Where is Kunyang in ancient times now?

The famous Kunyang Battle took place in today's Ye County, Henan Province.

The Battle of Kunyang broke out in the first year of Gengshi (23rd year). It was a strategic decisive battle for the Green Forest Rebel Army to overthrow Wang Mang's regime. It was also a typical battle example in the history of our country where a small number defeated a large number. It has certain progressive significance in history. It determined the fate of the armies of the New and Han Dynasties and the fate of the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years. It was a strategic decisive battle with far-reaching influence in Chinese history.

In the Battle of Kunyang at the end of the New Dynasty, Liu Xiu, a partial general, became famous all over the world. It was not only the key battle for Liu Xiu to defeat Wang Mang, but also laid the foundation for Liu Xiu to conquer the world in the future. Based on this, Gu Yanwu, a famous thinker in the Ming Dynasty, once praised Liu Xiu in the Battle of Kunyang: "Destroying the enemy in one battle, He Yuping was instantly defeated."

The Battle of Kunyang was the last year of the "Xin Mang" (the new regime established by Wang Mang) (8 AD to 23 AD). Liu Xuan's Han army, mainly composed of the Green Forest Peasant Rebel Army, fought in Kunyang ( The main force of Wang Mang's army was defeated in a counterattack in today's Ye County, Henan Province, central China. The Battle of Kunyang broke out in the first year of Gengshi (23rd year). It was a strategic decisive battle for the Green Forest Rebel Army to overthrow Wang Mang's regime. It was also a typical example in Chinese history of defeating more with less. In this decisive battle, the peasant uprising army led by Liu Xiu and others, with their fearless bravery and flexible tactics, wiped out the main force of Wang Mang's army in one fell swoop. This was the foundation that the New Mang Dynasty relied on to resist the peasant uprising army and continue its reactionary rule. The basic armed forces collapsed. The complete demise of Wang Mang's regime, which is hated by all the people, is just around the corner. The Xin Mang army, with a strength of 420,000, was defeated by the Han army of more than 10,000 people, and the Mang army was almost completely wiped out. The lessons learned here are very thought-provoking.

Background of the War

Wang Mang became increasingly anxious as he faced attacks from two major uprising groups, the Red Eyebrow Army in the north and the Green Forest Army in the south. The Red Eyebrow Army in the north and the Green Forest Army in the south were both uprising forces at that time. The two most powerful armies. At first, Wang Mang believed that the Red Eyebrow Army was more powerful and that the rebels were almost all over the northern states and counties. He felt that the situation was more serious, so the New Mang Dynasty focused its offensive on encircling and suppressing the Red Eyebrow Army in the north, sending out Taishi Wang Kuang and Guo Guo. More than 100,000 elite soldiers under the command of Aizhang were used to fight against the Red Eyebrow Army. The county troops and temporarily recruited troops assembled by Nayan General Yan You and Zhizong General Chen Mao dealt with the Green Forest Rebel Army in the south. Yan You and Chen Mao led these armies to fight, but Wang Mang did not easily grant them military symbols. Every march and battle must be reported first, otherwise they would be charged with "conducting troops."

? When the Green Forest Army annihilated the Zhenfu and Liangqiu Ci armies, defeated Yan You and Chen Mao at the gate of Nanyang City, and then Liu Xuan proclaimed himself emperor and publicly proposed to restore the Han Dynasty and establish the Gengshi regime, Wang Mang realized The Green Forest Rebel Army in the south put greater pressure on the Xinmang regime, so they decided to shift the strategic focus. On the one hand, they transferred the main force attacking Chimei to the south to fight; on the other hand, they urgently mobilized troops from various counties to prepare for the complete elimination of the Green Forest Han Army. In order to form a powerful force to fight against the Han army, Wang Mang specially appointed Grand Sikong Wangyi and Situ Wangxun as commanders. He recruited people who were proficient in the 63 military arts at the time to serve as officers similar to staff officers in the army, and appointed senior officials Ju Guang. Ba was a fortress captain, responsible for building forts and keeping tigers, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants and other ferocious beasts in the army so that they could be released during battle to shock the enemy. Each state and county selected their own elite troops, led by the county and Mu Shou personally, and gathered them near Luoyang within a time limit. The number of troops sent to Luoyang from various places reached more than 420,000, known as a million-strong army. After these troops were concentrated, they began to march towards Yingchuan. In Yingchuan, they reunited with the troops of Yan You and Chen Mao, and then attacked towards Kunyang. The army meanders thousands of miles, and there is an endless flow of food, grass and baggage.

