| | Liu Xuan, courtesy name Shenggong, was a cousin of Guangwu. His younger brother was killed by someone, so Shenggong gathered guests to seek revenge against them. The guests broke the law, and Shenggong evaded officials in Pinglin. Officials arrested Shenggong's father and son Zhang. Shenggong feigned death, sending someone to carry his funeral back to Chongling; the officials then released his son Zhang, and Shenggong thus escaped and went into hiding. At the end of Wang Mang's reign, there was famine in the south; common people gathered in the wild wetlands, digging up fuzi to eat and infringing upon each other. Wang Kuang and Wang Feng of Xinshi mediated disputes fairly, so the people elected them as leaders, and they gathered several hundred followers. Various fugitives went to join them; within a few months their numbers reached seven or eight thousand, and they were called the Xinshi troops. Chen Mu and Liao Zhan of Pinglin also gathered more than a thousand people, calling themselves the Pinglin troops. Shenggong entered Pinglin and met with Bo Sheng; they then jointly besieged Wan. Shenggong was titled the General Gengshi. After defeating Zhen Fu and others, more than 100,000 common people surrendered to him. The generals wanted to support a Liu family member, and heroes from Nanyang all looked up to Bo Sheng. However, the Han troops considered Xinshi and Pinglin as their base; since their generals were familiar with Shenggong from before, they wanted to support him. Zhu Fu established an altar by the Nan Yu River in Chengnan and went to visit Bo Sheng. Lü Zhi was well-versed in the rites of Confucian classics, served as a Yezhe, and prepared ceremonial procedures for establishing Shenggong as emperor to show to the generals. Ma Wu and Wang Kuang believed that Wang Mang had not yet been overthrown, so it was better for now to proclaim a king instead of an emperor. Zhang Ang drew his sword and struck the ground, saying, "Calling him Heaven's Public [a title] is still acceptable; how can it be said that calling him Son of Heaven is unacceptable!" Thus, the generals rose up and brought Shenggong to the altar site, where they presented him with a Tiantong crown. Shenggong then knelt and paid homage, put on the crown, faced south to assume his position, and changed the era name to Gengshi Yuan Nian. The emperor was appointed as Taichang Pianjiangjun. The emperor defeated the two generals at Kunyang city, and Gengshi captured Liu Ji and Bo Sheng; both died on that day. The emperor hurried to Wan to apologize, which greatly shamed Gengshi. Troops in Chang'an attacked Wang Mang and beheaded him; they seized the imperial seal and ribbon and sent them to Wan. Gengshi entered the side hall, sat on the yellow platform, looked at it, and said, "If Wang Mang had not been like this, he would have been equal to Huo Guang." Gengshi's Han Madam said, "Had Wang Mang not been like this, how could the emperor have obtained power?" Gengshi established his northern capital in Luoyang, and Li Song et al. sent carriages, ceremonial robes, imperial belongings, as well as Zhonghuangmen attendants from Chang'an to Luoyang. People throughout Guanzhong all looked forward to the Son of Heaven; thus Gengshi departed westward from Luoyang, with Li Song leading the way. The carriage and horses galloped wildly, crashed into the iron pillar gate of Bei Que, killing three horses. Gengshi arrived in Chang'an, resided in the eastern palace, and had thousands of palace attendants along with bells, drums, canopies, and tents. The government offices, neighborhoods, imperial treasuries, and stored wealth remained undisturbed as before. Gengshi ascended the front hall of the palace, with attendants and officials standing by in order. Gengshi felt ashamed and embarrassed; he bent down to scratch the mat while chatting with a low-ranking eunuch, which surprised the attendants and officials. Gengshi took Zhao Meng's daughter as his empress, who gained great favor. He then entrusted state affairs to Zhao Meng and spent each day in the inner palace drinking with women; when generals came to report matters, Gengshi was drunk and could not meet them. At such times, he had no choice but to have a Zhongshi sit inside the curtain and speak with them. The generals recognized that the voice was not Gengshi's, and upon leaving, they all resented him. Han Madam especially loved drinking alcohol; whenever she was serving drinks, if she saw a eunuch presenting official matters, she would angrily say, "The emperor is just drinking with me—must you bring business at this very moment!" She got up and smashed the writing desk. lords The officials appointed as governors and magistrates were in conflict, leaving the states and commanderies uncertain about whom to follow. Zhao Meng grabbed a Zhongshi by the hair over private matters. The Zhongshi said, "Your Majesty, save me." Gengshi said, "The Da Sima lets him go." Zhao Meng said, "I do not accept the imperial decree." He then beheaded him. Gengshi indulged himself in Chang'an, and the Three Fu regions suffered from his rule. Moreover, all the officials and ranks he appointed were petty villains; people in the neighborhoods said, "Even if a child sits at the market to decide matters, those who do work cannot obtain anything." Hired laborers returned from the market empty-handed. When asked why, they said, "Because today is when the Riji Duwei went to a meeting." Their attire and demeanor were unbecoming of officials; some wore embroidered face robes, brocade ceng clothes, zhu yu, and chanyu, cursing on the roads, despised by the common people. In Chang'an, a song was sung: "A pig raised under the stove becomes a Zhonglang Jiang." "A rotten mutton stomach becomes a Riji Duwei." "A rotten sheep's head becomes a Guannei Hou." Because of this, people throughout the land no longer trusted or looked up to the capital. Han Hong of Luoyang served as a Yezhe. In the second year of Gengshi, he was sent with an imperial token to submit Hebei and appointed officials as Erqianshi (a rank equivalent to governor). That winter, more than 100 thousand Chimei rebels entered the Guan region. Xu Xuan, Fan Chong and others advanced to the foot of Kuceng Mountain in Hongnong, where they fought against Su Mao, a general of Gengshi. Fan Chong moved northward to Xuxiang and then turned toward Hu. They led their troops into Shanglin, where Gengshi's cavalry came out through Chucheng Gate. All the women followed behind the carriages shouting at Gengshi and demanding that he descend to pay homage in front of the city. Gengshi dismounted, knelt before the city walls, and apologized; then they left for Gaoling. The emperor learned that Gengshi had lost the city, so he issued an edict to bestow Gengshi as King of Huaiyang. Meanwhile, Chimei's Liu Pensi also issued a decree appointing Shenggong as King of Changsha. Gengshi still sought to submit to Chimei, requesting surrender and presenting the imperial seal ribbon; thus he was granted the title of Weiwei Hou. Chimei's official, Xie Lu, said, "There are many troops in the Three Fu who want Gengshi. If we lose him suddenly, they will unite to attack you; this is a path to self-destruction." They then killed Gengshi. An edict was issued for Deng Yu to recover and bury him at Baling.
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