Chapter 18 Chapter 6 The Battle of New Han and Kunyang

In the last years of Wang Mang, massive peasant uprisings broke out in various places.Among the numerous peasant uprising armies, two stood out the most, namely the Red Eyebrow Army, which shocked Shandong, and the Green Forest Army, which spread across the Central Plains.When the peasant uprising was flourishing and the Wang Mang regime was on the verge of collapse, Liu Xuan, Liu Yan [yan Yan] and Liu Xiu brothers, who were suppressed by the Xin Mang regime, also joined the ranks of the Green Forest Army.In 23 AD, the Green Forest Army defeated Wang Mang's hundreds of thousands of Jingzhou soldiers one after another, and defeated another army led by Wang Mang's generals Yan You and Chen Mao.Then, Wang Kuang, the leader of the Green Forest Army, commanded the main force of the Han army to besiege Wancheng (now Nanyang, Henan); Wang Feng led another army to capture Kunyang (now north of Ye County, Henan), Dingling (now north of Wuyang, Henan) and Yan. City (now Yancheng, Henan), posed a great threat to the Xinmang regime.

Wang Mang heard the news of Kunyang's fall, Wancheng's siege, and Yan You's and Chen Mao's defeats in Chang'an City. He was as anxious as a red-eyed gambler, and decided to put all his capital into a desperate gamble.In March of 23 A.D., Wang Mang ordered Da Situ Wang Xun and Da Sikong Wang Yi to mobilize 420,000 elite soldiers from all over the country, known as a million, to press against Wancheng, in an attempt to wipe out the Han army (the Green Forest Army was later called the Han Army).When the new army was concentrating on Luoyang, there were thousands of miles of banners, luggage, and vehicles, and it was so majestic along the way!Wang Mang recruited hundreds of masters who knew the art of war from all over the country to serve as army staff. He also specially appointed a giant giant with a height of one foot (about 2.3 meters now) to defend the camp, called Leiwei.Wang Mang heard that the giant can drive wild beasts, so he opened the palace zoo and released wild animals such as tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants.In May of this year, Wang Mang's army joined forces with the remnants of Yan You and Chen Mao in Yingchuan (now Yu County, Henan Province), and rushed towards Kunyang like a tide.The generals of the new army are all domineering and arrogant.They thought that annihilating the Han army under the city of Kunyang was just a snap of their fingers.

At this time, the Han army stationed in Kunyang had only eight or nine thousand people, which was incomparable with Wang Mang's army.How to deal with this vicious and powerful enemy?Some generals of the Han army advocated abandoning Kunyang to wait for foreign aid.Liu Xiu, a general from the royal family of the Western Han Dynasty, advocated resolutely defending Kunyang and looking for opportunities to counterattack.Liu Xiu analyzed the military situation at that time and said: "Now we have few soldiers and food shortages, and the enemy is strong. If we can concentrate our forces against the enemy, we may still win victory; if we disperse our forces, we will be defeated by the enemy one by one. No one can fight alone. Preservation. Besides, the main force of our army has not yet captured Wancheng, so it is impossible to come to rescue us. If Kunyang is captured by the new army, it only takes one day for us to be completely finished." )

The Han army's plan to defend against the enemy has not yet been decided. Wang Yi has already led the vanguard of the new army to approach the north of Kunyang City, and the follow-up troops are also coming continuously, with no end in sight.Soon, Kunyang was surrounded by the new army, and the military situation was very urgent.Liu Xiu once again said to everyone: "You must defend Kunyang, because it is related to the life and death of the rebels." After repeated research, the coach Wang Feng decided that he and Wang Chang would stay in Kunyang, and sent Liu Xiu, Li Yi and others to break out. , Go to Dingling and Yanyan to mobilize reinforcements to attack Wang Mang's army inside and outside.

One summer night, the moon was dim.Liu Xiu and Li Yi led 11 elite soldiers, riding fast horses, wearing full body armor and armed with weapons, and suddenly attacked from the south gate of Kunyang City.