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If we were to say who among the 28 generals of Yuntai has the most comprehensive and solid military talent, the two who would come to mind would actually be Feng Yi and Cen Peng.

Although one of them ranked seventh and the other ranked sixth.

However, they are the only two all-rounders under Liu Xiu who can command the army on horseback and manage the people on foot, and their battle records are also quite guaranteed.

Cen Peng can be regarded as a great contributor to Liu Xiu's conquest of half of his empire, but it's a pity that God is jealous of his talent.

In the end, he was assassinated by an assassin sent by the enemy in the army, which caused people to feel infinite regret.

In fact, there is a magical legend about Cen Peng’s death, saying that it was predestined in the dark.

The place where Cen Peng was stationed before he was assassinated was called Pengwang. Although Cen Peng felt it was unlucky and wanted to move his troops to find another place to station, he finally gave up because it was getting late.

However, he was assassinated that very night when he pretended to surrender.

Of course, this regret does not affect Cen Peng’s glorious image and immortal achievements.

In that era, he was always a shining star that people looked up to.

"I entered the government at the end of the Xin Dynasty and served as the acting county magistrate of Jiyang."

"In 22 AD, Liu Yan raised an army, conquered Jiyang, and took his family to seek refuge with Zhen Fu, the doctor of the front team."

"Zhen Fu was angry that he could not defend the city, so he detained his mother and wife, and had no choice but to fight against the Han army with his guests."

"In the first month of the year 23 AD, Zhen Fu was killed."

"Escaped to Wancheng, and defended the city together with Er Yanshuo, the leader of the front team."

"Liu Yan besieged the city for several months, and the food in the city ran out. There was even cannibalism."

"In May, they had no choice but to surrender the city. All the generals demanded that Cen Peng be killed, but Liu Yan stopped them."

"Liu Yan appreciated Cen Peng's military talent, loyalty and good reputation, so he advised Liu Xuan to pardon him."

"Cen Peng is the defender of Wancheng. It is his duty to perform his duties conscientiously."

"Now that we are doing great things, we should commend such loyal people."

“It would be better to confer an official title on Cen Peng to honor those who come after him.”

"Liu Xuan then appointed Cen Peng as Marquis of Guide, making him a subordinate of Liu Yan."

"The struggle for power within the rebel army led to Liu Yan's murder."

“I feel deeply saddened by the death of my lifesaver.”

"Later, I told Liu Xiu that Liu Yan had saved my life, but before I could repay him, he was killed. I will always hate this."

"After Liu Yan was killed, he was assigned to serve under Grand Marshal Zhu Yu as a school lieutenant."

"Soon after, he followed Zhu Yu to pacify Huaiyang County and was recommended as the Huaiyang Commandery Commandant."

"Later, he defeated the rebellious Huaiyang garrison commander Yao Wei and was promoted to governor of Yingchuan for his merits."

"It happened that Liu Mao captured Yingchuan and was unable to take office, so he led his subordinates to seek refuge with Han Xin, the governor of Henei."

"In 24 AD, Liu Xiu went on a tour to Henei. Han Xin ignored the advice and planned to defend the city, but when he saw the situation was dire, he had no choice but to surrender."

"Liu Xiu learned that Han Xin had tried to resist and wanted to kill him, so he summoned Cen Peng to analyze the current situation."

"Now, the Red Eyebrows have entered the pass, the Gengshi regime is in danger, the powerful officials are unbridled, forging imperial decrees, the roads are blocked, the four directions are in turmoil, the heroes are competing, and the people have nowhere to go."

"I heard that you, Your Majesty, have conquered Hebei and established your kingdom. This is truly the blessing of Heaven for the Han Dynasty and a blessing for the scholars."

"I was fortunate enough to receive the life-saving grace and recognition of Grand Minister Liu Yan, but before I could repay him, he met with disaster and was killed. I will always feel resentful for this."

"Today I have once again encountered the relatives of Grand Tutor Liu Yan. I am willing to surrender and serve them till death."

"Liu Xiu was delighted and formed a close relationship with him."

"He took the opportunity to say that Han Xin was an upright gentleman in Nanyang and could be recruited for personal use. Liu Xiu then pardoned Han Xin."

"After surrendering, go to Qiyuan to persuade General Lu Zhi to surrender."

"Liu Xiu appointed Cen Peng as the general who assassinated traitors, and ordered him to assist Wu Han in getting rid of Shangshu Ling Xie Gong, and to supervise the various camps."

"After that, Liu Xiu gave the imperial seal he usually carried to Cen Peng and asked him to follow the army to pacify Hebei."

"In June of 25 AD, Liu Xiu was crowned emperor and was given the title of Tingwei and Marquis of Guide, and was given the military power of a general."

"In July, he and eleven other generals including Wu Han and Wang Liang besieged Luoyang Zhu Yu."

"Under Zhu Yu's perseverance, the Han army was unable to break through the city for several months."

"In September of the same year, Liu Xiu ordered Cen Peng to persuade Zhu Yu to surrender. He said, "I have received your kindness in the past and I have always wanted to repay you."

"Now that Gengshi has been defeated and the emperor and his people have returned, what is the point of you defending the city?"

"Zhu Yu replied that I had participated in the murder of the Grand Tutor and persuaded Gengshi not to send King Xiao out. I was guilty and dared not surrender."

"When Liu Xiu learned about it, he said he would not harm Zhu Yu and swore to the Yellow River."

"Liu Xiu's words were passed on, and Zhu Yu lowered a rope from the city wall and asked Cen Peng to climb up."

"Without hesitation, Zhu Yu saw his sincerity and agreed to surrender."

