In the year 17 AD, the entire Central Plains region fell into chaos, with natural disasters and man-made calamities forcing the common people to flee their homes and struggle to survive, while officials and the government could devise no means to salvage the situation; driven to desperation with no way out, the people ultimately chose to rise in rebellion.
In the southern region of Jingzhou (covering parts of present-day southern Henan, central Hubei, and western Hunan), because the grain harvest had completely failed, the people had no choice but to dig for wild vegetables in swamps and ponds. The wild vegetables were scarce, yet the number of starving people was large; to grab even a bit of food, everyone scrambled to dig in the fields, inevitably leading to conflicts that required someone to step forward and maintain order. In Xinshi (present-day northeast of Jingshan, Hubei), two men named Wang Kuang and Wang Feng voluntarily took on the role of organizing and mediating, and because they were fair and impartial, over time everyone listened to them, making them natural leaders in the eyes of the people.
Seeing more and more refugees, Wang Kuang and Wang Feng decided to gather all these people together and launch an uprising. The refugees had lost all hope in the imperial court, and perhaps the rebellion could bring them a new life, so no one objected. Moreover, after hearing the news of Wang Kuang and Wang Feng's uprising, even more people came from afar to join them. Wang Kuang and Wang Feng chose Green Forest Mountain (present-day Dahong Mountain in Hubei) as their base, and thus the rebel army became known as the Green Forest Army. They occupied the surrounding villages and continuously took in peasants fleeing hardship. Within just a few months, the Green Forest Army's numbers had grown to over eight thousand, and their sphere of influence expanded steadily.
When the imperial court heard the news of the Green Woods Army uprising, Wang Mang immediately sent 20,000 government troops to suppress them, but unexpectedly, they were routed and fled in panic by the Green Woods Army. Wang Mang was so furious he stomped his feet, while the Green Woods Army, seizing the opportunity from this victory, went on to occupy several more towns, released all the prisoners held in jails, and distributed a portion of the grain from the granaries to the common people.
The rest were all moved to Green Forest Mountain. Wang Kuang and Wang Feng's virtuous deeds won unanimous support from the people, and more flocked to Green Forest, swelling the rebel army's ranks to over fifty thousand. But good times did not last long; just as the Green Forest Army had achieved some success, a sudden plague struck, killing nearly half of the soldiers. To preserve their strength, the survivors split into three groups and left Green Forest Mountain, each occupying Xinshi, Pinglin (northeast of present-day Suizhou, Hubei), and Xiajiang (the area of the Yangtze River below western Hubei).
In Mount Tai, a man named Fan Chong also launched a rebellion. He first led a few hundred people to occupy Mount Tai as a base, then recruited followers from outside. A small rebel force joined Fan Chong, and within less than a year, he had over ten thousand men under his command, taking control of Tai'an Commandery (present-day Tai'an, Shandong). Fan Chong led his rebel army to fight against government forces between Qingzhou (present-day central Shandong) and Xuzhou (present-day northern Jiangsu), frequently seizing grain from wealthy landlords and distributing it to the impoverished common people.
Fan Chong decreed that the rebel army must not oppress the poor, and anyone who killed or harmed civilians would face execution or severe punishment. Like the Green Woods Army, the common people also strongly supported Fan Chong's forces.
The nationwide uprising movement made Wang Mang extremely anxious, so he dispatched large numbers of troops to suppress the rebel forces, but the government troops were completely wiped out by the rebels, and the commanding generals were also killed. Wang Mang then appointed Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang (not the same Wang Kuang who was the leader of the Green Woods Army) to lead troops first to suppress Fan Chong's forces, and then to crush the Green Woods Army.
In the year 22 AD, Grand Tutor Wang Kuang led a large force to Mount Tai Commandery, surrounding Fan Chong's troops. Fan Chong first encouraged everyone to fight bravely, then ordered each person to paint their eyebrows red, so they could be distinguished from the government army and avoid harming their own comrades. From then on, Fan Chong's army became known as the "Red Eyebrows Army."
The Red Eyebrow Army fought fiercely against the imperial forces, ultimately defeating Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang, who fled with a bloody wound from Fan Chong's spear in his leg, while most of his soldiers were killed or wounded and retreated to Chang'an; after this battle, the Red Eyebrows grew even more formidable, expanding their territory and swelling their ranks to over one hundred thousand troops.
The news that the Green Woods Army and the Red Eyebrows Army had repelled Wang Mang's forces quickly spread across the country, inspiring many others to rise up in rebellion. In a short time, dozens of rebel armies emerged along the Yellow River region, and even some landowners and fallen nobles, whose interests had been cut during Wang Mang's reforms, raised their banners in revolt, seeking to overthrow his rule.
In Chongling Township, Nanyang Commandery (north of present-day Ningyuan, Hunan), there lived two brothers named Liu Yan and Liu Xiu. After Wang Mang ascended the throne, he revoked the noble status of the Liu clan, forbidding them from holding official positions or receiving titles. Although the Liu family was furious, they were powerless to resist Wang Mang's control of the government. Now that the entire nation was rising against Wang Mang, the Liu clan naturally refused to be outdone. Liu Yan and Liu Xiu had long gathered several thousand villagers and clansmen to launch an uprising in Chongling Township. They sought out the leaders of the Green Woods Army, allied with them to oppose Wang Mang's forces, and in the ensuing battles killed several imperial generals.
The Green Forest Army's power continued to grow, and to better manage the troops, someone proposed electing a leader, since without a chief nothing great could be accomplished, and with a leader the rebel forces could plan their actions, so discussions began on who should take the role. Some influential figures insisted that the leader must be chosen from the Liu family to establish authority, as traditional thinking at the time held that people of noble birth were more likely to gain widespread support, so the rebels began searching for a suitable descendant of the Liu clan to serve as their leader.
However, among the rebel forces there were many descendants of the Liu family, and for a time no one knew whom to recommend as their leader. The soldiers led by Liu Yan pushed for him to take command, but other rebel groups feared that if Liu Yan grew too powerful, he would harm their interests, so they firmly opposed him becoming the leader. Instead, they found a fallen nobleman named Liu Xuan and declared their intention to make him emperor. Liu Yan, growing anxious, thought of a delaying tactic and proposed that they wait until after overthrowing Wang Mang's regime and merging with the Red Eyebrows Army before establishing an emperor, but this was also rejected by the majority of the rebel forces. In the end, Liu Yan, whose power was weaker, had no choice but to agree to the majority's proposal and support Liu Xuan as emperor.
In the year 23 AD, Liu Xuan officially became the leader of the Green Woods Army and restored the Han Dynasty's name, adopting the reign title "Gengshi," which is why Liu Xuan was also known as Emperor Gengshi. Wang Kuang and Wang Feng were appointed as Senior Dukes, Liu Yan was made Grand Minister of Education, Liu Xiu was appointed as Grand Master of Ceremonies and Deputy General, and several other meritorious generals were also granted official positions one by one. From then on, the common people began to refer to the Green Woods Army as the Han Army.