Chapter 299: Survey of the Ancient Top Ten Battles: The Battle of Kunyang

Survey of the Ancient Top Ten Battles: The Battle of Kunyang.

Date: AD 23.

Location: Kunyang (present‑day Ye County, Henan).

Combatants: Liu Xiu vs Wang Mang.

Overview: Wang Mang dispatched 420,000 troops to besiege Kunyang, defended by only 9,000 soldiers.

Liu Xiu led thirteen cavalry to break out for aid, then with three thousand die‑hard warriors launched a surprise attack on the enemy's central camp, slaying the commander and causing the Xin army to collapse.

Why famous: The most unbelievable "Child of the Plane" battle.

That single battle shattered the Xin dynasty's main forces, paved the way for Liu Xiu to found the Eastern Han, and stands as an extreme example of a small force defeating a vastly larger one in Chinese history.

When the celestial screen lit up, the atmosphere in the Eastern Han court became somewhat subtle.

It's not because the battle is unfamiliar—on the contrary, it is too familiar.

The Battle of Kunyang was Liu Xiu's deification battle.

Everyone present had heard of it, yet none had seen it with their own eyes.

Including Liu Xiu himself—because he had not yet fought that war.

Liu Xiu sat in a chair, his tea cup suspended mid‑air.

He saw his own name, the four characters "Battle of Kunyang," and the figures "9,000 versus 420,000."

His hand was steady, the tea did not spill, but Liu Bang noticed his Adam's apple move up and down.

Liu Bang set down the peanuts in his hand, turned his head toward Liu Xiu, his gaze bearing an elder's kindness and pride.

"Xiu'er, is this your game?"

Liu Xiu nodded: "Yes, Grand Ancestor, it should be."

Liu Bang grinned broadly, laughing loudly, then after the laugh turned his head to glance at Ying Zheng.

That glance meant clearly—did you see it?

My Liu descendants have been singled out by Heaven's decree.

Ying Zheng's face was expressionless, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Liu Che already pulled out a notebook and began recording.

9,000 versus 420,000—a ratio even more exaggerated than the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Red Cliffs was at least 80,000 against over 200,000; this is 9,000 against 420,000, one person fighting forty‑six.

Liu Xiu noticed Liu Che noting the numbers and whispered: "Uncle Grand Ancestor, many of those 420,000 are civilian laborers, not true soldiers."

Liu Che looked up at him and said: "Four hundred twenty thousand pigs, even nine thousand people can't round them all up."

Liu Xiu gave no reply.

Because Liu Che was right—regardless of the opponent's composition, breaking such a massive army is not something ordinary people can accomplish.

Parallel timeline.

Wang Mang was in Chang'an, his complexion deathly pale.

He is not dead yet—more precisely, he is still the Xin emperor, ruling the world, believing his realm is as solid as fortified gold.

The celestial screen told him that in the Battle of Kunyang he would lose.

420,000 versus 9,000, and he lost.

He lost so miserably that after the battle the Xin main forces were completely annihilated.

"Impossible."

Wang Mang's voice was soft, yet every civil and military official heard it.

"I command 420,000 troops; how could I possibly be defeated by 9,000?"

No one dared to answer.

Below Kunyang city, Wang Yi and Wang Xun stood at the main camp gate, looking up at the celestial screen, their faces not looking good.

They are the commanders of this battle—at least that's what the celestial screen says.

Wang Yi, in his fifties, is battle‑experienced, but faced with the result "420,000 versus 9,000 and still lost," he truly cannot explain it to Wang Mang.

Wang Xun, younger and more irritable, glanced at the celestial screen and said: "The army hasn't moved yet, but we already know the outcome. How are we supposed to fight this?"

Wang Yi gave no answer.

He was pondering a question—if the celestial screen reveals everything in advance, would the result still be the same?

In the Eastern Han court.

Gu Shanhe lifted his tea cup, speaking leisurely: "The Battle of Kunyang was the most perilous fight Liu Xiu ever fought in his life."

"If we win, the Eastern Han exists. If we lose, that person would never appear in history."

Liu Bang glanced at Liu Xiu and asked a question that silenced everyone:

"Xiu'er, what were you thinking then? 9,000 against 420,000—if it were me, I would have fled long ago."

Liu Xiu was silent for a moment, then said: "Grand Ancestor, there's no running."

"If Kunyang falls, all the surrounding cities will be lost."

"Step back and you fall into a ten‑thousand‑foot abyss; you can only move forward."

Ying Zheng suddenly spoke: "When you broke out with thirteen men, were you afraid?"

That question was very sharp.

Thirteen men breaking through a 420,000‑person encirclement—this is not one in nine chance of survival, it's one in ninety‑nine.

Afraid. But there's no time to be afraid.

Ying Zheng nodded and asked no further.

