Wang Lang
He Qi started his career in the 190s as a military officer in Yan County (剡縣), one of the counties in Kuaiji Commandery, which was then administered by the minor warlord Wang Lang. During his tenure, he suppressed several small-scale uprisings by the local tribes in the area. Around 196, when the warlord Sun Ce attacked the territories in the Jiangdong region, Wang Lang fled from Kuaiji Commandery. He Qi then came to serve under Sun Ce, who nominated him as a "xiaolian" (civil service candidate).