The great man will live forever

Chapter 222 The world is in chaos
As time goes by, after the fourth year of Tianfeng (AD 17), the laws of the new dynasty were trivial and harsh, and they were often changed. They were all based on their own whims, and people violated the forbidden network at every turn, and farmers had no time to farm. The fields were planted with mulberry trees and the corvee labor was heavy.

In addition, droughts and locust plagues occurred one after another, and lawsuits and prisoners in prisons could not be settled for a long time. Officials used brutal means to establish their authority and used Wang Mang's ban to seize private property...

For a time, the rich could not protect their property, and it became even more difficult for the poor to survive.

As a result, many people with no power, whether rich or poor, became bandits. They relied on the dangers of mountains and swamps to make it impossible for officials to arrest them.

These officials were unable to catch them, so they had to deceive their superiors, saying that the counties they governed were peaceful, the weather was smooth, the country was peaceful and the people were safe, so that the number of thieves gradually increased.

As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there will be resistance.

In this year, a hero from Linhuai County raised a group of troops to rebel and confronted Wang Mang's army in Changzhou, Kuaiji County (today's east of Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province). He launched Wang Mang's first shot in the civil uprising, which shocked Jiangnan for a while. .

This insurgent has a very strange surname called "Gua Tian", and his full name is Gua Tianyi.

Regarding this person's background, there are no historical records. We only know that he was from Xuyi, Linhuai County. From this surname, we can imagine that his family was not high-ranking. At most, he was a small landowner from a poor family in the countryside.

And his resistance was completely forced, five words, he couldn't live anymore.

The imperial court often issued some inexplicable decrees, but did not care at all how the local states and counties implemented them. The grassroots officials controlled by wealthy families unscrupulously passed on all kinds of tax burdens and corvee to the common people, while they themselves were greedy and quick to make money.

In Jingzhou and Yangzhou, where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, the imperial decrees have been distorted to the point of absurdity. It is so absurd that you can't even think about it. It often forces the people to go bankrupt and sell their children and daughters...

It's black, it's so damn black, it's so black that you can't see it. As long as the people have a way to survive, they won't rebel. That means beheading, or else the nine tribes will be wiped out.

Gua Tianyi was bankrupted due to harsh governance, which forced him to live in exile as the chief inspector. Although he left his hometown, he quickly established a high prestige among the refugees and local villagers with his talents and conduct.

After being praised by everyone, Gua Tianyi stepped forward when the local people spontaneously resisted the imperial court's excessive taxation, leading them to defeat the suppression of the county soldiers, and finally occupied the county seat in one fell swoop.

After that, villagers from all over the country responded, making the rebel army snowball and grow bigger and bigger. Soon it had a size of tens of thousands. It began to crisscross the lakes, swamps, mountains and forests in the south of the Yangtze River, often attacking local officials, and many government and military organizations The first crackdown also failed.

In the same year, Lu Mu, a woman from Langya Haiqu (now Rizhao, Shandong), avenged her son who was unjustly killed by the county magistrate. She led a crowd to attack the county seat and executed the county magistrate. She called herself a general and haunted the sea. Her power rapidly developed to the point where Thousands of people, she was also the first female leader of a peasant uprising in Chinese history.

This is the embodiment of great maternal love and the only thing she can do for her son.

It turned out that Lu's mother's only son was called Lu Yu. Her husband died of illness in his early years. Lu Yu was a loyal and studious person, and he and his mother depended on each other. Together they managed the family business left by his father, and their lives were considered harmonious and beautiful. .

Later, Lu Yu, who was talented, virtuous, kind and humble, had a gentle personality and was a humble gentleman, was appointed as a tour guide in the county and took charge of patrols and arrests.

Three years ago, in the first year of Tianfeng (AD 14), Lu Yu was convicted and executed for failing to follow the instructions of the county governor Yin Xiaobo to punish those people who could not pay taxes.

How could he bear to watch the homeless people who had nothing and then punish them?

When the world is dark, white becomes a sin. When turbidity becomes the norm, clarity must also be polluted. His kindness and soft-heartedness become the sword of the county governor Yin Xiaobo, stabbing him and eventually killing him.

