Chapter 18 8. The split of green forest and red eyebrow

After Wang Mang's death, all the heroes in the world rose together and fell into a state of great division. However, the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan at this time is not the one who can wipe out the heroes and unify the world.When he came to Chang'an, what he saw was a splendid and extravagant capital city that had not changed its post-apocalyptic style. Among the palace complexes in Chang'an, only the Weiyang Palace was burned down, while the others were relatively well preserved, and there were thousands of court ladies who were in the rear court.Bells and drums, curtains, chariots, utensils and clothing, Taicang, arsenal, government offices, and cities are all the same as the old system.

So Emperor Gengshi also imitated his ancestor Liu Bang when he first entered Xianyang, and lived in Changle Palace, and the deacons in the palace held a ceremony to welcome him.At first, he was a little shy, just scratching the mat with his head down. After a few days, he became familiar with each other, and he played crazily than anyone else. He had banquets with women day and night, and the courtiers wanted him to do business. Every time he got drunk, he never saw anyone. He was really pushed by the ministers. So, let the waiter sit behind the curtain and pretend to be him to speak.What's more, his favorite concubine, Mrs. Han, actually complained that the people in charge interrupted her drinking and smashed all the desks at work.

Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was fooling around in Xianyang Palace, and there was another Fan Kuai who dragged him out. Even if the Gengshi Emperor had Fan Kuai, he might not be able to offend his tigress Mrs. Han. When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty entered the pass, he won the hearts of the people with three chapters.What is this Gengshi Emperor doing?When his generals came to see him, he actually smiled and asked: How many things have you robbed?Good harvest, right?The attendants next to each other were speechless - we have been working for decades, and we have never seen such a straightforward emperor.

Dare to feel that he really didn't regard the world as his own. The generals of the green forest supporting Emperor Gengshi are also busy at this time to share a piece of the pie. In order to pay for his merits, Liu Xuan entrusted twenty kings in one breath: Liu Zhi, the clan Taichang general, was the king of Dingtao, Liu Ci was the king of Wan, Liu Qing was the king of Yan, Liu She was the king of Yuanshi, and the general Liu Jia was the king of Yan. The king of Hanzhong and Liu Xin are the kings of Ruyin, Wang Kuang is the king of Biyang, Wang Feng is the king of Yicheng, Zhu Tuo is the king of Jiaodong, General Wei Zhang is the king of Huaiyang, General Tingwei Wang Chang is the king of Deng, and he is the king of Jinwu. General Liao Zhan is King Rang, Shen Tujian is King Ping, Shangshu Hu Yin is King Sui, General Zhutian Li Tong is King Xiping, General Wuwei Zhonglang Li Yi is King Wuyin, General Shuiheng Cheng Dan is King The king of Xiangyi, the great Sikong Chen Mu was the king of Yinping, the general of hussars Song Yu was the king of Yingyin, and Yin Zun was the king of Yan.

The power of the Gengshi dynasty was in the hands of Zhao Meng and Li Song, while the other generals in Lulin ruled as kings, and the administration of officials was even more messed up. The generals appoint and send officials separately, and there are no selection criteria, just what they see is pleasing to the eye.So local ruffians, speculators, cooks, and even butchers of pigs and sheep all wore official titles of various sizes and wore brocade brocade (according to the system of the Western Han Dynasty, people with these identities were not qualified to wear luxurious clothes). Wandering around, it is these people who quarrel and fight on the street every day.This was a scene in Chang'an City at that time, and the public opinion called it "raised under the stove, a general of Zhonglang; a rotten stomach of a sheep, a captain riding a captain; a rotten head of a sheep, a marquis of Guannei".

In this way, the Green Forest Department, which was once the most powerful military force in that era, quickly deteriorated. At this time, the Red Eyebrow Army from the East was marching towards Chang'an. The Red Eyebrow Army started from Shandong, with a simple style of work. The leaders were called "three elders", "engaged", "soldiers" and other low-level official titles, and there were no specific flags, documents, or military regulations. Wounded pay for injuries, etc. For this reason, Wang Mang was very curious: there is such an organized "army"?It was Yan You who gave the answer: "There are no ones today. They are hungry and cold and bandits, and dogs and sheep gather together. I don't know what to do." These rioters were forced out by hunger and cold. As for the rules and regulations of the army, they don't know , so there is no application.

However, such a force organized in the simplest way is not weak in combat effectiveness.After the Red Eyebrow Army's uprising, they won two great victories: they defeated Wang Mang's general Tian Kuang in the Battle of Gumu and killed nearly ten thousand people; Whereabouts are unknown. Therefore, before Liu Xuan proclaimed himself emperor, the red eyebrows who were in the limelight became the focus of Wang Mang's encirclement and suppression.In AD 22, Wang Mang sent his nephew Wang Kuang and Gengshi General Lian Dan to lead an army of 100,000 to attack the Red Eyebrow Army. During this siege, the Red Eyebrow Army dyed their eyebrows red in order to distinguish between the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield. ).

