He raised an army and participated in the suppression of Chen Min's rebellion in 307, and for his achievements, the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, appointed him as the General Who Establishes Might.
[2] In 310, Sima Yue summoned Qian Hui and the Inspector of Yang province, Wang Dun to the capital, Luoyang.
When Qian Hui reached Guangling Commandery, he learned that the Han general, Liu Cong was attacking Luoyang and stopped out of hesitation.
As he delayed, Emperor Huai of Jin urged him to hasten, but Qian Hui instead planned to kill Wang Dun and rebel.
The Assistant Granary Manager and native of Wuxing, Zhou Qi, volunteered to gather people from his village to join Guo Yi and Song Dian.