In 23 AD, a famous battle broke out in the area of Ye County, pingdingshan City, Henan Province, namely the Battle of Kunyang. In this battle, Liu Xiu's army was less than 20,000, and he unexpectedly defeated Wang Mang's 420,000 troops, which became a classic example of winning more with less in China's ancient military history.
In the last year of the Western Han Dynasty, his foreign relative Wang Mang usurped the throne and established a new dynasty. Wang Mang's position was not correct, the people's hearts were unstable, and after he took the throne, he obstinately began retro and unrealistic changes, coupled with the continuous natural disasters, so that the world was in chaos and the people did not have a good life. All localities have rebelled against the rule of the new dynasty, with the red eyebrows in the north and the green forests in the south being the most powerful.
In 22 CE, Liu Xiu and Liu Xiu led the rebel army of Lingling (舂陵, in present-day Zaoyang, Hubei) to join the rebellion against Wang Mang, and later joined forces with the Green Forest Army, defeating the new army at Lanshui and Yuyang. The leader of the Green Forest Army proclaimed liu Xuan the emperor, the restored state was called "Han", and Jianyuan was "more beginning". Emperor Jian sent Liu Ji with an army of 100,000 to besiege Wancheng (present-day Nanyang, Henan), and sent Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu to attack Kunyang (present-day Ye County, Pingdingshan, Henan), Dingling (Wuyang County, Luohe City, Henan), and Luocheng District (郾城城, Luohe City, Henan).
The strength of the Green Forest Army grew stronger, and Liu Xuan claimed that the emperor had successfully attracted Wang Mang's attention. Wang Mang adjusted the encirclement and suppression strategy and shifted the focus from the Chimei Army to the Green Forest Army. In 23 AD, Wang Mang sent Sima Wang Yi (王邑) to gather 420,000 troops from all over the country and attack Kunyang from Luoyang, intending to destroy the Green Forest Army in one fell swoop. At that time, the Green Forest Army stationed in Kunyang was only 8,000 or 9,000 people, and the difference in strength was too great, and the leader Wang Feng wanted to abandon Kunyang and escape, but Liu Xiu insisted on defending Kunyang and sent people to move reinforcements nearby.
The gap between the two sides' troops was so large, why did Liu Xiu insist on sticking to Kunyang? Let's first understand Kunyang, which is now Ye County, Henan. Ye County is located in the southwest-central part of Henan Province, at the junction of the Huanghuai Plain and the Yumai of Funiu Mountain, with an area of about 1,387 square kilometers and a population of about 897,400 (2019). Yexian salt mine is rich in resources, with reserves of 330 billion tons, ranking first in the country's well salt, known as "China's rock salt capital". The idiom "Ye Gong Good Dragon" is very familiar to everyone, this Ye Gong is the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period in Ye Yi (Ye County ancient name) minister Shen Zhuliang, the name of "Ye Gong".
Kunyang Ancient City is located in the old town of Yexian County, with a circumference of about 3 kilometers, and the remaining city walls are only about 2 kilometers and more than two meters high. There is a moat outside the city, which is about 27 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. Although the ancient Kunyang City is not large, the city is strong, plus the protection of the moat, it is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Tu-Ye County Ancient City
There is a river in the north and south of Kunyang City, and in the south is the Gray River, known as Kunshui in ancient times, which originates from cherry mountain in Lushan County, flows through Yexian and Wuyang, and joins the Shahe River in the north of Wudu. The river north of the city is the Shahe River, which originates from Mudaleng in Funiu Mountain, Lushan County, flows through Pingdingshan, Baofeng, Yexian and other places, and joins the Yinghe River in the west of Zhoukou City, with a length of 322 kilometers. Kunyang City was sandwiched between the shahe and ash rivers, and Wang Mang's 420,000 troops plus various beasts of prey were difficult to unfold in this narrow space.
It was precisely because of this that Liu Xiu insisted on sticking to Kunyang. If Kunyang can't stand it, going to other places will only be a dead end, and you can only let go. Moreover, there was an advantage of sticking to Kunyang, that is, it could attract the firepower of Wang Mang's army and buy time for Liu Ji, who was besieging Wancheng. Once Kunyang fell, the new army would soon be able to rush into the Nanyang Basin, and the eldest brother Liu Xiu would be attacked on his stomach and back, which was another important reason why Liu Xiu insisted on defending Kunyang.
Wang Mang's new army also had capable people, and the general Yan You said to the main general Wang Yi: "Instead of trapping the heavy army under the small city of Kunyang, it is better to directly attack Wan (Nanyang, Henan), and capture the king first." "It is a pity that Wang Xun and Wang Yi did not listen to Yan You, and committed the taboo of the soldiers." When the narrow road met the brave and victorious, Liu Xiu led 12 horsemen to break through for help, rushed out of the siege, moved thousands of reinforcements from Dingling and Haocheng, and joined forces with Wang Feng and Wang Changli, who were dead in Kunyang, and attacked the new army besieging the city. Hundreds of thousands of new troops were killed by more than 10,000 Green Forest Troops, and the whole line collapsed.
If Wang Yi listened to Yan You's advice, or Liu Xiu's breakthrough failed, or if Wang Feng and others decided to surrender, Wang Xun and Wang Yi did not refuse to surrender, but if there was one, history would be a different situation. It can only be said that Liu Xiu's luck is too anti-heavenly, almost like divine help, no wonder he is called "the son of the face".
In the Battle of Kunyang, the main force of Wang Mang's new army was lost, which accelerated the demise of the new dynasty. It is precisely because of Liu Xiu's outstanding performance in the Battle of Kunyang that he won the support of many heroes Haojie, laying a solid foundation for the future creation of the foundation of the Eastern Han Dynasty for 200 years.