The Battle of Kunyang
2 min readIn AD 23, Wang Mang mustered 420 thousand troops claiming to be one million strong, led by Wang Yiand Wang Xun, to attack Liu Xuan who was stationing himself in Wancheng.
Various copper Coins of the Xin Dynasty
Repeatedly changing the monetary system was an important element in the so-called “institutional reforms”carried out by Wang Mang during his reign. He gave orders to resume the circulation of the spade-and knife-shaped coins made in the Warring states Period but slightly altered their appearance. For instance, most coins were pierced with a When passing by Kunyang, the huge army of the Xin Dynasty conveniently besieged the city which was garrisoned with Liu Xiu’s eight or nine thousand troops. Under cover of night, Liu Xiu together with 13 soldiers sneaked out of Kunyang to call in reinforcements.
In the moment of extreme crisis when the fate of the city was hanging by a single thread, the relief troops arrived and thoroughly defeated the vanguard of the enemy consisting of several thousand men.
In the flush of victory Liu Xiu personally led 3,000 dare-to-die corps to launch an offensive against Wang Yi’s main force and killed Wang Xun. Facing opposition within and without, the routed enemy troops fled helter-skelter. Many were trampled to death, and more than ten thousand were drowned inthe Zhi River north of Kunyang which rose suddenly following a heavy downpour of rain. Only Wang Yi and several other generals succeeded in escaping.
The battle of Kunyang in which the Xin Dynasty army was practically wiped out was a typical example of the weak defeating the strong. Four months later the insurrectionary troops were divided into two routes and entered the capital Chang’ an from Luoyang and Wuguan(east of present Danfeng County of Shaanxi) respectively. In the chaotic situation Wang Mang was killed by a merchant named Du Yu, bringing his short-lived monarchy to an end.
