Lülin
The term Lülin ( Chinese 綠林 ) or Lülin Army ( 綠林 兵 ) stands for one of the two great movements that developed from peasant revolts at the beginning of the first century AD and rose against Wang Mang's Xin dynasty . The Lülin formed in the area of southern Henan and northern Hubei and united they had enough strength to overthrow the Xin dynasty and to enable the reestablishment of the western Han dynasty by Liu Xuan, known as Emperor Gengshi . Many Lülin leaders played an important role in Emperor Gengshi's government, but internal power struggles and incompetence led to the fall of rule after two years when Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor of the (eastern) Han dynasty. The name Lülin comes from the Lülin Mountains in today's Yichang , Hubei, where the rebels had their fortress for a while.
Beginnings of the revolt
In AD 17, a famine broke out in Jing Province ( 荊州 , present-day Hubei, Hunan, and southern Henan) due to the corruption and inability of the Xin officials. The provincial residents even ate weeds, and when that too ran out they attacked each other. Two men from Xinshi ( 新市 ; in today's Jingmen , Hubei) succeeded at this time in focusing the anger of the people and rising up to become their leaders: Wang Kuang ( 王匡 ) and Wang Feng ( 王鳳 ). Similar ringleaders soon joined them, including Ma Wu ( 馬 武 ), Wang Chang ( 王 常 ), and Cheng Dan ( 成 丹 ). Within a few months they had gathered 7,000 to 8,000 men under their command. Their base was in the Lülin Mountains, from where they raided and plundered the surrounding villages to ensure their food supply. During the following years they remained undisturbed by the government and grew to tens of thousands of men.
Of course, Emperor Wang Mang could not tolerate this activity, but he was powerless in the face of the general chaos in the empire. He sent envoys to the rebels and offered them mercy if they disbanded immediately. However, when the ambassadors returned to the capital, Chang'an , they gave the emperor different reports. Some said honestly and straightforwardly that the rebels saw themselves unable to survive because of the strict laws and therefore rose up. Others wanted to flatter the emperor, telling him that the rebels were simply malevolent and should be wiped out; above all, they stressed that the uprising was only a temporary problem. Emperor Wang Mang believed the flatterers and released the righteous envoys from their posts. From then on, the emperor no longer tried to peacefully come to an agreement with the insurgents and sent his forces against them. The rebels even attacked the fortified cities given their desperate situation.
In the year 21, the governor of Jing Province attacked the Lülin rebels with an army of 20,000 soldiers. The rebels emerged victorious from the Battle of Yundu ( 雲 杜 ): Thousands of government soldiers fell in battle, and their equipment and provisions were passed on to the Lülin. Ma Wu put the governor on his retreat, but then let him escape so as not to turn the emperor even more against him. The Lülin rebels invaded the surrounding cities, robbed many women and disappeared again in the mountains. At that time they were 50,000 in number.
Splitting up after a plague
In the year 22 an unknown epidemic spread among the Lülin, which killed at least 25,000 men. In this crisis the movement disintegrated. Wang Chang and Cheng Dan moved west to the Nan headquarters (about today's Jingzhou , Hubei ); their army became known as the Xiajiang Force ( 下江 兵 ). The leaders Wang Feng, Wang Kuang, Ma Wu, Zhu We ( 朱 鮪 ) and Zhang Ang ( 張 卬 ) moved north to the Nanyang headquarters (about today's Nanyang , Hubei) and became Xinshi armed forces after the home of the Wang brothers ( 新市 兵 ) called. The remaining rebels gathered around Chen Mu ( 陳 牧 ) and Liao Zhan ( 廖 湛 ), who came from Pinglin (today's Suizhou , Hubei). They came to be known as the Pinglin Force ( 平林 兵 ). At first, the rebels had only bare survival in mind and had no political goals in mind.
Association under Liu Yan
At that time, a distant relative of the Han imperial family decided to rebel against Emperor Wang Mang : Liu Yan , the son of a middle official from Chongling ( 舂 陵 ; in today's Xiangyang , Hubei). His brothers Liu Xiu and Liu Zhong supported him and won the trust of many residents of the region, so that he eventually united the Xinshi and Pinglin armies and quickly expanded his sphere of influence. Under his leadership, the Lülin plundered numerous villages and in the winter of 22 marched against Wancheng, the capital of the Nanyang headquarters. The governor Zhen Fu ( 甄 阜 ) was able to defend the city successfully and brought the Lülin a heavy defeat. Liu Zhong fell in the battle. After Liu Yan withdrew his troops, Zhen Fu pursued them to eliminate the rebels once and for all.
In this situation, the Lülin threatened to disintegrate, but coincidence came to the rescue: the Xiajiang armed forces happened to be camped nearby. Liu Yan managed to win her leader Wang Chang for his army. Combined, they fell in the back of the governor's forces under the command of Liu Yan and stole supplies and equipment. On New Year's Day 23, Liu Yan defeated the governor's force, who was killed in the battle. With this victory, the leaders of the Lülin had established themselves throughout the empire. They accepted general titles, occupied cities, and instigated propaganda against Wang Mang.
