Chapter 20 10. Chang'an in Troubled Times

The ancient capital of Chang'an has had two glorious times in history.The first time was the Western Han Dynasty, and the second time was the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, the second glory of Chang'an City was almost built on a blank slate, because the magnificent Han Chang'an had long been burned by the flames of war and was buried under the yellow dust. What destroyed Han Chang'an was the fire disaster we are about to talk about. After Chimei established the "Jianshi" regime, he continued westward and arrived at Huayin.Liu Xiu, who had become the overlord of Hebei, also defeated the Gengshi army, and sent General Deng Yu to cross the river from Fenyin, occupy Xiayang, and approach Weishui.

Chang'an's reform regime is in jeopardy. General Zhang, who fled back from the defeat in the northern battlefield against Liu Xiu, lost confidence in continuing to occupy Chang'an, discussed with everyone to plunder Chang'an's wealth, and returned east to Nanyang to join Wan Wang Liu Ci's troops for another attempt.This suggestion was approved by giants such as Shen Tujian and Liao Zhan, but Emperor Gengshi himself was furious—he was really reluctant to part with this luxurious and magnificent Chang'an City. In order to fight against Chimei, Emperor Gengshi sent Wang Kuang, Chen Mu, Cheng Dan, Zhao Meng and other troops to Xinfeng to guard the main roads, and Li Song also led other troops to Xinfeng.

Seeing that the situation was critical, Zhang prepared to take decisive measures, discussed with Shen Tujian, Liao Zhan, Hu Yin, Kai Xiao and others, and planned to kidnap Gengshi by force and flee back to Nanyang.However, when the matter was revealed, Gengshi acted first and beheaded Shen Tujian. Zhang and others fled in a hurry, led the army to attack the palace, and fought fiercely with Gengshi's guards in Chang'an City. Gengshi was defeated and led more than a hundred people to flee to Zhao Meng's army in Xinfeng.At this time, Gengshi was like a frightened bird, even Wang Kuang, Chen Mu, Cheng Dan and others who had no knowledge of it also suspected it, and summoned them under the pretext of preparing to kill all these generals.

Chen Mu and Cheng Dan arrived first and were beheaded immediately. Wang Kuang got the news and led his army to flee to Chang'an, where he joined forces with Zhang and other troops to defend the city.But Zhao Meng and Li Songjun, who were loyal to Gengshi, returned to the division to deal with the "traitors", leaving the Chimei and Deng Yu armies behind. Both Deng Yu and Chimei were dumbfounded watching the martial arts drama in Chang'an City, which lasted for a month. In the end, the Gengshi side won and reoccupied Chang'an.The defeated Wang Kuang and others escaped from the city and surrendered to the Red Eyebrow Army in Gaoling, and the two sides joined forces to attack the East Gate of Chang'an.Li Song went out of the city to fight, but was defeated and captured.Chimei took him as a hostage and persuaded his younger brother, Li Fan, the captain of the city gate guarding Chang'an, to surrender without bloodshed.

This happened in September of the twenty-five year AD. Gengshi escaped from Chang'an on his own. His right assistant captain Yan Ben was afraid that he would get lost and that he would be held accountable by the Red Eyebrow Army, so he was put under house arrest in the name of a guard. However, even an emperor as bad as Gengshi, who has fallen to such a point, still has loyal ministers to follow.What's more interesting is that this loyal minister is actually the elder brother of his sworn enemy! He is Liu Gong, the eldest brother of Liu Penzi we mentioned earlier.After Liu Gong came to Chang'an with Gengshi, he heard that the Red Eyebrow Army had made his younger brother Liu Penzi emperor. He was so terrified that he ran to the prison to surrender, and even locked himself in a room.It wasn't until he heard that Emperor Gengshi was defeated and fled that he released himself and followed the hapless emperor on foot.

There is also a "loyal minister". Hearing that Emperor Gengshi escaped from Chang'an City, he actually gave an order to protect him. The order reads like this: I heard that Gengshi was defeated and fled in a hurry. Even his wife and children were naked. My heartfelt sympathy.The big guys are not allowed to beat him like a rabbit. Whoever bullies him will not give me face, and I will punish him! Who is this?Xiao Wang, the former Gengshi regime, is now Liu Xiu, who has proclaimed himself emperor in Hebei. Between the lines, there is the compassion of a cat crying for a mouse—of course, we can also say that this shows the great wisdom of an outstanding politician.

