Qiu Shiliang
In 835, Emperor Wenzong, in an attempt to regain power from the powerful eunuchs, who commanded the imperial guards, conspired with the chancellor Li Xun and the general Zheng Zhu to have the eunuchs slaughtered. When the eunuchs discovered the plot, Li Xun, Zheng, and many other officials were slaughtered, including the other chancellors Wang Ya, Jia Su, and Shu Yuanyu, and effectively put Emperor Wenzong under house arrest. Liu, who had been friendly with Wang, protected the slaughtered officials' family members who fled to Zhaoyi. He further submitted harshly-worded petitions to the imperial government, openly questioning whether the slaughtered officials committed any crimes at all. The eunuchs tried to placate Liu by giving him the honorific title of acting "Situ" (司徒, one of the Three Excellencies), but Liu's petitions continued, and he eventually submitted four, continuing to call for the chancellors' posthumous rehabilitation. It was said that it was only after Liu's petitions that the powerful eunuchs, led by Qiu Shiliang, became apprehensive and allowed Emperor Wenzong, as well as the new chancellors Zheng Tan and Li Shi, to exercise some of their authorities.