In history, the "Wosang Dynasty": there were no famous generals, no victories, and it perished after only 15 years

The rise and fall of dynasties is a common topic in Chinese history. Some dynasties can last for hundreds of years, and the scenery is infinite, while others are like meteors passing by, fleeting.

If you want to talk about the most "nested" dynasty, it is estimated that many people will think of the new dynasty. This dynasty has existed for 15 years from beginning to end, and has never produced a famous general who can handle it, and has never won a war, and finally finished it completely under the internal and external attacks.

Its founder, Wang Mang, has a lot of ambition and wants to make a big career, but unfortunately his ability can't keep up with his ambitions, and he tosses a country to pieces.

1. The rise of Wang Mang and the establishment of a new dynasty

The story of the new dynasty has to start with Wang Mang. Wang Mang is not an ordinary person, he was born in a family of relatives in the late Western Han Dynasty, and his aunt Wang Zhengjun was the queen of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, and the family was very powerful in the court. Wang Mang's father died early and failed to become a marquis, but he relied on his family background and his own efforts to become Huangmenlang at the age of 24 and began to mix in officialdom.

Wang Mang was very good at being a man when he was young and had a good reputation. When his uncle Wang Feng was seriously ill, he stayed in front of the bed and served him meticulously, so moved that Wang Feng specially told Wang Zhengjun to take care of him before he died.

Wang Mang also often used his own money to help the poor, and the people spoke highly of him. When his mother was seriously ill, the imperial court sent someone to visit, and his wife came out to receive him in a shabby short skirt, and she couldn't even cover her knees, which was a very low-key performance at the time, and won a lot of favor.

However, don't look at Wang Mang's modesty on the surface, he is not simple in his heart. He slowly climbed through the ranks, using his family power to win over officials and secretly save his own team. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor was getting weaker and weaker, and the government was in chaos, and Wang Mang saw the opportunity.

In 1 BC, Emperor Han Ai died, 9-year-old Liu Ying became the emperor, and Wang Mang was named the Great Sima, which was equivalent to grasping the government in his hands. On the surface, he was respectful to the little emperor, but behind the scenes, he began to plan to usurp the throne.

In 8 AD, he finally took action, abolished Liu Ying, proclaimed himself emperor, established a new dynasty, set the country name as "Xin", and officially ended the Western Han Dynasty.

After Wang Mang came to power, he felt that he could do great things, and wanted to prove that he was stronger than the Han Dynasty through reform. He introduced policies such as the nationalization of land, the abolition of slavery, and the unification of currency, which sounded quite thoughtful, and some people even said that he was like a "time-traveler".

But the problem is that as soon as he came to power, the foundation of the new dynasty was not yet stable, and the people had not yet fully accepted the new regime, so he was in a hurry to make big moves, and the results were naturally not good.

2. Reform failure: good ideas collide with bad implementation

Wang Mang's reform was originally intended to solve the problems of the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, such as serious land annexation, slavery and oppression of the people, currency chaos, and so on. He felt that he could be a savior and take the country to new heights. It's a pity that although the idea is good, it is a mess to do.

Speaking of land nationalization first, Wang Mang ordered the nationalization of land throughout the country, and then distributed it to the peasants. This policy sounds fair, but in practice it is completely not. The powerful landlords did not cooperate at all, concealed their land, refused to hand over the land, and the imperial court was unable to forcibly confiscate it. As a result, the land was not well divided, and the peasants lost their arable land, and their lives became even more miserable.

Looking at the currency reform again, within a few years of Wang Mang coming to power, he changed the currency many times, and made a bunch of new currencies, causing the old and new currencies in the market to mix together, prices flew wildly, merchants did not dare to trade, and the money in the hands of the people became useless overnight. The monopoly of salt and iron and the heavy tax policy added fuel to the fire, and ordinary people were forced to breathe, and social resentment grew greater.

These reforms did not make the country stronger, but instead collapsed the economy and lost the people's morale. Wang Mang is like a student who is in a hurry to hand in his homework, trying to copy a full score answer, but he copied it in a mess, and in the end he couldn't even get a passing grade.

3. Military incompetence: no generals, no victories

If you want to say that the new dynasty is the most "nesty" place, the military performance is definitely the first. In the entire 15 years of the dynasty, there has never been a decent famous general, and the war has never been won. There was a rebellion inside, and there were border enemies making trouble outside, but the army of the new dynasty was like tofu dregs, which would crumble at the slightest touch.

Look at the interior first, in 17 AD, the Green Forest Army rebelled in Jingzhou, and the Red Mei Army rebelled in Shandong, these two rebel armies developed very quickly and soon fought most of the country.

Wang Mang sent troops to suppress it, but he was deflated again and again. The Green Forest Army and the Red Mei Army were more and more numerous, and although their weapons were rudimentary, they often defeated the regular army of the new dynasty by relying on the terrain and morale.

Foreign wars are no better. In order to show off his authority, Wang Mang arbitrarily weakened the status of the surrounding ethnic groups, lowered their official positions and titles, and annoyed the Xiongnu and the Western Regions.

The Xiongnu rebelled directly, and the Western Regions also got out of control. Wang Mang sent troops to attack, but they were defeated and retreated. The frontier troops not only failed to defeat the enemy, but also often robbed the people of their belongings because of the lack of food and grass, which made the people's grievances even heavier.

The army of the new dynasty was undisciplined and untrained, and the generals were all mediocre. Wang Mang also set up a "pig and pig" army, using death row prisoners and slaves to make up the number, and wanted to send them to fight the Huns, but as a result, these people ran away on the battlefield, and they were not vulnerable at all. Military incompetence directly faltered the regime of the new dynasty.

Fourth, internal and external troubles: uprisings and uncontrolled frontiers

The troubles of the new dynasty were not only military crotch, but also internal uprisings and external threats, which completely brought down this short-lived dynasty.

In 22 AD, the Green Forest Army invaded Nanyang, and the Red Eyebrow Army also swept through Shandong. The suppression troops sent by Wang Mang could not withstand it at all, and the contingent temporarily pulled up by the local tyrants was quickly dispersed. The rebel army, relying on the support of the people, grew in momentum, and the local governments of the new dynasty collapsed one after another.

The Xiongnu took the opportunity to invade, burn and loot, the countries of the Western Regions were out of control, Wang Mang sent troops north to meet the enemy, but the logistics could not keep up, the soldiers fought hungry, and the morale was so low that it was not good. The border front is shrinking smaller and smaller, and the territory of the new dynasty is shrinking day by day.

Internal and external troubles are intertwined, and Wang Mang can't cope with it at all. His army can't fight, the local officials can't control the situation, and the whole country is like a leaky house, about to collapse.

5. The Fall of the New Dynasty: Wang Mang's End

In 23 AD, the Green Forest Army fought under the city of Chang'an. The defenders of the new dynasty put up desperate resistance, but were no match at all. After the city was broken, the rebel army rushed into the city, and Wang Mang saw that the general situation was gone and fled to the southern suburbs. He had an altar set up, dressed in the emperor's robes, holding talismans, and praying to the heavens, hoping that God would save him. But at this time, no one can save him.

The rebels stormed the palace, the guards were quickly killed, and a merchant named Du Wu discovered Wang Mang's hiding place and stabbed him to death. The soldiers then rushed up and cut his body to shreds, cutting off his head and hanging it on the city gates. This was the end of the new dynasty, from its establishment in 8 A.D. to its demise in 23 A.D., only 15 years before and after.