The red-browed army is much more straightforward, and the next letter is Genshi: You are already surrounded, and there is no future for stubborn resistance!I'll give you twenty days to consider. If you surrender, you can be crowned King of Changsha, otherwise you will be at your own risk. Liu Xuan has never seen a little heroism from the beginning to the end, and this time is no exception - he thought that the emperor would not be able to be the emperor anyway, and it would be good to be a king, so he sent Liu Gong, a related person, to meet his brother , to discuss surrender business.The red-browed army went to accept the surrender with the general Xie Lu. In October, Liu Xuan followed Xie Lu to Changle Palace and handed over the emperor's seal to Liu Penzi.

However, the red-browed army is not prepared to perform the contract at this time-Mr. Liu Xuan is left to hang in the yard to bask in the sun, a group of people climbed on the wall to watch, and the crowd is angrily clamoring to kill him-I am afraid that such a mess will inevitably take the opportunity Throwing bricks. The soldiers don't care whether you have an agreement or not. They only know that many brothers died fighting this guy, and revenge is the last word.Liu Gong and Xie Lu were Liu Xuan's guarantors, so naturally they couldn't let him be slaughtered, they bowed and bowed in all directions, and suffered a lot of black bricks, but there was no effect at all.

Seeing Liu Xuan being carried away like a rabbit, Liu Gong became anxious, caught up with the crowd, pulled out his sword and shouted—Boss, it's not that I won't save you, it's really hopeless!I'm sorry for you, so I have to die first and let you see it! Everyone saw that the emperor's brother was going to play for real, and was frightened.After all, Liu Xuan is such an unlucky guy, whether he kills or not is irrelevant to the overall situation, but if the emperor's brother really committed suicide, it's not for fun. Fan Chong saw that the matter was getting serious, and it would not be appropriate to ignore it completely, so he finally came forward to speak well for Liu Xuan.After all, he had high prestige, and the soldiers all listened to him, so they saved Liu Xuan.But the promised title has shrunk—it was said to belong to the King of Changsha, but it has become a Marquis of Weiwei, which is so ugly.

Thanks to Liu Gong's intercession, Chimei finally fulfilled his promise and named Liu Xuan the king of Changsha.The terrified Liu Xuan lived with Xie Lu every day, and Liu Gong was afraid that something would happen to him, so he hung around him all day long. However, since Liu Xuan has become a rabbit at the mercy of others, it is only a matter of time before he is put on the sword.What contributed to Liu Xuan's misfortune was Zhang and others who supported him vigorously back then and later fought.Under their lobbying, Xie Lu, Liu Xuan's protector, changed his mind. Xie Lu sent his cronies to graze horses with Liu Xuan in the countryside, and took the opportunity to hang him to death.Liu Xuan served as Gengshi Emperor for a total of two years and ten months.

