He resigned later after refusing to misuse his powers by helping influential elites in the commandery. Liu Yao was later recalled to serve as an official in Jinan State (). The Chancellor of Jinan was the son of an influential official in the central government. When Liu Yao caught him engaging in corrupt practices, he wrote a memorial to the imperial court to complain, resulting in the chancellor's dismissal. Tao Qiuhong (), an official from Pingyuan Commandery (), proposed to the Inspector of Qing Province to nominate Liu Yao as a "maocai" () for outstanding performance. The Inspector asked, "We already nominated Gongshan (Liu Dai) last year. Why should we nominate Zhengli (Liu Yao) this year?" Tao Qiuhong replied, "If you nominate Gongshan first, and then Zhengli, you'll be doing exactly what people call 'riding two dragons on a long journey' and 'letting two fine steeds run freely'. Why shouldn't you do this?" Liu Yao then received an offer to serve as an Assistant () to the Minister of Works () and an Imperial Censor (), but he declined. When chaos broke out in central and northern China in the 180s and 190s, Liu Yao fled south to the Huainan region (present-day central Anhui). In 194, the imperial court appointed him as the Inspector () of Yang Province. Around the time, the warlord Yuan Shu controlled much of the territories in the Huainan region. Liu Yao feared Yuan Shu and did not dare to assume his appointment because much of his jurisdiction was under Yuan Shu's control. He headed further south, crossed the Yangtze River, and met Wu Jing and Sun Ben in Qu'e County (曲阿縣; present-day Danyang, Jiangsu). They helped him establish a base for his governorship of Yang Province in Qu'e County. In 195, Yuan Shu, who had the intention of usurping the Han throne and declaring himself emperor, ordered his forces to start conquering nearby commanderies and counties. Liu Yao sent his subordinates Fan Neng () and Zhang Ying () to station troops near the riverbank to guard against Yuan Shu's advances. As Wu Jing and Sun Ben previously had served under Yuan Shu, Liu Yao distrusted them and forced them to leave. Yuan Shu appointed himself as the Inspector of Yang Province, and allied with Wu Jing and Sun Ben to attack Liu Yao. Fan Neng and Zhang Ying managed to hold their positions against enemy attacks for several days.