Destruction of Wang Mang and Subsequent Movement To Chang'an
Emperor Gengshi then commissioned two armies, one led by Wang Kuang, targeting Luoyang, and the other led by Shentu Jian (申屠建) and Li Song (李松), targeting Chang'an directly. All the populace on the way gathered, welcomed, and joined the Han forces. Shentu and Li quickly reached the outskirts of Chang'an. In response, the young men within Chang'an also rose up and stormed Weiyang Palace, the main imperial palace. Wang died in the battle at the palace.
After Wang Mang's death, Emperor Gengshi moved his capital from Wancheng to Luoyang. He then issued edicts to the entire empire, promising to allow Xin local officials who submitted to him to keep their posts. For a brief period, nearly the entire empire showed at least nominal submission—even including the powerful Chimei general Fan Chong (樊崇), who, indeed, went to stay in Luoyang under promises of titles and honors. However, this policy was applied inconsistently, and local governors soon became apprehensive about giving up their power. Fan, in particular, left the capital and returned to his troops.
In 24, Emperor Gengshi moved his capital again, back to the Western Han capital of Chang'an. The people of Chang'an had previously been offended by Emperor Gengshi's officials (the former Lülin leaders), who did not appreciate their rising up against Wang Mang but in fact considered them traitors. Once Emperor Gengshi was back in the capital, he issued a general pardon, which calmed the situation for a while. At this time, Chang'an was still largely intact, except for Weiyang Palace, destroyed by fire. However, Emperor Gengshi's timidity quickly caused problems. When the imperial officials were gathered for an official meeting, Emperor Gengshi, who had never seen such solemn occasions, panicked. Later, when generals submitted reports to him, he asked questions such as, "How much did you pillage today?" This type of behavior further reduced the confidence of the people in his administration.
Eventually, Emperor Gengshi's incompetence (along with the incompetence of the officials he installed—mostly Lülin leaders) in governing even the territories around Chang'an but also elsewhere, caused the loyalty of the people in the outlying regions to peel away. By the end of 24, Liu Xiu, who had been sent by Emperor Gengshi to pacify the region north of the Yellow River, was de facto independent, while the Chimei were approaching and readying for an attack on Chang'an.
Read more about this topic: Lülin
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