Lu's mother was naturally extremely sad and angry after losing her son. He was her only child. How many people could accept the hope for the rest of their lives and the pain of losing a son in old age?
When she heard the news, she almost fainted. With the help of her maid, she tremblingly went to the Yamen to claim her son's body.

Her home was not far from the Yamen, only two kilometers away, but it was the most difficult road she had ever walked. She didn't dare to walk too fast for fear of seeing her son's body, and she didn't dare to walk too slowly. She wanted to go there in person. It was verified that this was a lie, at least that's what he expected in his heart.

The moment she saw her son's body, her heart was broken. She didn't cry loudly. She was so sad that she could no longer make a sound. She just froze, like a dead person.

Half a day later, she quietly collected her son's body and buried it...

From that moment on, an Avenger was born.

She knew her abilities were limited, so she secretly contacted the warrior and planned to avenge her son.

In order to achieve this goal, she did not hesitate to bankrupt her family and spend millions of her property to open hotels, buy swords, and help poor people...

Some young people came to buy wine and had no money, so Lu's mother often gave them credit. If they had difficulties, Lu's mother would lend them clothes and food. She always hid her purpose and was tolerant.

The poor farmers who received his kindness also knew how to repay the kindness. Every time they slaughtered dogs for justice, their hearts grew fleshy, so they came to Lu's mother in groups and asked her if they needed help.

Mother Lu said: "Since you have time, dig the small ditch at the foot of Kuishan Mountain! Remember, the excavated soil must be piled together!"

Those people listened to Lu Mu's words, carried shovels, carried baskets of soil, and dug and widened the river channel.They piled the mud dug from the river together and built a large earth platform, which was called Guzi.

Mother Lu came to see it and was very satisfied. This was just a small step for her. She was still waiting.

However, within two years, her family fortune was exhausted and her family became impoverished. Those who had benefited gathered together during the Mid-Autumn Festival to discuss and collect money and clothing to repay Lu's mother.

Lu's mother refused, and she began to cry slowly at this time. The crying made everyone sad and those who heard it shed tears. She cried out her injustice and complained about the darkness of the county government. For a while, everyone was crying, not just She is the only one.

She finally said tremblingly: "I rescued you many times, not for the sake of profit and wealth. I just killed my son because the county magistrate was unfair and in vain. I want revenge! All heroes, can you help me?"

This time, the peasants who were already angered by Wang Mang's brutal rule were even more angry. They all felt the same and agreed with one voice to fight the government to avenge her son.

After some careful planning, Lu's mother quickly raised an uprising team of several hundred people. The insurgents were on both sides of the Gu River and above the sea, attacking the officers and soldiers mysteriously and resisting donations and taxes.

When they couldn't win, they took refuge on the island and recruited troops from all over to expand their strength.At that time, successive years of floods, droughts, and locust plagues, coupled with heavy taxes and taxes, caused a large number of farmers to go bankrupt, and some exiled farmers came to join the rebel army.

Soon, the number of rebels grew to thousands.

After three years of preparation, she learned that Gua Tianyi had launched an uprising, which was so powerful that Jiangnan was shaken. She felt that the opportunity had come.

In the fourth year of Tianfeng (AD 17), Lu's mother climbed up to the earth platform at the west foot of Kuishan Mountain to worship heaven. This was the Guzi that the people had built with earth. She called herself a general and began to order troops and dispatch generals. She even led three thousand warriors. , and rushed to Haiqu City with great force.

"Brother, my mother is out for revenge!" She was so decisive, so brave, and indomitable.

"Kill it."

"Come on."

"Resist."

"Run."

"Help!"

After a fierce battle, the rebel army captured Haiqu City in one fell swoop. The officers and soldiers fled in all directions, and they captured the county governor Yin Xiaobo alive.

Some officials in the county knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Lu's mother, "Please, general, spare the county magistrate."

"Yes, once Mr. Yin is killed, it will be a serious matter. He is a court official."

"Please forgive me, general." Yin Xiaobo broke into a cold sweat and knelt down to beg for mercy, hoping to survive.

