During the fall of the Western Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, two very famous figures appeared, they were called "crossers" and "sons of the face", the former referring to Wang Mang, who established a new dynasty, while the latter referred to Liu Xiu, the Guangwu Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Wang Mang is considered a crosser because many of his reform policies far exceeded the ideological level of the people at that time, and his handwriting seemed to come from the hands of later generations. And people jokingly call Liu Xiu "the son of the plane" because his luck is so good that he is "open and hanging", and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the "son of the chosen". Next, we will briefly tell the story between the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty
The New Dynasty, after the Western Han Dynasty, was established by Wang Mang, a foreign relative of the Western Han Dynasty, on January 15, Wang Mang deposed the Han widow (Liu Bao) as the Duke of Anding, changed the Han Li Yinzheng to ugly zheng, changed the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, changed the name of the country to New, and built the capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an Han Chang'an City Site), known in history as Xin mang.
Wang Mang claimed that the empress dowager carried out many reforms, mainly reforming the official system, changing place names, implementing the Wangtian system, prohibiting the sale of slaves and concubines, implementing the five-equal and six-written system (state-owned enterprises, income tax and lending), and reforming the currency system. However, the new system of government decrees is complicated, the name is constantly changing, and the orders are changed day and night, and the employment is improper, and the reform ultimately fails. In 17 AD, due to natural disasters, the people were economically bankrupt because of the failure of reform, and finally the new late people's rebellion broke out, and the new Mang army was defeated in the Battle of Chengchang and the Battle of Kunyang. In 23 AD, Liu Xuan established the Xuan Han regime, the Gengshi Emperor; in the same year, the Green Forest Army invaded Chang'an, Wang Mang was killed, and the new dynasty fell.
Wang Mang (45 BC – October 6, 23), courtesy name Jujun, was a native of Yuancheng County, Wei County (present-day Daming County, Hebei Province), a Western Han dynasty courtier, politician, and reformer, the second son of Wang Man of the New Xianwang, the nephew of Empress Xiaoyuan, and the founding emperor of the new dynasty (January 10, 9 – October 6, 23).
Wang Mang was originally an important member of the Wei Junwang clan of the Western Han Dynasty's foreign relatives, and was known for his prestige in the government and the public. In December of the first year of the first year (January 15, 9 AD), Wang Mang's han Jianxin, Jianyuan "founded the country", Jianyuan (changed the twelfth month of the Han calendar to the first month), announced the implementation of the new policy, known in history as "Wang Mang reform system". Wang Mang's reforms were carried out in strict accordance with Confucian thought, mainly modeled on the system of the Zhou Dynasty, such as repeatedly changing the currency system, changing the official system and official names, restoring the well field system in the name of the Wang Tian system, and nationalizing the salt and iron wine mountain Lin Chuanze, etc., all of which constantly replied to the Zhou ritual model of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Although this promoted Confucianism to a certain extent, due to impracticality and Wang Mang's lack of ambition, the reform could not be carried out at all, the operation of the state was seriously affected, natural and man-made disasters continued, and finally the world was in chaos, and a vigorous green forest and red eyebrow uprising broke out.
The Green Forest Army refers to the main army opposed to Wang Mang's regime in the last years of the new Chinese dynasty, composed of starving people caused by drought and locust plagues.
In the last year of the New Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and haojie in the area of Lulin Mountain in Xinshi (in present-day Jingshan City, Hubei Province) rose up one after another, because it was stationed in Lulin Mountain (located in present-day Jingshan County, Hubei Province), so it was called the "Green Forest Army". In the fourth year of the new Mangdi Emperor, the Green Forest Army established its own political power and established Liu Xuan as emperor of the Western Han Dynasty.
In the first year, the Green Forest Army invaded Chang'an, and the new dynasty collapsed. In the first three years, the Green Forest Army was attacked by the Chimei Army and Liu Xiu's army, and finally the First Emperor surrendered to the Chimei Army, and the rest of the people were also killed, and the Green Forest Army was destroyed. Although the vigorous Green Forest Uprising failed, the word "Green Forest" became synonymous with the heroes Hao Jie who "gathered in the mountains and forests and rebelled against the imperial court" in later generations.
The Chimei army revolted in The 5th year of Tianfeng (18 AD) at Ju County (ju county, Shandong), led by Fan Chong, a Langlai man, who used the Taishan Mountains as a base to confront the government forces. Within a few years, it grew to tens of thousands, mainly peasants, most of whom were illiterate, and therefore mainly passed orders orally. The organization included the highest-ranking Three Elders, followed by names such as Engaged and Gongshi, and most of them continued to use the names of Township Officials of the Han Dynasty.