In January of AD 22 (the third year of the Emperor of the Earth), the Green Forest Rebel Army annihilated the Zhenfu and Liangqiu Ci armies, and then defeated the famous new army generals Yan You and Chen Mao under Nanyang City. Yan You and Chen Mao immediately led their troops to retreat to Yingchuan. In March of the same year, Han general Wang Feng and Taichang partial general Liu Xiu and others attacked Kunyang, Dingling, Yancheng and other places, and the progress was smooth. The troops commanded by Wang Chang were also successful in their activities in Runan and other areas. The Han army saw a large group of new troops heading towards the Kunyang area, so Wang Feng and Wang Chang led nearly 10,000 troops to occupy Kunyang City. At this time, the army under the command of Liu Yan was besieging the Xinxin Army in Wancheng. The victory or defeat was not yet determined. However, Wancheng had few soldiers and was exhausted. There was no fighting spirit inside and no reinforcements from outside. The situation was extremely unfavorable for the Xinxin Army.

?Although the commander-in-chief of the Han army was Wang Feng, in the Battle of Kunyang later, because Wang Feng and others faced the overwhelming advantage of the Xinmang army, they lacked the determination to fight. Liu Xiucheng An important decision-maker in the Kunyang Battle.

At that time, there were only eight or nine thousand Green Forest Army troops stationed in Kunyang. As soon as they heard that Wang Mang's million-strong army was heading towards Kunyang, they were all frightened and wanted to abandon Kunyang and escape. Liu Xiu advised everyone: "Now our army and food are very small, and the enemy is very powerful. If we retreat and the enemy pursues us, we will all die without a burial place. If we work together and defend Kunyang, etc. As soon as our reinforcements arrive, we will attack from both sides and defeat the enemy. "

The generals of the Green Forest Army felt justified. So after discussion, everyone decided that Wang Feng and Wang Chang would stay in Kunyang, while Liu Xiu led people to rush out of the city and go to various places to mobilize reinforcements.

? Late at night on the day of the breakout and rescue, Liu Xiu led 12 warriors including Zong Yi and Li Yi to quietly leave the south gate of Kunyang and broke into the enemy's camp with lightning speed. Wang Mang's army was caught off guard, and Liu Xiu and others successfully broke into the camp. After they arrived at Dingling and Yancheng, they transferred all the Green Forest Army troops to the Kunyang front line.

Although Kunyang City is small, it is still relatively strong. Wang Mang's army thought of many ways to attack the city, but they were still unable to break it. It was delayed for several days. As a result, all the reinforcements from the Green Forest Army arrived. outside the city.

?Xiu led more than 1,000 people to serve as the vanguard. They set up a formation four or five miles away from the enemy, preparing to attack the enemy's camp. When Wang Mang's army saw that the opponent's number was very small, he didn't take it seriously and casually sent thousands of people to fight against them. Liu Xiu took advantage of the enemy's unsteady footing and rushed into the enemy's formation. He went straight to Wang Xun and Wang Yi's Chinese army tent to cover them up. Before Wang Xun could figure out what was going on, his head had been separated from his body. The large force of the Green Forest Army arrived later and rushed straight into the enemy's camp. When Wang Feng and Wang Chang in Kunyang City saw reinforcements arriving at the top of the city, they ordered the city gates to be opened wide and rushed out to attack the enemy. At this moment, God also came to help. The sky suddenly darkened, the wind howled, the lightning thundered, and the rain poured down. The giant beast troops had seen such an earth-shattering scene. They no longer listened to the command and ran wildly in all directions. Wang Mang's army was thrown into chaos. By the time Wang Yi fled back to Luoyang, only a few thousand of the 1 million-strong army at the time of departure were left!

The Battle of Kunyang is a famous example in ancient Chinese military history in which a small number defeated a large number. This battle wiped out Wang Mang's main force. Shortly thereafter, Wang Mang's new dynasty collapsed after 15 years.