Liu Gong, seeing the dangers of the…
26 CE
Liu Gong, seeing the dangers of the situation for his brother the emperor, decides in 26 to make one attempt to either put the situation under control or disengage his brother from the mess.
At the New Year's Day imperial gathering, Liu Gong first speaks and asks that Emperor Penzi be allowed to yield the throne, and Emperor Penzi jumps off the throne, removes from his person the the imperial sea, and speaks while crying: “Now there is an emperor, but everyone continues to act as robbers.
The people hate us and do not trust us.
This is because you chose the wrong Son of Heaven.
Please return my body to me.
But if you want to kill me to divert blame, then I must die.” Fan and the other leaders are ashamed, and they leave their seats and bow down to Emperor Penzi, apologizing for their failures.
They physically force Emperor Penzi back onto the throne and restore the imperial seal onto his person.
For weeks after the incident, the generals restrain their soldiers from unlawful acts, and the people praise Emperor Penzi as a merciful and brilliant emperor.
However, the lawlessness returns before long.
Soon, the food supplies are completely depleted, and the Chimei forces burn many Chang'an palaces and other buildings and pillage the city, then march west into the modern eastern Gansu region.
In autumn 26, The Chimei forces attack the territory held by the regional warlord Wei Xiao, but are repelled by Wei.
At this time, they suffer from a sudden cold spell that freezes many soldiers to death.
They head back east and reenter Chang'an and engage in a series of battles with Deng and, despite their reduced strength at this time, continue to defeat Deng regularly.
The wars lead to a severe famine in the Guangzhong region, which affects not only the people of the region but also both Chimei and Deng's forces.
The Chimei, lacking food, eventually abandon Chang'an and head east.