Lülin: Encyclopedia II - Lülin - Reunion and the start of political ambition

Lülin - Reunion and the start of political ambition

They were, however, soon spurred on by someone who was. Liu Yan (劉縯), a descendant of a distant branch of the Han imperial clan, who lived in his ancestral territory of Chongling (舂陵, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), had long been disgusted by Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han throne, and had long aspired to start a rebellion. He had a brother, Emperor Guangwu of Han (劉秀) who, by contrast, was a careful and deliberate man, who was content to be a farmer. Around this time, there were prophecies being spread about that the Lius would return to power, and many men gathered about Liu Yan, requesting that he lead them. He agreed to do so. He then joined forces with the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces, and they captured a number of villages and pillaged them. In winter 22, the ambitious Liu Yan then decided to make an initial assault against Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang Commandery, and he initially failed, suffering such a major loss at the hand of Zhen Fu (甄阜), the governor of Nanyang Commandery, that his sister Liu Yuan (劉元) and brother Liu Zhong (劉仲) died in the battle. Encouraged, Zhen then led his forces in pursuit, intending to crush the Lülin rebels once and for all.

Alarmed, the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces began to consider withdrawing from the coalition and fleeing. At that time, however, the Xiajiang Force arrived nearby, and Liu was able to convince Wang Chang, who was respected by the other Xiajiang leaders, that Liu was a capable military leader. The Xiajiang Force therefore joined the coalition, and this led the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces to stay in the coalition. Under Liu's command, the forces then made a surprise attack on Zhen's rear, seizing all of reserve food and arms of the government force. On the lunar new year 23, Liu crushed Zhen's forces and killed him and his assistant in battle. Encouraged by the victory, the Lülin leaders began to claim for themselves the title of generals, seize cities, create governmental organizations, and send out propaganda attacking Wang Mang.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Reunion and the start of political ambition", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki