Battle of Kunyang
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Kunyang was fought between June–July in 23AD, between the resurgent Han
and Xin
forces. The Han forces (Lülin
) were led by Liu Xiu, while the far more numerous Xin were led by Wang Yi
and Wang Xun (王尋). Wang Xun was killed during a foolish attack on Liu's force with a small contingent of his force, and the Han forces disrupted the remainder of the Xin army, forcing Wang Yi
to retreat. This was the decisive battle that led to the fall of the Xin Dynasty
.
to be the emperor of the new Han Dynasty.
Xin Emperor Wang Mang
decided that he must crush the newly constituted Han regime before it gained momentum, and sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun, with what he considered to be an overwhelming force of several hundred thousand men, to attack the Han forces. The Han forces were split in two — one led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu; while the other, the majority of which was led by Liu Yan. Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu soon took the castles of Kunyang (昆陽), Dingling (定陵), and Yanxian (郾縣). Liu Xiu's forces had started attacking Yangguan
(陽關), but after hearing of the arrival of the main Xin forces, he decided to retreat to Kunyang. The 9,000 rebels in Kunyang, vastly outnumbered by the Xin force, initially wanted to scatter and retreat to Jingzhou
, but Liu Xiu opposed it. He advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, since a scattered army would be easy prey. Liu Xiu promised to gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the rebels eventually agreed.
The Xin commander, Wang Yi, confident of his overwhelming numbers, stated that his army would "annihilate all in his path, massacre the town, and dance in its blood", and laid siege to the town. Faced with siege tower
s and tunnels dug under its castle walls, Kunyang's defenses held on until Liu Xiu returned with 10,000 footmen and cavalry on July 7. By then, the Xin forces' morale was dropping while the Han forces' morale was booming with Liu's return. Liu Xiu took this chance to lead 1,000 men to engage the Xin forces, while another brigade of 3,000 marched around to the rear of the Xin army and attacked the Xin's main camp. Wang Yi, still underestimating the Han forces, led 10,000 men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy, while ordering the rest of his troops to stand their ground unless he ordered them to attack. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. Adding to the misery of the Xin forces was a sudden rainstorm which caused a flash flood
, drowning many of the fleeing men.
Eventually, Liu Xiu brought China back into Han rule.
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and Xin
Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty....
forces. The Han forces (Lülin
Lülin
Lülin or Lülin Force refers, as an umbrella term, to one of the two major agrarian rebellion movements against Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty in the modern southern Henan and northern Hubei region who banded together to pool their strengths, and whose collective strength eventually led to the downfall...
) were led by Liu Xiu, while the far more numerous Xin were led by Wang Yi
Wang Yi
Wang Yi is a politician of the People's Republic of China. As professional diplomat, he formerly served as vice Foreign Minister and Chinese ambassador to Japan. He is the current director of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of PRC....
and Wang Xun (王尋). Wang Xun was killed during a foolish attack on Liu's force with a small contingent of his force, and the Han forces disrupted the remainder of the Xin army, forcing Wang Yi
Wang Yi
Wang Yi is a politician of the People's Republic of China. As professional diplomat, he formerly served as vice Foreign Minister and Chinese ambassador to Japan. He is the current director of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of PRC....
to retreat. This was the decisive battle that led to the fall of the Xin Dynasty
Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty....
.
Background
By the end of the Xin Dynasty, peasants all over the country rebelled against Wang Mang for the years of his incompetent rule. Calls for the reestablishment of the Han Dynasty, which Wang Mang overthrew, were on the rise. Heeding these voices, the leaders of the rebellions supported Liu XuanEmperor Gengshi of Han
Emperor Gengshi of Han, ch. 漢更始帝, py. gèng shĭ dì, wg. Keng-Shih-ti, , also known as the Prince of Huaiyang , courtesy name Shenggong , was an emperor of the restored Chinese Han Dynasty following the fall of Wang Mang's Xin...
to be the emperor of the new Han Dynasty.
Xin Emperor Wang Mang
Wang Mang
Wang Mang , courtesy name Jujun , was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin Dynasty , ruling AD 9–23. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow and his rule marks the separation between the Western Han Dynasty and Eastern Han Dynasty...
decided that he must crush the newly constituted Han regime before it gained momentum, and sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun, with what he considered to be an overwhelming force of several hundred thousand men, to attack the Han forces. The Han forces were split in two — one led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu; while the other, the majority of which was led by Liu Yan. Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu soon took the castles of Kunyang (昆陽), Dingling (定陵), and Yanxian (郾縣). Liu Xiu's forces had started attacking Yangguan
Yangguan
Yangguan, or Yangguan Pass , is a mountain pass that was fortified by Emperor Wu during the Western Han Dynasty and used as an outpost in ancient China. It is located approximately 43 to southwest of Dunhuang, in the Gansu province of Northwest China, which was in ancient times China's westernmost...
(陽關), but after hearing of the arrival of the main Xin forces, he decided to retreat to Kunyang. The 9,000 rebels in Kunyang, vastly outnumbered by the Xin force, initially wanted to scatter and retreat to Jingzhou
Jingzhou
Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.Its population is 5,691,707 at the 2010 census whom 1,154,086 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.-Geography:Jingzhou occupies an area of...
, but Liu Xiu opposed it. He advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, since a scattered army would be easy prey. Liu Xiu promised to gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the rebels eventually agreed.
The battle
With the Xin forces approaching Kunyang from the north, Liu Xiu led 13 horsemen out of Kunyang at night to rally for reinforcements from Dingling and Yanxian.The Xin commander, Wang Yi, confident of his overwhelming numbers, stated that his army would "annihilate all in his path, massacre the town, and dance in its blood", and laid siege to the town. Faced with siege tower
Siege tower
A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on...
s and tunnels dug under its castle walls, Kunyang's defenses held on until Liu Xiu returned with 10,000 footmen and cavalry on July 7. By then, the Xin forces' morale was dropping while the Han forces' morale was booming with Liu's return. Liu Xiu took this chance to lead 1,000 men to engage the Xin forces, while another brigade of 3,000 marched around to the rear of the Xin army and attacked the Xin's main camp. Wang Yi, still underestimating the Han forces, led 10,000 men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy, while ordering the rest of his troops to stand their ground unless he ordered them to attack. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. Adding to the misery of the Xin forces was a sudden rainstorm which caused a flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
, drowning many of the fleeing men.
Aftermath
Unable to gather most of his men, Wang Yi had to withdraw with the remaining several thousand men back to Luoyang. Once the news about the battle of Kunyang spread throughout the empire, the people rose everywhere else simultaneously, often killing the local government officials and claiming to be officials under the new Han regime. Within a month, almost the entire empire slipped out of Xin control.Eventually, Liu Xiu brought China back into Han rule.