His father Liu Zhang (留璋) died in his youth, and he became known for serving his mother filially and older brother piously.

[3] After seizing the Min throne, Zhu sent the general Huang Shaopo (黃紹頗) to Quan Prefecture to serve as its prefect.

He boxed Huang's head and had the officer Chen Hongjin deliver it to Wang Yanzheng's capital Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian).

[3] Hearing of Huang's death, Zhu sent the generals Lin Shouliang (林守諒) and Li Ting'e (李廷鍔) to attack Quan.

Wang Yanzheng, hearing the news, sent the general Du Jin (杜進) to aid the Quan army.

Subsequently, Zhu was assassinated by his officer Li Renhan (李仁翰), who surrendered Fu to Wang Yanzheng, who then took the title of Emperor of Min.

(Wang Zhongshun died in the battle, and Dong Si'an took the remnants of his army and fled back to Quan.)

[4] In fall 946, the Zhang Prefecture (漳州, in modern Zhangzhou, Fujian) officer Lin Zanyao (林贊堯) rebelled against Southern Tang and killed the general Chen Hui (陳誨), whom Li Jing had sent to Zhang, and Chen's monitor of the army Zhou Chengyi (周承義).

)[4] Meanwhile, Li Renda had refused to yield actual control of Fu, leading to a Southern Tang expedition against him, commanded by the general Wang Chongwen (王崇文).

[4] In spring 947, the joint forces of Li Renda and Wuyue defeated the Southern Tang siege army, which then scattered—apparently, as a result of both Liu and Wang Jianfeng not wanting to see the army regroup and take Fu—ending Southern Tang's attempt to take actual control over Fu.

Due to the years-long campaigns, agriculture and sericulture have both been abandoned, and the revenues from winter and summer taxes are only sufficient for Quan itself.

Li Jing could not think of a way to control Liu, and therefore had to be content with keeping him nominally as a subject, and granted him the honorary title of acting Taifu (太傅).

Li Jing, finding no good way to deal with the situation, established a Qingyuan Circuit with its headquarters at Quan, and made Liu its military governor (Jiedushi).

[6] Not long after, he granted Liu honorary chancellor designations, and created him the Duke of E. Later, that title was upgraded to Prince of Jinjiang.