Liu Ye (late 160s[2] - 234),[a] courtesy name Ziyang, was an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, serving under Cao Pi and Cao Rui. He was a member of the House of Liu, the imperial clan of the Han dynasty, and a direct descendant of Emperor Guangwu, via Guangwu's seventh son Liu Yan. He had two sons: Liu Yu (劉寓) and Liu Tao (劉陶).
Liu Ye | |
|---|---|
| 劉曄 | |
| Palace Counsellor (太中大夫) | |
| In office ?–234 | |
| In office 232–? | |
| Monarch | Cao Rui |
| Grand Herald (大鴻臚) | |
| In office ?–? | |
| Monarch | Cao Rui |
| Palace Attendant (侍中) | |
| In office 220–? | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 167s Shou County, Anhui |
| Died | 234[a] |
| Relations | Liu Huan (brother) |
| Children |
|
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Official |
| Courtesy name | Ziyang (子揚) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Jing (景侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Dong Village (東亭侯) |
Early life
editLiu's mother died when he was six. On her deathbed, she told him and his brother Liu Huan to kill a dangerous and treacherous servant belonging to his father Liu Pu once they were older.[3] Liu killed the servant six years later. Liu Pu was angry and asked his son the reason for the murder.[4] Liu Ye replied that he was just following his mother's last wish and was ready to take punishment. After hearing the explanation, Liu Pu had a change of heart, and forgave Ye.[5]
While Xu Shao was at Yangzhou, he praised Liu Ye as someone with the ability to help a sovereign govern his realm.[6]
Due to his family background and act of killing the servant, Liu already had a great reputation when he was in his early twenties. During this time, some local rich landowners had formed their own private armies. Among them, Zheng Bao (郑宝) was the strongest and he wanted to force people living in Huainan to move to another prefecture.[7] Zheng wanted to take advantage of Liu's reputation to assist with the eviction; Liu Ye was unwilling to do so. Around this period, an emissary from Cao Cao came to visit Liu Ye to discuss current state of affairs; Liu Ye persuaded the emissary to stay with him for a few days.[8] Zheng Bao wanted to meet Cao Cao's emissary, so he went to Liu's home with hundreds of soldiers, bringing along cows and wine.[9] Liu Ye then entertained Zheng with a feast. During the feast, he killed Zheng during a toast and threatened the now-leaderless soldiers to withdraw by claiming that by Cao Cao's orders, anyone who attacked would be guilty of the same offences as Zheng.[10] After the feast, Liu went to Zheng Bao's military camp with several servants. At the camp, Liu persuaded Zheng's private army to surrender by analysing the situation for the soldiers. Liu Ye felt that as a member of the imperial Liu clan, he should not have his own army as the Han dynasty was by then floundering; he then gave these thousands of surrendered soldiers to the local governor, Liu Xun (劉勛).[11] After this incident, Liu Ye became a counselor serving under Liu Xun.
Liu Ye could be the "Liu Ziyang" mentioned in Lu Su's biography in Sanguozhi, who was a friend of Lu and wrote a letter to him, asking him to join Zheng Bao.
Serving Liu Xun
editWhile Liu Ye was serving under Liu Xun, Sun Ce invited Liu Xun to attack Shangliao City (上缭城); Sun sent Liu Xun gifts and Sun's emissary was overly humble. Liu Ye advised Liu Xun not to attack Shangliao, but Liu Xun did not listen. During the attack on Shangliao, Sun Ce attacked Liu Xun. The defeated Liu Xun then decided to join Cao Cao, and Liu Ye followed suit.[12]
Serving Cao Cao
editBefore Wei Feng's rebellion, he had an excellent reputation, and many middle- and low- ranking officials were close friends of Wei. However, Liu Ye, upon seeing Wei for the first time, claimed that Wei will eventually rebel.[13]
Serving Cao Pi
editAfter Guan Yu's death, Cao Pi once held a meeting with court officials to discuss if Liu Bei would invade Wu to avenge Guan. Most officials were of the opinion that Shu was a "small country" and only had one famous general: Guan; now that Guan was dead and his troops scattered, Shu would be filled with fear and would not dare to attack. However, Liu Ye gave a different opinion: "Shu may be weak, but given Liu Bei's desire to have a show of force, he'll definitely mobilise his armies to show that he is still a threat to be reckoned with. Also, Guan Yu and Liu Bei have a deep relationship: they are sovereign and subject, as well as father and son. If Liu Bei cannot mobilise his armies to avenge Guan, it would not be a fitting end to this relationship."[14]
In 220, not long after Cao Pi crowned himself emperor, Meng Da defected to Wei and brought with him 4000 soldiers. Meng Da received various important appointments and the title of a marquis. In addition, Cao Pi merged the three commanderies of Fangling, Shangyong and Xicheng (西城) to form a larger commandery, Xincheng (新城), and he appointed Meng Da as the Administrator (太守) of Xincheng and tasked him with defending Wei's southwestern border. Liu Ye advised Cao Pi, "Meng Da is always looking out for rewards which are not rightfully his, and he is prone to schemes due to his talent. Thus, he will not be grateful to Your Excellency. Xincheng borders Sun Quan's and Liu Bei's territories. If the regional situation changes, it will create troubles for the realm."; Cao Pi ignored Liu.[15]
Also in 220, Liu Ye was made Palace Attendant (侍中) and bestowed the peerage of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯). At that time, Cao Pi asked his court whether Liu Bei would avenge Guan Yu, who was killed during Sun Quan's attack on Jingzhou. Most of them opined that Shu was a small state and that Guan Yu was its only famous general. But Liu Ye thought that Liu Bei would definitely wage war to revive his prestige; he also believed that Liu Bei and Guan Yu had a very close relationship and so Liu would avenge Guan.[16] In the end, Liu Bei did attack Sun Quan the following year. By then, Sun Quan was mobilising the power of the entire state of Wu to deal with the invasion, and he proclaimed himself a vassal to Cao Wei. Many officials congratulated Cao Pi, but Liu Ye believed that Sun Quan had no intention of submitting, and submitted himself as a vassal only as a last resort. Liu Ye even suggested that Cao Pi take advantage of the situation to lead troops to attack Wu to avoid future troubles. But Cao Pi disagreed.[17]
When Zhang Liao fell ill while stationed at Yongqiu, Cao Pi sent Liu Ye, along with imperial physicians, to visit Zhang.[18] Also, just before Cao Pi's death, he asked various officials, including Liu Ye, about Yang Fu. At the officials' recommendations, Cao Pi wanted to promote Yang, but died before he could do so.[19]
Serving Cao Rui
editLiu Ye's downfall came when Cao Rui was warned by someone that Liu was second-guessing him. Cao Rui decided to test this out; when he realised that Liu Ye was indeed pandering to him, he began to avoid Liu.[20]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Liu Ye's biography in the Sanguozhi recorded that he served in office for two years after his appointment in the 6th year of the Taihe era (227–233) of Cao Rui's reign before his death.[1] Therefore, it is deduced that he died in 234, which corresponds to the 2nd year of the Qinglong era (233–237) of Cao Rui's reign.
