Liu Biao

Liú Biǎo (劉表 142 – 208) was the governor of the Jing province in China towards the end of the Han Dynasty. He was of the same extended family as the Han emperors.

Once the Han Dynasty became consumed with war after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he fought a war with Sun Jian, a minor warlord during that time. One of Liú Biǎo's brilliant strategists, Kuai Liang, devised a plan to eliminate Sun by crushing him with logs as he rode towards the main camp of Liú Biǎo, and succeeded. Later, Sun Jian's two elder sons, Sun Ce and Sun Quan, caused Liu no end of trouble as they sought to avenge their father's death. However, they did not cause Liu's demise. Whilst Cao Cao, in the north, was gaining strength, Liú Biǎo chose to neither help nor hinder his conquests.

Later, during Cao Cao's battle against Yuan Shao (203- 207 AD), Liu remained neutral, despite being one of the only other warlords in a position to oppose the two powers. However, Liú Biǎo eventually decided to shelter Liu Bei, an enemy of Cao Cao. This made him a target of Cao Cao's wrath. Later, after Cao Cao conquered the North, a large army was sent south to conquer the Jing Province. Allied with Liu Bei, the pair won some early victories. However, he could not hold back Cao Cao's superior numbers, and there was a decline in his relations with Liu Bei (as a result of the meddling of Cai Mao's family).

To make matters worse, shortly after Cao Cao attacked with his main army, Liu Biao died of sickness. According to the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, long before his death, sensing his own deteriorating condition, he had discussed with Liu Bei whether he should let his elder or younger son succeed him. The traditional choice would be his elder son, Liu Qi, yet he predicted (correctly) that his wife (who is his second wife) would favour Liu Zong, his second son. In the end he followed Liu Bei's advise and in his will chose Liu Qi as his successor. However, his wife changed his will after his death and the Liu Zong was left nearly the whole Jing Province. The weak Liu Zong immediately surrendered to Cao Cao and Liu Qi, who had a city left. Liú Biǎo's province of Jing was the largest and a crucial province during the Han dynasty, and saw many important battles in decades to follow.

See also

*End of Han Dynasty