Liu Ye 劉曄

His father was Liu Pu, and his mother, Lady Xiu, bore Liu Huan and Liu Ye. When Liu Ye was seven, his mother, on her deathbed, warned that Liu Pu's concubine, flattering and malicious, would bring disorder to the household, and asked her sons to get rid of her when they grew up. At thirteen Liu Ye went into the room, killed the concubine and went straight out to bow at his mother's grave; returning to the angry Liu Pu, he said he would accept punishment for acting on his own. Liu Pu inwardly marveled at him and did not rebuke him. Xu Shao of Runan, famed for his judgment of men, said that Liu Ye had the talent to aid the age. Records, Wei 14 §83–84

In Yang Province there were bands such as those of Zheng Bao, Zhang Duo and Xu Qian, each commanding retainers, and Zheng Bao, the fiercest of them, planned to drive the people across to the south of the Yangtze and wished to put Liu Ye, a man of eminent family, at the head of the scheme. Liu Ye, then in his twenties, happened to learn that an envoy of Taizu had come to the province, invited him to stay at his home, and held a banquet when Zheng Bao came to call on the envoy with oxen and wine. When the strong men he had told to cut Zheng Bao down as the cups went round could not act under Zheng Bao's watchful eye, Liu Ye drew his own sword, killed Zheng Bao, and quelled his followers by declaring, 'There is an order from Lord Cao.' He then went to Zheng Bao's camp and won over the leaders by persuasion, and they all acknowledged him as their master. But saying that, as a collateral member of the Han imperial house, he did not wish to command troops, Liu Ye handed the retainers over to Liu Xun, Administrator of Lujiang. Records, Wei 14 §85–87

When Sun Ce, with humble words and rich gifts, asked Liu Xun to attack Shangliao, Liu Xun was delighted and everyone within and without congratulated him, but Liu Ye alone objected that Shangliao's walls were strong and it could not be taken within ten days, and that Sun Ce would meanwhile strike where Liu Xun had left himself empty. Liu Xun did not listen and attacked Shangliao, was taken in the rear by Sun Ce, and fled to Taizu. Records, Wei 14 §88–90

When Taizu reached Shouchun, the mountain bandit Chen Ce was holding a strong position on the border of Lujiang with tens of thousands of men. Everyone said he would be hard to attack and not worth taking, but Liu Ye said that Chen Ce and his men were merely a band gathered in the chaos, and that if rewards were offered first and a great army then bore down on them, they would collapse of their own accord. Taizu followed his advice and did indeed defeat Chen Ce. On his return Taizu made Liu Ye Granary Officer to the Minister of Works. Records, Wei 14 §91–93

When Taizu attacked Zhang Lu, Liu Ye became Registrar (zhubu). In Hanzhong, with the mountains steep and provisions short, Taizu wished to turn back and had Liu Ye bring up the rear, but Liu Ye asked to attack, saying that Zhang Lu could be beaten and that with the supply lines cut off even a retreat would hardly leave the army intact. When crossbows were loosed against his camp, Zhang Lu fled and Hanzhong was pacified. Liu Ye said that if they took advantage of this momentum to attack Shu, it could be pacified by proclamation alone, but that with a little delay Zhuge Liang would become its chancellor and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei its generals, and it could no longer be assailed. Taizu did not follow this, and Liu Ye became Chief Clerk of the Army on Campaign (xingjun zhangshi) and concurrently held command of the guards (lingjun). Records, Wei 14 §94–97

In the 1st year of Yankang (220), when the Shu general Meng Da came over in surrender, Emperor Wen, who valued him, made him Administrator of Xincheng. Liu Ye said that Meng Da was out for easy gain and fond of tricks and would not be moved by gratitude, and that if trouble arose at Xincheng, which bordered Wu and Shu, it would become a worry for the state. Emperor Wen did not change his decision, and Meng Da later rebelled and was destroyed. Records, Wei 14 §97

In the 1st year of Huangchu (220) Liu Ye became Palace Attendant and received the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When an edict asked whether Liu Bei would take revenge on Wu for Guan Yu's sake, everyone said that Shu was a small state and could not take the field again, but Liu Ye alone said that Guan Yu and Liu Bei were sovereign and subject in duty but like father and son in affection, so Liu Bei would surely send out an army, and Liu Bei did indeed attack Wu. When Wu sent an envoy declaring itself a vassal, the officials of the court all offered congratulations, but Liu Ye alone said that Wu was calling itself a subject only because it was hard pressed, and urged a surprise attack while it was vulnerable. After Liu Bei's army was defeated and withdrew, Wu's courtesies gradually lapsed, and when the emperor wished to attack, Liu Ye said that Wu was now of one mind and could not be quickly beaten, but the emperor did not listen. Records, Wei 14 §98–100

When Emperor Wen, while hunting, asked which was more enjoyable, hunting or music, the Palace Attendant Liu Ye answered that hunting was better, and was impeached by Bao Xun for flattery and disloyalty in pandering to His Majesty's excessive jest. Emperor Wen was angered and instead sent Bao Xun away as General of the Household of the Right. Records, Wei 12 §70–71

In the 5th year of Huangchu (224), when Emperor Wen advanced to Sikou in Guangling and had the armies of Jing and Yang provinces advance together, the officials said that Sun Quan would surely come in person, but Liu Ye said that Sun Quan would keep his troops in hand and neither advance nor withdraw. Sun Quan indeed did not come, and Emperor Wen said, 'Your reckoning was correct. But you should think of destroying the two enemies for me, not merely of understanding their circumstances.' Records, Wei 14 §101–102

When Emperor Ming ascended the throne, Liu Ye was promoted to Marquis of Dongting with a fief of 300 households. In the deliberation on honoring the father of Emperor Gao posthumously, Liu Ye cited the rites of Zhou and Han and argued that posthumous honors should stop with Emperor Gao, and since the Master of Writing Wei Zhen expressed the same view, it was put into practice. When Gongsun Yuan, Administrator of Liaodong, seized his uncle's position and sent a memorial, Liu Ye said that if they pressed him with troops while his rule was still new and offered rewards, he could be subdued without effort, and that unless he was destroyed now he would become a calamity later; Gongsun Yuan did in the end rebel. Records, Wei 14 §103–108

At court Liu Ye had almost no dealings with the men of his time. Asked why, he answered that the house of Wei had not long been on the throne, and that he, a collateral branch of the imperial clan under Han and in a position of trust under Wei, ought properly to have few companions and associates. In the 6th year of Taihe (232) he was made Grand Palace Grandee because of illness; before long he became Grand Herald, stepped down after two years, became Grand Palace Grandee again, and afterwards died. His posthumous title was Marquis Jing, and his son Liu Yu succeeded him. The Records do not state the year of his death. Records, Wei 14 §109

In his assessment Chen Shou called Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye and Jiang Ji remarkable gentlemen of their age in talent, strategy and planning. He wrote that although in upright government and virtuous conduct they differed from Xun You, in devising plans and making calculations they were of his kind. Records, Wei 14 §158