Lu's mother looked at Yin Xiaobo who was tied to the ground, and rebuked him righteously: "My son committed a small crime and should not have been executed, but he was killed by you. The murderer should pay with his life, and you have been the county magistrate for these years." Zai, how many people were forced to death by extortionate levies? The people are eager to eat your flesh and drink your blood. You deserve it."

Immediately, she shouted: "Here comes someone, drag him out and behead him in public."

Therefore, the county governor Yin Xiaobo, who had been domineering for many years, was asked to be executed in public, and Lu's mother took his head to pay homage to Lu Yu's grave.

At this time, Lu's mother became famous, and for a while, Jiangnan was shaken again. After the news reached Langya County, the prefect of Langya County quickly sent troops to Haiqu County to suppress the rebels.

When the soldiers were pressing down on the border, Lu Mu calmly commanded the rebel army. Some of them took boats to evacuate southward along the Guhe River, and some evacuated on foot along both sides of the Guhe River.

Then, they retreated to the island to live together.They were not wiped out, which gave many people hope. The poor farmers nearby could not bear the exploitation and came to seek refuge with Lu Mu.

Within a year, her rebel army grew to more than 1 people. They cultivated wasteland on the island, fished in the sea, lived frugally and lived a hard life.

This team was erratic on land and sea. Whenever the opportunity was favorable, they would go ashore to attack the officers and soldiers, dealing a heavy blow to the corrupt rule of the imperial court.

The heroic struggle of Lu Mu's uprising caused great uneasiness in the court.Wang Mang saw that sending troops to suppress the rebellion failed, so he sent envoys to persuade the rebels to surrender in an attempt to disintegrate the peasant rebel army, but to no avail.

In the same year, a famine broke out in the south. The hungry people rushed to the wild swamps to dig for swamps to eat. However, there were not many swamps in the wilds. There were only so many places and they could not handle the large number of people. So they often had disputes, such as fighting with each other. "Territory", fighting and the like.

At this time, two people from Xinshi in Jiangxia County, Jingzhou, one named Wang Kuang and the other Wang Feng, stood up to provide justice for everyone and solved some disputes very well. Therefore, they had great prestige among the people. All believe them.

As for the specific origins of these two people, there is no record. They are probably ordinary farmers.

According to farmers' habits, they all like to have a leader, so Wang Kuang and Wang Feng naturally became the leaders of everyone, with hundreds of people under their command.

Probably because of their great reputation, Ma Wu, Wang Chang, Cheng Dan and others who were on the run came to seek refuge with them. With their reputation, people would naturally seek refuge with them. This has been the case since ancient times, and this has been the case in subsequent uprisings.

Ma Wu was a native of Nanyang County. He once lived in Jiangxia County to avoid his enemies, and later joined an anti-Mang rebellion in the county.

Wang Chang was from Yingchuan County. His younger brother was killed. After Wang Chang avenged his brother, he fled to Jiangxia County.

Cheng Dan is also a desperado. These three people took refuge with Wang Kuang and Wang Fenghou and played an important role in the decision-making. After all, these three people are not ordinary farmers. They have rebelled. The two kings must treat them differently. .

Originally, Wang Kuang and Wang Feng were promoted as leaders. They could not be called an uprising. They were considered bandits at most. They were just blind followers of the farmers who hoped to have a "big brother who takes the lead."

But after Ma Wu and others joined, these hundreds of farmers began to embark on the road of rebellion under the leadership of the two kings. After they attacked Lixiangju, they ran to hide in a mountain. This mountain became the famous Green Forest Mountain. , is part of Dahong Mountain in Beijingshan City, Hubei Province today, and the "Green Forest Hero" praised by later generations originated from here.

In the second year, which was the fifth year of Tianfeng (AD 18), Li Zidu of Dongjun (where the government was located in the north of Tancheng, Shandong today) led an uprising because of hunger. He was active in the Xu and Yan areas and developed tens of thousands of people.

In the same year, Fan Chong of Langye County (now southeast of Zhucheng, Shandong) gathered hundreds of people to rebel in Juxian (now Juxian, Shandong). Juxian failed to capture it and ran to a mountain.

The life experience of this Fan Chong is unknown, but he was extremely brave. It is said that he had the courage that ten thousand people would not be worthy of. At that time, there was also a famine in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, so many people joined him, and within a year, more than ten thousand people joined him.

Pang'an of Langye County and Xu Xuan, Xie Lu and Yang Yin of Dong County also raised troops to respond. They joined forces with Fan Chong to attack Ju County where Fan Chong raised his army. When they failed to capture it, they went to neighboring counties to plunder. They even captured the territory of Qingzhou, and then returned to the army to station in Nancheng of Dongjun (now north of Zaozhuang, Shandong).

Good guy, the whole world was in rebellion for a while, but at this time the rebel army had tens of thousands of people, but there was no military organization, let alone military law and discipline.

Fan Chong's leadership team also made a decree following the three chapters of the agreement made by Liu Bang when he first entered Xianyang: Those who kill will die, and those who injure others will be compensated for their injuries.

As the "big brother who takes the lead", Fan Chong calls himself the Three Elders. The use of this title by the rebels shows that they are simple and have little ambition at all.

They just want to live, three simple words, live. Sometimes for some people, they have exhausted all their strength. They have to work hard to have a chance to live, and it is only a chance. How sad. How ironic!
On the other side, Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Ma Wu, Wang Chang and others grew stronger and stronger and became big bandits. Jingzhou Mu personally led [-] officers and soldiers to "suppress the bandits", but was defeated. When Jingzhou Mu escaped, he still He was overtaken by Ma Wu. After Ma Wu killed his followers, he did not dare to touch Jingzhou Mu and had no choice but to let him go.

This time, the Green Forest Army killed thousands of enemies and obtained a large amount of baggage. They took advantage of the victory to capture Jingling (now northwest of Qianjiang, Hubei), and then attacked Yundu (now Beijing Mountain, Hubei), Anlu (now northwest of Anlu, Hubei) and other places. , returned to Green Forest Mountain with the women's treasures they grabbed.

Subsequently, the number of the Green Forest Army reached more than 5. After this battle, "the states and counties could not control it."

Although the external threat has been eliminated, there are problems within the rebel army.

More than 5 people live in the mountains. Due to lack of hygiene, a sudden "major epidemic" directly reduced the number of people by nearly half. After discussion with the leadership team, they definitely couldn't stay in the mountains anymore, so they had to go down the mountain to find a way out. .

After some discussion, they finally decided to divide the rebel army into two:
The first part, led by Wang Chang, Cheng Dan and Zhang Xun, moved westward into Nanjun and developed, called Xiajiang soldiers (the section of the Yangtze River in western Hubei is called Xiajiang);

In the second part, Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Ma Wu and Zhu Kun led another group north to Nanyang County, called Xinshi soldiers (Wang Kuang and Wang Feng were both from Xinshi).

When the Xinshi soldiers went north to attack Suixian, Chen Mu and Liao Zhan from Pinglin (in the northeast of Suixian) also gathered thousands of troops to respond. They were called Pinglin soldiers and joined the Xinshi soldiers.

There was a very famous man named Liu Xuan. It was at this time that he joined the Pinglin Army and joined the Green Forest Army. He was assigned the position of Anjipu and was responsible for the assembly of the army.

Liu Xuan, also known as Shenggong, was a native of Caiyang County, Nanyang County (now Zaoyang City, Hubei Province), a descendant of the Han Dynasty clan, and a descendant of Changsha Ding Wang Liu Fa, the son of Han Jing Emperor Liu Qi. In this way, he is Liu Xiu's clan brother .

After Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, the Liu family's royal status plummeted and they were often oppressed by county officials.Rong Yangping, the director of Cai Yangguo's cauldron pavilion, got drunk and scolded Liu Xuan's father Liu Zizhang. Liu Zizhang killed the pavilion director in anger.

More than ten years later, the pavilion chief's son killed Liu Xuan's younger brother Liu Qian, saying he was avenging his father.

From then on, Liu Xuan began to make friends with guests, intending to avenge his brother. Later, because the guests broke the law, Liu Xuan avoided arrest by the officials and fled from Chongling to Pinglin (now northeast of Suixian County, Hubei Province).

The government captured Liu Xuan's father, Liu Zizhang, and Liu Xuan faked his death and sent someone to return the coffin to Chung Ling. The government released Liu Zizhang, and Liu Xuan fled. Seeing the opportunity, he joined the uprising. Army.

