Chapter 77 76 Liu Xiu rebuilds the Han Dynasty

After the Kunyang War, Liu Yan and Liu Xiu became more and more famous.Someone advised Emperor Gengshi to get rid of Liu Yan.Emperor Gengshi killed Liu Yan on the pretext of disobeying the order. As soon as Liu Xiu heard that his brother had been killed, he knew that he was no match for Emperor Gengshi, so he rushed to Wancheng (now Nanyang City, Henan Province) to apologize to Emperor Gengshi.When someone asked him about the situation of the Kunyang War, he didn't take credit at all, saying that it was all due to the soldiers.He didn't dare to wear mourning for his elder brother, and he ate and drank as usual, talking and laughing, without revealing his sadness at all.

Emperor Gengshi thought that Liu Xiu did not remember his grudges, but he was a little sorry. He worshiped Liu Xiu as the general who broke the captives, but he dared not reuse him after all.Later, Chang'an was captured and Wang Mang was killed.When Emperor Gengshi arrived in Luoyang, he gave Liu Xiu a small number of soldiers and horses, and asked him to go to Hebei to appease Hebei counties. At this time, powerful families from all over the country had weapons, some called themselves generals, some called themselves kings, and some called themselves emperors, each occupying one side.Emperor Gengshi sent Liu Xiu to Hebei, which happened to give Liu Xiu a chance to expand his power.He abolished some harsh laws and regulations during Wang Mang's period, released some prisoners, wiped out some separatist forces, and suppressed peasant uprisings from all walks of life in Hebei.Almost all of Hebei was occupied by Liu Xiu.

In 25 A.D., Liu Xiu and his entourage officials believed that the time was ripe, and established themselves as emperor in 鄗 (pronounced hao today in the north of Baixiang County, Hebei). This is Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty. Emperor Gengshi first established his capital in Luoyang, and later moved to Chang'an.After he arrived in Chang'an, he thought that his country had been settled and began to become corrupt.He indiscriminately appointed officials and ranks, didn't care about political affairs, drank and had fun in the palace all day long, and even condoned his soldiers to rob.It turned out that some generals of the Green Forest Army were very dissatisfied with him.

Seeing that Emperor Gengshi was dying, Fan Chong, the leader of the red eyebrow army, led 200,000 people to attack Chang'an.Emperor Gengshi sent troops to resist and lost several battles one after another, so anxious that he didn't know what to do.Some generals in the Green Forest Army persuaded Gengshi Emperor to leave Chang'an, but were suspected and killed by Gengshi Emperor; some uprising generals defected to the Red Eyebrow Army.When Emperor Gengshi was in chaos, the Red Eyebrow Army successfully entered Hangu Pass. The Red Eyebrow Army decided to overthrow Emperor Gengshi, but Fan Chong and the others could not get rid of the influence of the orthodox ideas of the old aristocrats of the Han Dynasty, so they decided to find someone surnamed Liu as the emperor.At that time, there were more than 70 people with the surname Liu in the Red Eyebrow Army. Among them was Liu Penzi, a 15-year-old cowherd boy.

The red-browed army entered Chang'an, and Emperor Gengshi fled outside the city. Fan Chong sent envoys to order Emperor Gengshi to surrender within 20 days.Emperor Gengshi had no choice but to surrender to Chimei with Yuxi. The red eyebrow army entered Chang'an with great momentum.However, the rations of hundreds of thousands of soldiers encountered difficulties.Rich merchants and landlords took the opportunity to hoard grain, and people in Chang'an starved to death every day.In this way, the chaotic situation in Chang'an cannot be cleaned up. Fan Chong left Chang'an with his army and fled westward.But food in other places is also difficult; when it comes to Tianshui (the name of the county, in today's Gansu), it is stopped by the powerful landlords there.Fan Chong had no choice but to go east again with his army.

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty occupied Luoyang when the red eyebrow army entered Chang'an.As soon as they heard that the Red Eyebrow Army was moving eastward, they led an army of 200,000 in two ways to ambush there. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent General Feng Yi to Huayin to lead the red-browed soldiers to the east.Feng Yi used tricks to surround a group of red-browed troops at the foot of Xiaoshan Mountain.He wrote the gauntlet and agreed with the Red Eyebrow Army on a time and place for a decisive battle.The honest fan Chong didn't know the enemy's strategy, so he sent more than 10,000 red eyebrow troops to attack.Feng Yi first sent a small number of soldiers to fight against the enemy.Seeing that there were few Han soldiers, the Red Eyebrow Army attacked with the whole army.Unexpectedly, Feng Yi's ambush soldiers came up, dressed exactly like the Red Eyebrow Army, and the two sides fought together, and it was impossible to tell who was the Red Eyebrow Army and who was the Han Army.

When the Red Eyebrow Army was in a difficult situation, the Han soldiers dressed as the Red Eyebrow Army shouted "Surrender!" "Surrender!"As soon as the army's morale was disturbed, the red-browed army was disarmed. In January 27 AD, Fan Chong moved to Yiyang (now Yiyang County, Henan Province) with the remaining Red Eyebrow Army.Feng Yi quickly sent someone to report to Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty.Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty personally led two pre-arranged troops to intercept and besiege the Red Eyebrow Army.At this stage of the field, Fan Chong had no choice but to send someone to sue Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty for peace.

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty brought Liu Penzi and the others back to Luoyang, gave them fields and houses, and asked them to stay in Luoyang.But within a few months, Fan Chong was charged with treason and killed.