Liu Yu 劉虞

In the Guanghe era, when bandits rose in Liang Province and the shock cavalry of You Province were called up, Zhang Chun of Yuyang induced Qiuliju and others of the Wuhuan of Liaoxi to rebel, and Gongsun Zan set out to suppress them, but he could not stop Qiuliju and the others from raiding Qing, Xu, You and Ji provinces. The court deliberated that the Director of the Imperial Clan, Liu Bo'an of Donghai, possessed virtue and righteousness, and that when he had earlier been Inspector of You Province his kindness and good faith had become widely known and the Rong and Di had attached themselves to him, so that if he were sent to pacify them, the region could be settled without wearying the people; it therefore made Liu Yu Governor of You Province. Records, Wei 8 §4–5 · 7

On arriving, Liu Yu sent envoys among the barbarians to explain where their interests lay and demanded that they send him Zhang Chun's head, and Qiuliju and the others, pleased, each sent interpreters and submitted of their own accord. Gongsun Zan, jealous of Liu Yu gaining the merit, secretly had the barbarians' envoys killed, but the barbarians learned what had happened and went to Liu Yu by back roads. Liu Yu memorialized to abolish the various garrisons, leaving only Gongsun Zan with 10,000 infantry and cavalry stationed at Youbeiping. Zhang Chun abandoned his wife and children and fled to the Xianbei, where he was killed by his retainer Wang Zheng, who sent his head to Liu Yu. The Biography of the Wuhuan also records that at the end of Emperor Ling's reign Liu Yu became Governor and recruited Hu tribesmen to behead Zhang Chun, and the northern province was at last settled. Records, Wei 8 §7–8Records, Wei 30 §9

For this achievement Liu Yu was appointed Grand Commandant and enfeoffed as Marquis of Xiangben. When Dong Zhuo reached Luoyang he was moved to Grand Marshal, and when the loyalist armies rose east of the passes, Dong Zhuo, forcing the emperor to move west, summoned Liu Yu to be Grand Tutor, but the roads were cut and the summons did not reach him. In the 1st year of Chuping (190), Liu Yu, saying that as an elder of the imperial clan he would fulfil his duty as a subject, sought an envoy who would not disgrace his mission; he made the twenty-two-year-old Tian Chou his Attendant Officer, offered the travel sacrifice for him in person, and sent him to Chang'an. Records, Wei 8 §8–9Records, Wei 11 §35–36

Yuan Shao and Han Fu, arguing that the young emperor was controlled by treacherous ministers and the realm had nowhere to give its allegiance, proposed to set up as emperor Liu Yu, a renowned member of the imperial clan to whom the people looked up, and sent an envoy to present a letter to him. The Annals of Emperor Wu records that Cao Cao refused this proposal. In spring of the 2nd year of Chuping (191) Yuan Shao and Han Fu at last tried to set him up, but Liu Yu never dared to accept, nor would he listen to their urging that he take charge of the affairs of the Masters of Writing and grant titles and offices on the emperor's authority. Even so, he kept on friendly terms with Yuan Shao and the others. Records, Wei 8 §9Records, Wei 1 §15–16Records, Wei 6 §39

His son Liu He was in Chang'an as a Palace Attendant, and the Son of Heaven, wishing to return east, had Liu He pretend to flee from Dong Zhuo and slip out through the Wu Pass, and ordered Liu Yu to lead troops to come and meet him. When Liu He passed through Yuan Shu's territory and told him the Son of Heaven's wishes, Yuan Shu, wanting Liu Yu as a backer, detained Liu He and had him write to Liu Yu. When Liu Yu was about to send several thousand horsemen, Gongsun Zan tried to stop him, saying that Yuan Shu harboured other intentions, but Liu Yu did not listen. Records, Wei 8 §10

Gongsun Zan, afraid of incurring Yuan Shu's resentment, sent his cousin Gongsun Yue to Yuan Shu with 1,000 horsemen, and secretly urged Yuan Shu to seize Liu He and take his troops. Because of this the rift between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan grew wider. Liu He escaped from Yuan Shu and came north, but was detained again by Yuan Shao. After his defeat by Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan returned to Ji County and built a small fort to the southeast of the main city, and being close to Liu Yu, the two gradually came to resent each other. Zang Hong, whom Zhang Chao sent to the Grand Marshal Liu Yu, ran into the turmoil of Gongsun Zan, with You and Ji provinces fighting each other, and could not deliver his message. Records, Wei 8 §11 · 13Records, Wei 7 §40

Fearing that Gongsun Zan would rise against him, Liu Yu raised troops and attacked him, but was defeated and fled to Juyong; Gongsun Zan took Juyong, captured Liu Yu and brought him back to Ji County. Just then Dong Zhuo died, and the Son of Heaven sent the envoy Duan Xun to increase Liu Yu's fief and give him oversight of six provinces. But Gongsun Zan falsely accused Liu Yu of seeking to proclaim himself emperor and coerced Duan Xun into beheading him. When Tian Chou came back from Chang'an with the reply, Liu Yu had already been killed by Gongsun Zan before he arrived. Records, Wei 8 §14Records, Wei 11 §37

Tian Chou sacrificed at Liu Yu's tomb, unrolled and read out the reply, and left weeping. When the angry Gongsun Zan seized and rebuked him, Tian Chou answered that as the house of Han declined everyone harboured other intentions, but Lord Liu alone had not lost his loyalty, and that Gongsun Zan had killed a blameless lord and made an enemy of a subject who kept to righteousness. Records, Wei 11 §38

Liu Yu's former Attendant Officers Xianyu Fu and Qi Zhou of Yuyang, the Chief Commandant of Cavalry Xianyu Yin and others, leading the troops of the province to take revenge on Gongsun Zan, made Yan Rou of Yan State Wuhuan Major, and north of Lu they beheaded Zou Dan, the Administrator of Yuyang whom Gongsun Zan had installed. Yuan Shao also sent Qu Yi and Liu Yu's son Liu He to join forces with Xianyu Fu and attack Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan, defeated again and again, fell back to defend Yijing, and in the 4th year of Jian'an (199), surrounded by Yuan Shao, he killed all his wives and children and then killed himself. Records, Wei 8 §15–16 · 18 · 20