Records of Military Preparation, Volume 23

Guangwu attacked the Copper Horses A rebel group known as the Tongma at Mo. Wu Han led the elite cavalry to meet him. The Copper Horses fled at night, and Guangwu pursued them and dealt them a crushing defeat. Before the surrenders were completed, Gao Hu and Zhong Lian came from the southeast to join the remaining forces of the Copper Horses. Guangwu fought a great battle with them again at Puyang, completely defeating and forcing their surrender. He conferred the rank of Liehou Marquess upon their leaders. The various generals were unable to trust them, and the surrendered rebels did not feel secure. The Emperor knew their thoughts and ordered the surrendered to return to their original camps, while he himself rode light cavalry to inspect the troops.

This is because these surrendered people were originally wandering rebels and held no deep enmity.

The surrendered soldiers in the ranks told each other: "The King of Xiao Title held by Liu Xiu before becoming emperor puts his sincere heart into another's belly; how can we not commit our lives to him?" Because of this, they were all submissive. He distributed the surrendered troops among the various generals, and the force grew to several hundred thousand.

At that time, the Gengshi Emperor sent Li Yi, the King of Wuyin, and the Grand Marshal Zhu Wei to lead an army numbering three hundred...