 He was recommended by Zheng Xuan to serve under Liu Bei as an Assistant Officer (從事) when Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as the Governor (牧) of Xu Province in 194.He remained as a subordinate of Liu Bei since then.In 198, when Liu Bei was planning to break free of Cao Cao's control by leaving the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan), he sent Sun Qian and Mi Zhu to secretly contact Cao's rivals Yuan Shao and Liu Biao and form alliances with them.