In the winter of 22 A.D., the Xinmang Army and the Red Eyebrow Army fought in Chengchangju, west of Dongping, Shandong Province, which is known as the "Battle of Chengchang" in history.Earlier, the Xinmang army had just conquered Wuyan, which was occupied by the Soluhui rebel army, and slaughtered more than 10,000 people. Although they won the victory, the soldiers of the Xinmang army were also quite exhausted. Wang Kuang wanted to take advantage of the victory to attack Dong Xian's troops of the Red Eyebrow Army in Liang County. Lian Dan thought that he had been fighting for a long time, and his soldiers were exhausted, so he opposed the attack and suggested resting.However, Wang Kuang believed that he was Wang Mang's nephew and used his power to suppress others. He refused to accept Lian Dan's opinion and insisted on attacking Liangjun. The old nest, completely wiped out the Red Eyebrow Army.

This young man, just like that, led his team to Liang County swaggeringly, and didn't even bother to say hello to Lian Dan first.Lian Dan had no choice but to follow Wang Kuang into Liang County. At this time, Fan Chong, the leader of the Red Eyebrow Army, who is brave and skilled in fighting, rushed to the area south of Chengchangju after detecting the movements of Wang Kuang's army, and waited for the enemy in concealment. Wang Kuang and Lian Dan encountered the enemy suddenly, and the soldiers were exhausted, so they soon fell into a disadvantage.Seeing that the situation was not good, Wang Kuang abandoned his army and fled.Lian Dan refused to break out of the siege, fought hard to the end, and finally saw that he could not do anything, ordered his subordinates to pass on his seal and talisman to the escaped general Wang Kuang, and said to his subordinates: "Your child can go, but I can't!" Finally, he died in battle.

Wang Mang was quite shocked by this, and the sending country general Aizhang assisted Wang Kuang to lead his commander Kong Ren, Yanzhou Mu Shouliang, the soldier Wang Hong, Yangzhou Mu Li Sheng, etc., and mobilized 300,000 troops from various states and counties to attack the Red Eyebrow Army again. . The battle of Chengchang effectively contained and consumed Wang Mang's strength, and greatly helped the development of the Green Forest Army in the south. The following year, the Green Forest Army won several major victories in the south, and completely destroyed the main force of Wang Mang's army in the Battle of Kunyang.However, Chimei did not develop so smoothly in the north. It was defeated by the Xinmang army in Donghai County, killing thousands of people, and then transferred to the territory of Henan today.

After Emperor Gengshi moved his capital to Luoyang, he sent envoys to surrender Fan Chong.Fan Chong and others were forced to revolt due to hunger and cold, and had no great ambition to become emperor. After receiving the order from Gengshi, they happily left the army and took more than 20 leaders to Luoyang to receive the reward. However, Liu Xuan was busy enjoying himself, and didn't pay much attention to the arrival of Fan Chong and others. Although he granted them the title of Marquis, he didn't confer titles on them, nor did he further win over this powerful armed force. Fan Chong and others were very dissatisfied with this, and fled back to the Red Eyebrow Army in Puyang.In February of the twenty-fourth year of AD, Emperor Gengshi moved the capital to Chang'an, and Chimei then developed westward and invaded Yingchuan County. However, most of the soldiers of the Red Eyebrow Army were from Shandong. Coupled with the long-term battle, the soldiers were exhausted, and their homesickness and war weariness became stronger and stronger.Fan Chong, Xu Xuan and others discussed that if they develop eastward, the troops may disperse on their own, so it is better to attack Chang'an westward.The Red Eyebrow Army divided into two groups here. Fan Chong and Pang An entered from Wuguan; Xu Xuan, Xie Lu, and Yang Yin entered Hangu from Luhun Pass. The Gengshi regime is at war with Liu Xiu, who occupies Hebei. Although he is also vigilant about Chimei's movements, he does not pay enough attention to it, and has made serious mistakes in judgment.Liu Xuan led troops into Hedong with Wang Kuang and Cheng Dan to prevent the two armies of Chimei and Liu Xiu from entering the pass; he led his army to Hongnong with the general Su Mao to stop the Chimei army advancing from Hangu Pass to the west. This layout puts more emphasis on Hedong and less on Hangu, and the strategic focus is on defending against Liu Xiu rather than against Chimei. In February 25 A.D., Xu Xuan and other troops of the Red Eyebrow Army bypassed the heavy group of the Gengshi Army stationed in Luoyang, entered the territory of Lingbao in present-day Henan Province, defeated Gengshi's beggar general Su Mao, joined forces with Fan Chong's army, and marched westward together. Emperor Gengshi was not expecting the bold action of the Red Eyebrow Army, so he urgently sent Prime Minister Li Song to lead his army to intercept it, and ordered Zhu Tuo in Luoyang to lead his troops to chase after the Red Eyebrow Army.In March, Li Song and the Red Eyebrow Army fought in the village. The Gengshi Army was defeated and tens of thousands of people died in battle. Li Song abandoned the army and fled back to Chang'an.