With the development of the Chimei army, in the third year (22 years) of the emperor, Wang Mang sent his sons Wang Kuang and Lian Dan to lead about 100,000 troops to attack the Chimei army, but it was defeated, and the Chimei army grew to more than 100,000 people, and its power spread to Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou.
In the fourth year of emperor Di (23 years), the first emperor Liu Xuan had taken the throne and invaded Chang'an, the Chimei army was first willing to surrender to Chang'an, but the two sides immediately went to war again, and in the first three years (25 years), the Chimei army was divided into two roads, led by Fan Chong and Xu Xuan, to attack Guanzhong, and supported Liu Penzi of the Han Dynasty as emperor, Xu Xuan as the chancellor, and Fan Chong, because of his literacy, served as the imperial master. At the same time, there was an internal strife within the shi army, and the general Wang Kuang defected to the Chimei army, and then the Chimei army invaded Chang'an and killed Liu Xuan.
When the Chimei army entered Chang'an, due to the years of war and chaos that had led to the destruction of the local area, the Chimei army could only look around for grain, and then was defeated by The General Feng Yi of Liu Xiu's faction, and in the face of heavy snow losses, the Chimei army decided to leave Guanzhong, and Jianwu was defeated by Feng Yi in the third year (27 years) at Kundi (present-day Lizhuang Village, Shichi County, Henan), Fan Chong surrendered, and was finally killed.
More First Emperor (?) –25), courtesy name Liu Xuan (劉玄), courtesy name Shenggong, was a native of Caiyang County, Nanyang Commandery (present-day southwest of Zaoyang, Hubei), who claimed to be of Western Han Dynasty, and was a brother of Liu Xiu, emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Liu Fa the Prince of Changsha, son of Emperor Liu Qi of the Han Dynasty. His grandfather was Cangwu Taishou Liu Li, his father Liu Zi Zhang, and his mother He Shi.
In the first year (23 years), Liu Xuan was proclaimed emperor by the Green Forest Army on the shore of Shuishui (present-day Jingzhou, Nan County), with the era name changing, known as Xuan Han in history, and the famous Gengshi Emperor in history. In the same year, the new dynasty collapsed, and Liu Xuan entered Chang'an and became the lord of the world. In the first three years (25 years), the First Dynasty regime collapsed under the two-way attack of the Chimei Army and Liu Xiu's army, and Liu Xuan surrendered to the Chimei Army, offering the Imperial Jade Seal, and the First Dynasty regime collapsed. Soon after, Liu Xuan was killed by the Chimei army, and Liu Xiu's general Deng Yu followed Liu Xiu's wishes and buried Liu Xuan in Baling near Chang'an.
Battle of Kunyang - Liu Xiu's Battle of the Gods
The Battle of Kunyang was a civil war fought by the New Chinese Dynasty in 23 AD (the fourth year of the emperor of the earth, the first year of the first year). Liu Xiujun, with the Green Forest Army as the main body, broke through the main force of the new dynasty Wang Mang's main force of more than 400,000 at Kunyang County (present-day Ye County, Henan Province). The outcome of the Battle of Kunyang not only directly led to the collapse of the Xinmang Dynasty, but also one of the most famous battles in the history of ancient Chinese warfare in which few victories were won.
After Liu Xuan ascended the throne, he made Liu Yan the Grand Situ, and Liu Xiu was the general Taichang to confront Wang Mang. Wang Mang was extremely shocked to hear that Liu's descendants had restored the Han Dynasty, and sent Wang Yi of the Great Sikong and Wang Xun of the Great Situ to lead an army of 420,000 troops to the front line of Kunyang and Wancheng, in an attempt to suppress the new regime in one fell swoop. In 23 AD, Wang Yi and Wang Xun led an army west out of Luoyang and south of Yingchuan, and Liu Xiu's forces were forced to withdraw from Yangguan to Kunyang. He and Liu Xiu were afraid of the Green Forest Army that was defending the city and planned to escape. Liu Xiu said: "In one place, there is still a glimmer of vitality for survival. If the troops flee, they will undoubtedly die. After that, Liu Xiu let the Green Forest Army defend the city, and he took 13 cavalry out of the city at night to move the rescue troops nearby.
When Wang Yi and Wang Xun led 420,000 troops to suppress the border, the leader of the Green Forest Army immediately sent someone to beg. However, Wang Yi had a large number of soldiers and a wide range of generals, and did not accept it. When Liu Xiu gathered more than 10,000 horses to rescue Kunyang at Dingling and Haocheng, Kunyang had already been heavily surrounded by enemy troops for ten layers. But Liu Xiu still personally led the death squad to charge, Liu Xiu was usually quiet for the humanities, and everyone could not help but feel high morale when they saw that he was so brave now. However, the disparity between the enemy and our troops was too great, and no matter how brave they were, they also hit the stone with an egg and sent people's heads in vain, but a miracle happened. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Guangwu Benji:
"At night there are meteors falling into the camp, and there are clouds like bad mountains during the day, and when the camp falls, it is scattered before the ground, and the officials are tired of it."