The text on the celestial screen began to refine, lines of characters appearing one after another.

Detailed Battle Account

In the year AD 23, Wang Mang dispatched Grand Minister of Education Wang Yi and Grand Minister of Works Wang Xun, leading four hundred and twenty thousand troops southward, intending to annihilate the Green Forest army in one stroke.

The Green Forest army's main force besieged Wan City, while Liu Xiu led his troops to garrison Kunyang with fewer than ten thousand men.

Wang Yi's army arrived at Kunyang and encircled the city tightly.

The defending commanders grew fearful, and someone suggested abandoning the city and fleeing.

Liu Xiu persuaded everyone to hold firm, and he personally led thirteen cavalry to break out under cover of night, leaving the city to seek aid.

Liu Xiu returned with reinforcements, personally leading three thousand suicide troops to launch a surprise attack on Wang Yi's main camp from the west of the city.

Wang Yi and Wang Xun, underestimating the enemy, fielded only a little over ten thousand men to meet the attack, ordering all other units not to act independently.

Liu Xiu led his forces in a fierce assault, slashing Wang Xun down.

The Kunyang garrison, seeing the tide turn, beat drums and rushed out of the city, striking from both flanks.

The Xin‑Mang army fell into chaos; four hundred and twenty thousand troops broke apart, trampling each other.

At that moment, a torrential downpour fell, the Zhi River swelled violently, and tens of thousands drowned.

An image appeared on the heavens' veil.

A small town was hemmed in by a black, oppressive army, its streets choked shut.

On the city walls, the defending troops were few, and the banners had been torn to shreds.

Despair hung over the city—nine thousand men surrounded by four hundred and twenty thousand, no one had confidence.

The scene shifted.

In the dead of night, a slit in the city gate opened silently.

Thirteen riders slipped through the gap in a single file; at the head was a young commander, under thirty, with a delicate face but eyes as hard as iron.

They stuck to the base of the wall, using the night's cover to slip through the gap between the two enemy forces.

Their horses' hooves were wrapped in cloth, making no sound.

Someone fell, got up, and kept running.

Someone took an arrow, gritted their teeth and made no cry.

When the thirteen riders burst out of the encirclement, only eleven remained.

Yet Liu Xiu was still there.

The scene shifted again.

Liu Xiu returned with three thousand reinforcements.

He did not enter the city directly, but circled to the west side of the enemy's main camp.

Three thousand against four hundred and twenty thousand—charging head‑on would be suicide.

He sought the enemy's heart—the Central Camp.

"Kill!"

The three thousand surged forward together, their hooves sounding like muffled thunder.

Wang Yi was drinking with Wang Xun inside the Central Tent when the battle cry rang out; he calmly stepped out of the tent.

He glanced at the charging three thousand, smiled—three thousand against four hundred and twenty thousand, a mantis‑arm against a chariot.

He ordered his own direct force of over ten thousand to form a battle line, while ordering the other units to hold.

He intended to crush those three thousand himself.

Then he died.

He was not slain by Liu Xiu directly, but by Liu Xiu's soldiers.

The formation of those ten thousand was broken by the three thousand; Wang Xun perished amid the chaos, and Wang Yi was carried away by his personal guards.

The entire Central Camp fell into disorder—

The commander fled, the deputy perished, and the neighboring hundreds of thousands of troops, ordered not to move, obeyed.

So they truly did nothing, watching helplessly as the Central Camp was overrun.

One person started to run, ten followed, a thousand followed, a hundred thousand followed.

The four hundred and twenty thousand‑strong camp collapsed like an avalanche.

A torrential rain fell from the sky.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the rain poured as if the heavens were leaking.

The routed soldiers fled to the Zhi Riverbank, where the bridge had been trampled apart, and they leapt into the water en masse.

The water rose, sweeping people away, and corpses clogged the river channel.

In the Eastern Han court.

Liu Bang saw the three thousand overrunning four hundred and twenty thousand, his mouth opening wide enough to fit an egg.

He turned his head toward Liu Xiu, scanning him up and down as if meeting this great‑grandson for the first time.

"My heavens, three thousand against four hundred and twenty thousand? And they won?"

Liu Xiu replied, "Father‑Emperor, they fell into disorder on their own."

Liu Bang waved his hand, "Whether they were chaotic or not, the key was that you charged in first."

"If you hadn't dared to charge, they wouldn't have become chaotic."

"You dared to charge, you won. That's the principle of warfare."

Ying Zheng suddenly spoke, his voice low but each word clear: "This Wang Yi is a fool."

Everyone turned their heads to look at him.

Ying Zheng said expressionlessly, "Four hundred and twenty thousand surrounding nine thousand—just stacking them would kill them."

"He wouldn't stack, but had to put on a façade, insisting on leading ten thousand men himself into the fight."

When they ordered the other troops not to move, it was already lost.