In summer 25, Liu Xiu finally made a formal break with Emperor Gengshi, after his generals and Emperor Gengshi's generals fought over control of the Henei and Luoyang regions.
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Wang Chang and Cheng Dan moved to the west, toward the Commandery of Nan (roughly modern Jingzhou, Hubei); this branch was known as the Xiajiang Force (下江兵).
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Liu Yan, a descendant of a distant branch of the Han imperial clan, who lived in his ancestral territory of Chongling (舂陵, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), had long been disgusted by Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han throne, and had long aspired to start a rebellion.
It is located at the summit of Mount Lulin, on the border of Chiayi County and Nantou County, near Yushan National Park.