Liu Zhan started out as Chen Liu and joined the army. He served as the governor of Ruzhou, the governor of Huazhou, the deputy envoy of Huaixi Jiedu, the governor of Songzhou, and later became the governor of Jianghuai. Liu Zhan was forced to rebel against Songzhou because of the prophecy of the Golden Sword. Liu Zhan led 7,000 Songzhou soldiers to dominate the Jianghuai River.
