Has Liu Bei already been planning for Liu Zhang’s Yizhou?

During the Three Kingdoms era, the foundation of the Shu Kingdom was in Yizhou, a "feng shui treasure land" that Liu Bei acquired after decades of wandering and wandering. Prior to this, the owners of Yizhou were also surnamed Liu. After two generations, there was Liu Zhang, whom we are familiar with, and his father Liu Yan. The father and son were collectively referred to as "Liu Ermu" by later generations. The editor will tell you about the father and son, how they became the Lords of Yizhou and how they lost Yizhou.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the government was corrupt and the eunuchs were dictatorial. By the time of Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, this situation had intensified, and the people all over the world were living in dire straits. Seeing this situation, the scholar-bureaucrats in the court had realized that the continuation of the Han Dynasty had reached a critical moment. There was silence in the court hall, and everyone's faces reflected the evil in their hearts, and troubled times were coming. The first state pastor, Liu Yan

I don’t know if anyone remembers it, but the name "Liu Yan" appeared in the first chapter of the novel. At that time, he was the governor of Youzhou, recruiting volunteers to fight against the Yellow Turban Army, and then recruited Liu Bei, and later recognized Liu Bei as his nephew. In fact, Liu Yan never served as the governor of Youzhou. This paragraph is just a fabrication by the author of the novel.

The decline of the Han Dynasty was all seen by Liu Yan. Unlike those who encouraged and supported the Han Dynasty, Liu Yan felt that the court was about to become a place of right and wrong, and he should stay away from this place as soon as possible. So Liu Yan asked the court to serve as the governor of the local prefectures and counties. He had greater power than the local prefects and governors, and he could monitor their corruption and stabilize the people. After that, Liu Yan also chose a good place for himself, "Jiaozhou", the great south of China, which couldn't be further away, so as to avoid disasters and realize his little idea. No one thought at the time that Liu Yan's behavior indirectly contributed to the emergence of the "separatist regime".

Liu Yan first planned to go to Jiaozhou. Although it was located in a wilderness and sparsely populated, it was far away from the political center of the Han Dynasty. When he got there, he cut off his relationship with the court, and no one could do anything to him. Later, Liu Yan heard others say that Yizhou had the spirit of an emperor, so he gave up the idea of ​​going to Jiaozhou and went to Yizhou instead.

At that time, Yizhou was in internal chaos, and the governor of Yizhou was extremely corrupt, and was later killed by the Yellow Turban Army. After Liu Yan arrived, he stationed himself in Mianzhu and regarded it as his capital. Later, he began to gather the forces of all parties in Yizhou to strengthen himself. After the great chaos in the Central Plains, many people of the Jing and Xiang generation fled to Yizhou, which had a population of tens of thousands. Liu Yan was trying to expand his power at this time. Seeing the influx of so many refugees, he took them all under his command, armed them and called them "Dongzhou soldiers". This army later became one of Liu Yan's main military forces.

At this time, there was a relatively special group of forces in Xichuan, the "Five Pecks of Rice Road" led by Zhang Lu. Because Zhang Lu's mother was proficient in the art of witchcraft and divination and had a beautiful appearance, Liu Yan had frequent contact with her, and Zhang Lu was also highly valued by Liu Yan. Later, Liu Yan sent Zhang Lu and others to fight for Hanzhong. After Hanzhong was obtained, Zhang Lu made up his mind and decided to dominate Hanzhong himself. Later, Zhang Lu killed Han officials and cut off major transportation routes. Liu Yan took this opportunity to directly cut off contact with the court on the grounds that Zhang Lu's rebellion blocked transportation. This set of operations is a bit like what the two of them had discussed in advance.

Liu Yan saw that his wings were gradually becoming more and more mature, so he sent people to build thousands of vehicles that only the emperor would use, and waited for the opportunity to prepare to proclaim himself emperor. Liu Biao from the next state continued to report to the court, calling him Liu. Yan planned something wrong, but at this time the world was in chaos and no one had time to care about Liu Yan. However, a few years later, a fire broke out in Mianzhu. Liu Yan's mansion was burned to the ground, and the royal supplies he had prepared were also lost. Liu Yan left Mianzhu and resettled his capital in Chengdu. He died not long after.

Liu Yan set the precedent for local forces to monopolize power. He is also known as a veteran figure among the heroes.