Although the Pinglin soldiers led by Chen Mu and others have nothing to do with Green Forest Mountain, because they fought together with the Green Forest Army, when it comes to the Green Forest Army, there are three branches: Xiajiang soldiers, Xinshi soldiers and Pinglin soldiers.

They were growing stronger. On the other hand, the uprising army led by Fan Chong in the Xuzhou area also developed rapidly. Its scope of activities expanded from the original vicinity of Mount Tai to the Qing and Xu areas. It continued to achieve results. First, it killed Wang Mang's grand master who came to "suppress bandits". The sacrifice of Zhong Jingshang made Wang Mang furious.

Wang Mang was determined to quell this "rebel" active in the Qing and Xu areas. This time he sent the newly appointed Taishi Wang Kuang and Gengshi General Lian Dan to lead an army of [-] people out of Chang'an eastward to Qidi (i.e. Qingxu area) Go ahead.

This Wang Kuang has the same name as Wang Kuang of the Green Forest Army. There are many people with the same name in the Western Han Dynasty. For example, there are many people with the name Liu Xiu across the country.

Taishi Wang Kuang was the son of Xinmang Taishi Wang Shun and the nephew of the new emperor Wang Mang. In the first year of residence (the 6th year), Wang Kuang was named Tongxinhou, and later the general of Zhaoyu, and he was awarded the title of Baoxinhou. .

In the third year after the founding of the People's Republic of China (11 years), his father died and Wang Kuang succeeded him as Grand Master General.

Seeing the enemy coming, Fan Chong painted everyone's eyebrows red in order to avoid confusion between the rebel army and Wang Mang's officers and soldiers, and the title of the Red Eyebrow Army was born.

Gua Tianyi and Lu Mu, who were the first to revolt, both died of illness.

In the autumn of the second year of Emperor Dihuang's reign (21 AD), Wang Mang sent people to tell people that Guatian Yi had come out and surrendered, but Guatian Yi died before he came out.

Wang Mang expressed great regret. He found Gua Tianyi's body and buried it with grand ceremony.He erected a tall stone monument in front of Gua Tianyi's tomb, built an ancestral hall, and gave Gua Tianyi a noble posthumous title - Guan Ning Shangnan.

This posthumous title is like a rainbow, spanning the gap between the new dynasty and the rebels, trying to use kindness and respect to influence those who still persist in resisting.

However, no matter how hard Wang Mang tried, none of those who had followed Guatian Yi were willing to surrender.

As for the other person, Lu's mother died earlier, probably because she wanted to avenge her son. Her anger was gone and she had no ambition. In the fifth year of Tianfeng's reign (AD 18), Lu's mother died of illness, just one year after avenging her son.

People must have a goal in life, and it must be big. Otherwise, if there is no goal, life will feel meaningless.

After Lu Mu's death, her troops returned to land, and most of them joined the Red Eyebrow Army led by Fan Chong.The rest defected to the Qingdu, Bronze Horse and other peasant rebel armies.

Therefore, the largest in the north is the Red Eyebrow Army. In addition to the Red Eyebrow Army, there are dozens of rebel armies, large and small, such as Tongma, Qingdu, Datong, Youlai, Daqiang, Tanxiang, Fuping, Chengtou Zilu etc.

They are all named after mountains, rivers, lands or leaders. Among them, Bronze Horse is the strongest in Hebei, and Qingdu and Chengtou Zilu each have more than 10 people.

The largest in the south is naturally the Green Forest Army.

For a time, the world fell into chaos and warlords were everywhere.At this time, it was already the third year of Emperor Di Huang (AD 22). Wang Mang's new dynasty was on the verge of collapse and the situation was precarious.People can already foresee the end of the new dynasty, and Wang Mang's rule may no longer be sustainable.

This year, Liu Xiucai was 28 years old, and he was still waiting for his stage to arrive.He is a spectator of the new dynasty, quietly observing the changes in the world, but his heart is full of expectations and enthusiasm for the future.

He is waiting, waiting for the opportunity that belongs to him, the opportunity that can change his destiny. He knows that it is not far away.

(End of this chapter)