Liu Yan
After Gengshi Emperor's forces decisively defeated Wang Mang's remaining army at the Battle of Kunyang (in which Liu Yan's brother Liu Xiu played a major part), Gengshi Emperor quickly became at least nominally acknowledged by most of the empire as the legitimate Han emperor. However, Gengshi Emperor remained fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that Liu Yan had not been made emperor. In particular, Liu Ji (), was very critical of Gengshi Emperor. In response, Gengshi Emperor arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede to stop the execution. Gengshi Emperor, encouraged by Li Yi (who had by that point turned against Liu Yan) and Zhu Wei (), took this action by Liu Yan as an excuse to execute Liu Yan as well. Liu Xiu only survived because Gengshi Emperor then regretted having executed Liu Yan.