zhang Ya. He Qi used the quarrels between Zhang Ya and his son-in-law to attack and rout the rebel's army. The remaining soldiers all surrendered to He Qi.

During the next few years, He Qi continued his expedition and conquered vast areas of Jiangdong that were populated by the Shanyue. Sun Ce ordered the southern counties to gather 5,000 men for He Qi, but one of the leaders refused because of He Qi's lower origin. He Qi had the leader executed and the other leaders did not dare to refuse Sun Ce's orders. In 200, Sun Ce died and was succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan. He Qi continued his campaign and conquered even more territory in southern Yang Province. In 203, He Qi moved his headquarters from Kuaiji to Jian'an further south, two years later he had gathered 10,000 men and conquered Shangrao county. He established a new county called Jianping and split it from Shangrao.

In 208, Sun Quan promoted He Qi to "General of the Gentleman of the Household Who is Majestic and Firm" and ordered him to attack the counties of Yi and She in southern Yang. He Qi suggested to create a new county in Shixin to the east of She and Sun Quan agreed. He Qi mustered his army and attacked the two counties, defeating their armies and conquering them. For this, He Qi was appointed Lieutenant-General and became governor of the area. In 211, Lang Zhi managed to persuade many followers to join a Shanyue rebellion. He Qi crushed the rebels and advised Sun Quan two split Yuhuan into two counties. Two years later in 213, an uprising in Yuzhang took place with 10,000 men rising in rebellion. He Qi was sent to deal with them and defeated them, executing their leaders and choosing their strongest soldiers to join Wu's army. The rest were made citizens of Yuzhang.

Sun Quan led an army against Wei in 215 and besieged the city of Hefei in Huainan. However, the Wu forces suffered a heavy defeat by Zhang Liao and were forced to retreat. He Qi led 3,000 men to meet up with Sun Quan and covered his retreat. At a banquet after the battle, He Qi said "Your honour is a ruler of men, and you should always be most carefully guarded. In the action today, when you almost suffered misfortune, your servants were frightened and afraid as if Heaven and Earth might fall to ruin. We beg that you take this as the warning for a lifetime." Sun Quan reassured He Qi that he would remember it and the Wu forces returned to Jiangdong. In 216, Cao Cao encouraged the Shanyue leader You Tu to rebel. He Qi attacked You Tu together with Lu Xun and defeated him, recruiting 8,000 soldiers in the process.

Cao Pi led an expedition against Wu in 223, during which Lu Fan was defeated by Cao Xiu at Dongkou. He Qi went to reinforce Lu Fan's forces. He was known to use extravagant clothing and ships when going into battle, so when He Qi arrived at the battle, Cao Xiu was shocked when he sighted He Qi's fleet and, thinking that Wu still possessed a strong navy, he retreated. He Qi was appointed "General of the Rear". In the same year, He Qi and Mi Fang were sent to quell the rebellion of Jin Zong at Qichun. He Qi captured Jin Zong personally during a surprise attack and retook Qichun and was appointed governor of Xu Province. He died in 227, his brother He Jing and his son He Da would continue to serve Wu.