Under General Gengshi
By the time the rebels became aware of their power, the call for a new emperor was also growing among their ranks. The Xiajiang generals and the soldiers under Liu Yan's direct command were judged by Liu Yan to be a suitable candidate, but the generals of the Xinshi and Pinglin armies preferred a weaker one to control. Liu Yuan , a descendant of the imperial family, who, like Liu Yan, descended from Emperor Ping, was found in the Pinglin Army . Liu Yuan had assumed the title of General Gengshi ( 更始 將軍 ) at that time . The Xinshi and Pinglin armies decided to make Liu Yuan emperor. Liu Yan initially refused, but then gave in so as not to split the rebellion. Liu Yuan was proclaimed emperor in the spring of 23. The most important men in his government were Liu Yan, Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Zhu We, and Chen Mu.
At least now Wang Mang realized that he had to crush the rebellion once and for all. He sent his cousin Wang Yi ( 王 邑 ) and his chief minister Wang Xun ( 王 尋 ) with a force of 430,000 men against the rebels, who at that time were divided into two groups. The troops under Liu Xiu, Wang Feng and Wang Chang withdrew to the village of Kunyang ( 昆陽 ; today Pingdingshan , Henan) while Liu Yan besieged the city of Wancheng. Despite the overwhelming strength of the Xin troops, Liu Xiu achieved a significant victory in the Battle of Kunyang . Wang Xun was killed in battle, and Wang Yi withdrew to Chang'an with the few surviving soldiers. Most of his soldiers deserted and withdrew to their homeland. News of the rebel victory at Kunyang quickly spread throughout the empire and sparked revolts against the Xin rule everywhere. At the end of the year, almost all districts accepted allegiance to the new Han government under Emperor Gengshi.
After a while, Liu Yan conquered Wancheng City. Emperor Gengshi moved there and made it his capital. With this strength, the Pinglin generals dared to break with Liu Yan for the first time. They betrayed his henchman Liu Ji ( 劉 稷 ), who supported Liu Yan's claim to the throne, and Emperor Gengshi wanted to have Liu Ji executed. Liu Yan tried to intervene, but he too was sentenced to death. After the execution of the two, Emperor Gengshi received the victorious Liu Xiu, who, however, put the emperor to shame with his subservience and humility in view of the tremendous victory at Kunyang. The emperor therefore spared Liu Xiu and appointed him Marquis of Wuxin.
The train to Chang'an
After entering Wancheng, Emperor Gengshi felt strong enough to defeat Wang Mang once and for all. So he sent two armies, one led by Wang Kuang to Luoyang, one led by Shentu Jian ( 申屠 建 ) and Li Song ( 李松 ) to Chang'an. The people on the marching route welcomed the armies and joined them. As soon as Shentu Jian and Li Song reached the walls of Chang'an, the capital's young men rose up against Wang Mang and killed him in front of his palace.
After Wang Mang's death, Emperor Gengshi established his new capital in Luoyang. To stabilize the empire as quickly as possible, he issued edicts that allowed obedient Xin officials to keep their posts. He also invited General Fan Chong ( 樊崇 ), the leader of the " Red Eyebrows ", to the capital and promised him titles and gifts of honor. However, the emperor's policy could not prevent the country's military rulers from going their own way.
In the year 24, Emperor Gengshi moved the capital back to Chang'an and tried to bring about peace between the citizens and his officials, the former Lülin officers. Chang'an was still intact at the time, apart from the Weiyang Palace that burned down. Over time, it turned out that Emperor Gengshi was not a good leader in peacetime. Over time, the people lost their trust in him.
Emperor Gengshi's fall
Eventually more and more parts of the empire fell away from the emperor as the local warlords increased their power. Liu Xiu had moved to the Yellow River on behalf of the emperor to ensure peace there, but had long since made his own business. The "red eyebrows" were already preparing to attack Chang'an.
In the summer of 25, Liu Xiu made the formal break with Emperor Gengshi. He made himself emperor of an Eastern Han dynasty with capital in Luoyang and defeated Emperor Gengshi's generals, who challenged him for control of the regions around Henei and Luoyang. Liu Xius General Deng Yu ( 鄧禹 ) conquered today's Shanxi.
In this situation, some of Emperor Gengshi's followers decided to kidnap their master and take him to Nanyang. They were Zhang Ang, Liao Zhan, Hu Yin ( 胡 殷 ), Shentu Jian and the warlord Wei Ao ( 隗 囂 ). Emperor Gengshi discovered them and had most of them executed (Wei Xiao escaped), but Zhang Ang conquered the capital Chang'an and forced Emperor Gengshi to flee when the "Red Eyebrow" rebels were approaching. Emperor Gengshi now saw his enemies everywhere and also believed his loyal followers Wang Kuang, Chen Mu and Cheng Dan to be conspirators. He had Chen Mu and Cheng Dan executed, and Wang Kuang then joined Zhang Ang.
Finally, the last loyal generals of the Emperor Gengshi succeeded in retaking the capital and driving Zhang Ang out. However, this joined the "Red Eyebrows" and helped them to take the city by storm. Emperor Gengshi was only accompanied by a handful of loyal followers on his escape. In the winter of 25 he surrendered to the "red eyebrows" and was executed by them. Most of the Lülin leaders went into hiding after his death; only a few joined Liu Xiu (now Emperor Guangwu ) and served as officials in his government. However, they did not receive any influential posts.