Liu Gong took advantage of the night to secretly restrain his body. After Liu Xiu heard the news of Liu Xuan's death, she also felt sad—putting aside those political grievances, they were brothers after all—and ordered Deng Yu to bury him in Ba Ling and make his three sons Marquis . Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan was created by that earth-shaking era, and was destroyed by the earth-shaking era of that era. Today, in that ancient wilderness, there are still lonely souls who have not returned home crying at night. However, what is personal misfortune compared with the tragedy of the times? Liu Penzi, who occupies the Changle Palace, is not much stronger than Liu Xuan, and he is just a passerby in a hurry, and the war is far from over.After the Red Eyebrow Army occupied Chang'an, the county magistrates of Sanfu prefectures sent envoys one after another to make contributions as usual, expressing their recognition and support for the "Jianshi" regime. But the soldiers of the Red Eyebrow Army even snatched up these people who came to express their goodwill, so the surrounding officials and people kept their own guards and dared not come out.Facing the splendid city of Chang'an, just like the Green Forest Department, the red-browed generals also lost their motivation to forge ahead. What they did was even inferior to the Green Forest Department: everyone did not seek to make progress, but held high-level meetings every day to argue for their own achievements, but they were not convinced by each other, and when they were unhappy, they drew their swords to chop the pillars.There are no constructive measures in politics and economy. When the red-browed generals were at their best, Yang Yin, one of the red-browed tycoons, couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "All the ministers are old servants!" Work as a servant for a lifetime!We set up the ceremony of the emperor and his ministers today, but it is more chaotic than not setting up an emperor. It's not like this!This group of people should be pulled out and chopped. Because of this sentence, the big guys quarreled again, and the generals called their cronies outside the palace to help.So the soldiers broke open the gate one after another, rushed into the Changle Palace, grabbed wine and meat, and even drew their knives to fight with the opposing side of the debate. In the end, the military police in charge of public security dispatched and slaughtered more than a hundred people before the unrest was quelled. Liu Penzi was frightened and cried again.Look at him as the emperor! At that time, there were nearly a thousand court ladies in Yeting. After Gengshi’s defeat, everyone had nowhere to go and no food, so they could only be confined in the deep palace, digging reed roots, and catching fish in the pond to survive. Some people died. , can only be buried in the palace. Some of the musicians from the original Ganquan Temple still have complete performance outfits, and they can perform songs and dances for Liu Penzi.After the performance, the group of hungry pets kowtowed shyly to Liu Penzi: Master, we are hungry... Liu Penzi took pity on them and ordered Huangmen to give each of them a few buckets of rice. But how can a few buckets of rice smooth the wounds of an era?After Liu Penzi left Chang'an, the group of maids who were kept as pets all starved to death—unable to leave this golden cage that shackled youth and dignity. Although the world is big, where is their shelter? Home? There are few ancient palaces, and the palace flowers are lonely and red. Liu Gong was a more thoughtful figure in the Red Eyebrow Army. Under his influence, Liu Penzi once threatened to resign and resign, making Fan Chong and other Red Eyebrow leaders promise not to indulge soldiers in plundering.This simple army really carried out this promise seriously, withdrawing troops back to the camp, and guarding behind closed doors. In troubled times, the demands of ordinary people are really not high.Just like that, the common people in Sanfu were already grateful and called the Son of Heaven holy, and the common people who fled rushed back to Chang'an City, and the streets and markets opened up one after another, and this once deserted capital seemed to have regained its vitality. However, the biggest problem with the Red Eyebrow Army was the lack of organizational discipline. Only twenty days later, the soldiers put discipline behind them again and returned to raid.At this time, the food accumulated in Chang'an City was exhausted, and the surrounding areas were on their own, refusing to help. Without food, the hundreds of thousands of Red Eyebrow Army could no longer sit and gather food, so they moved westward.Before leaving, the Red Eyebrow Army collected the treasures in the city, and then set fire to the palace. The majestic Han Chang'an has since become a ruin.After Chimei's main force left Guanzhong, Liu Xiu's general Deng Yu took advantage of the situation and seized the abandoned city by Chimei. At the beginning of the Western Expedition, the Red Eyebrow Army, known as a million, was strong and progressed smoothly. They went out of Nanshan, killed General Yan Chunyu of Gengshi, and entered the two counties of Anding and Beidi. However, the good luck of the Red Eyebrow Army finally came to an end. In the 26th year of AD, the Red Eyebrow Army was blocked by Yang Guang, the general of Kui Xiao, and turned back to the area of ​​Fanxu. The valley was full, and most of the red-browed soldiers were frozen to death and suffered heavy losses. Chimei went westward without hope, and turned back to Guanzhong.When passing by Wulingyuan, where the tombs of the emperors of the early Han Dynasty were concentrated, the Red Eyebrow Army did something very disappointing. They even excavated the tombs of the emperors to steal the buried treasures. There are even more heinous things, insulting corpses! We know that the technique of embalming corpses in the Western Han Dynasty was quite superb.In the Mawangdui Han Tomb buried in the early Han Dynasty, the owner of the tomb is only a marquise, and the scale of the tomb is not too large. It can keep the corpse immortal for more than two thousand years!Even today, with our superb modern technology, it is still difficult to do it. The tomb of the Marquis is already so amazing, what about the emperor's tomb that is two levels higher?When the red-browed army dug up the tomb, they were as surprised as the archaeologists lifted the slabs of the Mawangdui tomb two thousand years later. According to historical records, most of the corpses of those who were buried in jade boxes in the tomb were well preserved, as if they were just asleep.Jade itself does not have anti-corrosion function, otherwise Zhongshan Prince Jing Liu Sheng, who was wearing a gold-haired jade garment, would not have rotted until there was only an empty shell left.However, the corpses that can use jade funerals must have a high status during their lifetime, and the anti-corrosion measures adopted are naturally much more advanced, so it is not surprising that the corpses are better preserved. However, the superb anti-corrosion technology only caused the deceased to suffer one more humiliation behind him. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Liu Penzi" stated: "Those who are sent by thieves and buried in a jade box are as good as alive, so red eyebrows are more obscene." Even the body of Empress Lu, who was buried in Changling, was not spared. What is Deng Yu doing in Chang'an?He was busy worshiping the long-abandoned Han Gaozu Temple, collecting the gods of the eleven emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, sending them to Luoyang, and touring the cemeteries of the emperors... he was distracted by a lot of etiquette and trivial matters, so he couldn't prepare for the battle properly To meet the Red Eyebrow Army.After hearing the news that Chimei had returned to Guanzhong, Deng Yu hurriedly dispatched troops to meet the enemy. The two sides fought in Yuyi. The Red Eyebrow Army occupied Chang'an again.