Liu Zhengyan刘正彦

History vs. fiction

Liu Zhengyan. A rebel general, conspired with Miao Fu, was captured. A court gentleman, responded to the imperial edict to go to remote regions, later became vice commander of the Right Army of the Imperial Guard, Song...

• based on factRebel general, conspired with Miao Fu, was captured; court gentleman, responded to the edict to go to remote regions, later became vice commander of the Right Army of the Imperial Guard; Song general, attacked Ding Jin, subdued him | Traitor minister, captured by Ji Qing; commander-in-chief, together with Miao Fu requested moving the capital, later appointed governor; Right commander-in-chief, conspired with Miao Fu.

  Historically, Liu Zhengyan indeed existed. His deeds are recorded in sources such as the History of Song. For example, in the Annals of Gaozong, Volume 2, it is recorded: 'In the second month, on the day bingchen, the Jin invaders again attacked Dongjing; Zong Ze sent commander Yan Zhongli and others to resist, and Yan Zhongli died in battle. On wuwu, Geng Nanzhong was moved to Linjiang Army. The Jin invaders captured Tangzhou. On renshen, the deputy military commissioner of Anhua Army, Yuwen Xuzhong, responded to the edict and went to remote regions, was restored to the rank of Grand Master, and was summoned to the temporary residence. On guihai, the market affairs bureau was abolished. On jiazi, the Jin invaders attacked Huazhou; Zong Ze sent Zhang Hui to rescue it, and Zhang Hui died in battle. On yichou, Ze sent judge Fan Shiyan and others to petition the emperor to return to the capital. Bandit Yang Jin and others from Hebei came to Ze to surrender. On dingmao, the titles of Yantang and Shugu Hall academicians were restored as Duanyuan and Shumi academicians. On xinwei, an edict was issued that from now on, those who committed crimes of bending the law and stealing public property to the extent of death would have their property confiscated. On renshen, the mutinous soldiers Zhang Yuan and others in Fuzhou were pardoned. On guiyou, the Jin invaders captured Caizhou and captured the prefect Yan Xiaozhong. On bingzi, the Jin invaders captured Huaining Prefecture, and the prefect Xiang Zishao died in defense. On dingchou, Wang Kuang and others were sent as envoys to the Jin army to inquire. On wuyin, Zhao Zisong, the prefect of Zhenjiang, was demoted to the rank of military training commissioner of Danzhou and placed in Xiongzhou. On jimao, the official Hu Cheng was stripped of his post and sent to Wuzhou for supervision. The court gentleman Liu Zhengyan responded to the edict and went to remote regions, was appointed as Martial Virtue Grand Master and Prefect of Weizhou, and soon became vice commander of the Right Army of the Imperial Guard. On gengshen, Wang Yuan was appointed as military commissioner of Xiangde Army. On xinsi, the martial arts grand master and defense commissioner of Hezhou, Ma Kuo, fled to Wuma Mountain Fort in Zhenzhen, gathered troops, found the emperor's younger brother, Prince Xin, among the people, and supported him to command all the forts. On renwu, an edict was issued to establish 80,000 troops of the Zhenhua Army in the Jingji, Jingdong, Jingxi, Hebei, and Huainan circuits. In this month, the Chengdu prefect Lu Fayuan completed the city wall.' In the novel 'The Story of Yue Fei', Chapter 46 describes: 'At the fifth watch the next day, all the generals arrived at the drill ground to wait. Wang Yuan checked the generals and found all were present, except the left commander-in-chief Miao Fu and the right commander-in-chief Liu Zhengyan were absent. Marshal Wang again sent an officer to urge them. After a while, the officer returned and reported: "The two commanders have gone to the Western Mountains to hunt by imperial order and cannot come to serve." Marshal Wang had no choice but to proceed with the other generals to offer sacrifices to the flags, drill the troops, and then return to the office. When they reached Zhong'an Bridge, they happened to meet Miao and Liu, who were drunk, riding horses with several retainers. The two wanted to avoid but could not, so they dismounted, lowered their heads, and stood at the door of a house. Wang Yuan saw them from his horse and ordered: "Call them over!" The two had no choice but to walk to Marshal Wang's horse, bow, and stand.'