Deng Yu

Also known as Zi Zhonghua · Gao Mihou

Deng Yu, courtesy name Zhonghua, came from Xinye in Nanyang; he could recite the Book of Songs at thirteen and befriended Liu Xiu while both studied in Chang'an. During the Gengshi reign he caught up with Liu Xiu at Ye and urged him to win over capable men and the goodwill of the people, becoming his chief planner. When Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor in 25, he named the twenty-four-year-old Deng grand minister of the masses and Marquis of Cuo while Deng was campaigning west and had already taken Hedong. In Guanzhong, however, the Red Eyebrows beat him repeatedly, and in 27 he surrendered his seal. Once the empire was settled in 37 he became Marquis of Gaomi and lived quietly, overseeing his sons' education. He died in 58 with the posthumous name Yuan, and two years later Emperor Ming placed his portrait first among the twenty-eight meritorious officials painted in the Cloud Terrace of the Southern Palace.