At that time, Wang Yi's army camp was smashed by meteors at night, and during the day there was a huge mushroom cloud pressing overhead, causing the army to be uneasy, at this time, although there were many of them, they could not help but be afraid to see Liu Xiu so brave. Just fought with Liu Xiu,
"There will be great thunder and wind, the roof tiles will fly, the rain will be like a note, the rivers will overflow, the tigers and leopards will fight, the soldiers will fight, the drowned will be tens of thousands, and the water will not flow"
It was thunder, it was a fierce wind, and it was a torrential rain, and the army suddenly fell apart. In this battle, Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun and annihilated Wang Mang's main force, and soon Wang Mang's new dynasty collapsed.
Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu (15 January 5 BC – 29 March 57 BC), courtesy name Wenshu, was a native of Caiyang County, Nanyang County, and the founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty, reigning from 25 – 29 March 57. The temple number Ishizu, the courtesy name Guangwu Emperor.
In the second year of Jianping of the Western Han Dynasty (5 BC), Liu Xiu was born in Jiyang Palace, Chenliu County. At the right time, Wang Mang usurped the new dynasty, acted perversely, and the world was in chaos. Liu Xiu and his brother Liu Yan raised troops in Nanyang Commandery (南陽郡), with the title of "Lingling Army". In the first three years (25 years), Liu Xiu publicly broke with the Gengshi regime, that is, located in the Nanqian Qiuting Pavilion in Yan County, Hebei Province, honoring the Han Yuan Emperor as the emperor, restoring the Han Dynasty, and setting the capital at Luoyang, known as the Later Han or Eastern Han Dynasty.
After twelve years of unification wars in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu successively eliminated the separatist forces in Hebei, Guandong, Longyou, Western Shu and other places, ending the peasant wars, warlord wars, and local divisions. After quelling the turmoil, Liu Xiuli tried his best to govern. Politically, it advocates "judo" governance, reforms the official system, straightens out the official style, streamlines the structure, and gives preferential treatment to meritorious people; economically, recuperates and recuperates, restores and develops the economy; culturally, vigorously promotes Confucianism, promotes integrity, and creates an era of "Guangwu Zhongxing" in Chinese history in which "weathering is the most beautiful and Confucianism is the most prosperous" (Sima Guang and Liang Qichao).
In the second year of the Middle Era (57), Liu Xiu died at the age of sixty-two at the front hall of the Nangong Palace in Luoyang, and was buried in the original mausoleum, succeeded by his fourth son Liu Zhuang.
At the beginning we say that Wang Mang is a "crosser" Liu Xiu is the "son of the plane". Liu Xiu's luck can be seen through the Battle of Kunyang. So why is Wang Mang said to be a "crosser"? Next, let's look at Wang Mang's foresight
land reform
Wang Mang nationalized the land, prohibited the private sale and purchase of land, and distributed it according to the actual population of the peasant family. This measure is really beyond the times, such as this kind of land equal division, but it was not officially proposed in our country until modern times.
Abolition of slavery
Wang Mang's reign also won the hearts and minds of the people and liberated human rights. The Western Han Dynasty belonged to the feudal society, but the feudal society was short, at least not as long as the slave society, so the slave trade was still very popular.
It was forbidden for all slaves and maids to continue to buy and sell, and by controlling the scope and number of slaves, serfdom would naturally die out. Of course, he also risked a lot of resistance, and the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee advised him not to be so direct, but he still insisted on abolishing it. The existence of slaves in ancient times has always been very normal, and in modern times, there is still such a phenomenon, Wang Mang wants to abolish slavery, just as every modern person who travels to ancient times will pity those slave maids.
Introduce a new currency
In that era of trading gold and silver jewelry, Wang Mang promoted the use of exquisitely crafted but worthless currency to buy and sell, just like silver dollars and coins.
Invented the vernier caliper
In contrast, is there a very familiar feeling, is it the same as a dime?
Because Wang Mang's reform of the system not only failed to alleviate social contradictions, but also caused severe turmoil in the world, the national treasury was also exhausted and could not allocate funds for disaster relief, making it difficult for the people to survive. In 23 AD, the rebel army invaded Chang'an, and Wang Mang was killed by the rebel army.
But then again, whether it is true or not that no one knows, Wang Mang may just be thinking ahead, and the wisdom of the ancients we modern people may really not be able to compare.