References
edit- ^ (太和六年， ... 在位二年遜位， ... 薨。謚曰景侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 14.
- ^ According to the chronology of Liu Ye's biography in Sanguozhi, he was in his 20s while serving under Liu Xun. Liu Xun was independent only in 199, after Yuan Shu's death. By calculation, Liu Ye's birth year should be in the late 160s.
- ^ (而母病困。临终，戒涣、晔以“普之侍人，有谄害之性。身死之后，惧必乱家。汝长大能除之，则吾无恨矣。) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (普怒，遣人追晔。) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ 晔还拜谢曰：“亡母顾命之言，敢受不请擅行之罚。”普心异之，遂不责也。 Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (汝南许劭名知人，避地扬州，称晔有佐世之才。) Sanguozhi, vol.14
- ^ (宝最骁果，才力过人，一方所惮。欲驱略百姓越赴江表) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (会太祖遣使诣州，有所案问。晔往见，为论事势，要将与归，驻止数日) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (宝果从数百人赍牛酒来候使), Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (晔因自引取佩刀斫杀宝，斩其首以令其军，云：“曹公有令，敢有动者，与宝同罪。”) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (晔睹汉室渐微，己为支属，不欲拥兵, 遂委其部曲与庐江太守刘勋) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (勋不从。兴兵伐上缭，策果袭其后。勋穷踧，遂奔太祖。) Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- ^ (《傅子》曰：初，太祖时，魏讽有重名，自卿相以下皆倾心交之。其后孟达去刘备归文帝，论者多称有乐毅之量。晔一见讽、达而皆云必反，卒如其言。) Fu Zi annotation in Sanguozhi, vol.14
- ^ (黄初元年，....诏问群臣令料刘备当为关羽出报吴不。众议咸云：“蜀，小国耳，名将唯羽。羽死军破，国内忧惧，无缘复出。”晔独曰：“蜀虽狭弱，而备之谋欲以威武自强，势必用众以示其有馀。且关羽与备，义为君臣，恩犹父子；羽死不能为兴军报敌，于终始之分不足。) Sanguozhi, vol.14. Note that Chen Shou did not explicitly indicate who was the "father" or "son" in the relationship between Guan Yu and Liu Bei.
- ^ (达率部曲四千馀家来降。达有容止才观，王甚器爱之，引与同辇，以达为散骑常侍、建武将军，封平阳亭侯。合房陵、上庸、西城三郡为新城，以达领新城太守，委以西南之任。行军长史刘晔曰：“达有苟得之心，而恃才好术，必不能感恩怀义。新城与孙、刘接连，若有变态，为国生患。”王不听。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.69
- ^ (黄初元年，以晔为侍中，赐爵关内侯。诏问群臣令料刘备当为关羽出报吴不。众议咸云：“蜀，小国耳，名将唯羽。羽死军破，国内忧惧，无缘复出。”晔独曰：“蜀虽狭弱，而备之谋欲以威武自强，势必用众以示其有馀。且关羽与备，义为君臣，恩犹父子；羽死不能为兴军报敌，于终始之分不足。”) Sanguozhi, vol.14
- ^ (后备果出兵击吴。吴悉国应之，而遣使称籓。朝臣皆贺，独晔曰：“吴绝在江、汉之表，无内臣之心久矣。陛下虽齐德有虞，然丑虏之性，未有所感。因难求臣，必难信也。彼必外迫内困，然后发此使耳，可因其穷，袭而取之。夫一日纵敌，数世之患，不可不察也。”) Sanguozhi, vol.14
- ^ (辽还屯雍丘，得疾。帝遣侍中刘晔将太医视疾...) Sanguozhi, vol. 17
- ^ (文帝问侍中刘晔等：“武都太守何如人也？”皆称阜有公辅之节。未及用，会帝崩。) Sanguozhi, vol. 25
- ^ (《傅子》曰:或恶晔于帝曰：“晔不尽忠，善伺上意所趋而合之。陛下试与晔言，皆反意而问之，若皆与所问反者，是晔常与圣意合也。复每问皆同者，晔之情必无所逃矣。”帝如言以验之，果得其情，从此疏焉.) Fu Zi annotation in Sanguozhi, vol. 14
- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).