"Five days later, Zhu Yu will tie himself up and go to see Liu Xiu together."

"Liu Xiu untied him, comforted him with kind words, and asked Cen Peng to send him back to Luoyang overnight."

"The next day, Zhu Yu led the entire city to surrender and was appointed General Pingdi and Marquis Fugou."

Li Shimin: In 26 AD, he marched into Jingzhou and captured more than ten cities including Xun and Ye.

At this time, the situation in the South was chaotic.

Qin Feng, Dong Xin and Xu Han each started a rebellion, and the generals of Gengshi also led their troops to occupy the cities of Nanyang.

Liu Xiu sent Wu Han to lead the expedition, but Wu Han failed to discipline his troops strictly, and his subordinates often engaged in harassment and looting, forcing General Deng Feng to rebel.

Deng Feng defeated Wu Han, occupied Yuyang, and allied with Qin Feng and other forces.

In the autumn of the same year, he forced Xu Han to surrender and was promoted to General of the Southern Expedition. He then joined Jia Fu, Geng Yan and others to attack Deng Feng, but they were unable to defeat the enemy for several months.

In April 27 AD, Liu Xiu personally led an expedition against Deng Feng, but was ambushed and killed by Dong Xin's troops in Ye County.

Come to the rescue and protect Liu Xiu to reach Duyang.

Deng Feng fled to Yuyang and Dong Xin surrendered.

So he followed Liu Xiu in pursuing Deng Feng all the way to Xiao Chang'an, where Deng Feng was defeated and surrendered.

Liu Xiu originally planned to pardon Deng Feng, but later executed him after being persuaded by Cen Peng and Geng Yan.

In May, Liu Xiu returned and, together with Fu Jun, Zang Gong and others, attacked Qin Feng in the south and captured Huangyou.

Qin Fenghe held out in Deng and failed to capture the city for several months.

Liu Xiu reprimanded him and gathered his troops overnight, threatening to attack Shandu in the west the next day. However, he secretly crossed the Mian River and defeated Qin Feng's general Zhang Yang at Atou Mountain.

Then he went straight to Qin Feng's base camp Li Qiu and defeated the remaining troops.

Qin Feng hurried back to rescue and set up camp with his generals on the mountain.

Qin Feng and Cai Hong attacked at night, but were met by well-prepared troops. Qin Feng was defeated and Cai Hong was killed. After the battle, he was renamed Wuyin Marquis for his merits.

In February of 28 AD, Tian Rong, who occupied Yiling, left his subordinate Xin Chen to garrison Yiling, while he went to Liqiu to prepare to surrender to Cen Peng.

Unexpectedly, Xin Chen stole Tian Rong's treasures, took a shortcut and joined Cen Peng first, and wrote a letter to invite Tian Rong to surrender.

Tian Rong suspected that Xin Chen had betrayed him and did not dare to surrender, so he joined forces with Qin Feng to resist.

He sent troops to attack Tian Rong, who was defeated and fled back to Yiling.

In December, Liu Xiu went to Liqiu to reward his soldiers, and there were more than one hundred of his subordinates who had made contributions.

After three years of attacking Qin Feng, they beheaded more than 90,000 enemy soldiers. In the end, only a thousand people were left in Qin Feng, and the food in the city had run out.

Liu Xiu believed that Qin Feng's strength had greatly decreased, so he ordered Zhu You to replace Cen Peng to besiege the city, and ordered him and Fu Jun to attack Tian Rong in the south.

In February of 29 AD, he captured Yiling and pursued Tian Rong all the way to Zigui, capturing Tian Rong's family and soldiers.

Soon after, he ordered General Feng Jun, the Wei Lu General, to station his troops in Jiangzhou, Commander Tian Hong to station his troops in Yiling, and Commander Li Xuan to station his troops in Yidao. He himself led his troops back to Jinxiang to guard the strategic location of Jingzhou.

In December, he wrote a letter to his old friend Deng Rang, the governor of Jiaozhi Province, explaining Liu Xiu's power and virtue and persuading him to surrender.

At the same time, he sent General Qu Chong to Jiangnan to issue an imperial edict.

Soon, Deng Rang and Jiangxia prefect Hou Deng, Wuling prefect Wang Tang, Changsha Xiang Han Fu, Guiyang prefect Zhang Long, Lingling prefect Tian Xi, Cangwu prefect Du Mu, Jiaozhi prefect Xi Guang and others sent envoys to offer local products and gifts.

In 30 AD, Liu Xiu summoned him to the capital, received him several times, and gave him generous rewards. Soon after, he returned to Jinxiang. When he passed by his hometown of Jiyang, Nanyang, he was ordered to offer sacrifices to his ancestors' tombs.

In addition, Liu Xiu also ordered the Grand Chamberlain to visit Cen Peng's mother on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month to show his concern.

In 32 AD, Liu Xiu personally led an expedition against Wei Xiang in Longyou.

He led his troops to capture Tianshui County, and together with Wu Han, he besieged Wei Xiang in Xicheng.

At this time, Li Yu, a general under Gongsun Shu, came to rescue Wei Xiang, but was surrounded by Gai Yan and Geng Yan in Shanggui.

Soon, Liu Xiu returned to Luoyang. Before leaving, he wrote a letter saying that if the two cities were captured, he could lead his troops south to attack the Shu invaders.

People are never satisfied. After conquering Long, they look forward to Shu. Every time they send out troops, their hair turns white.

The decision was made to flood the West City, but it failed.

In November, Wei Xiao's generals Xing Xun and Zhou Zong led reinforcements from Shu to rescue him, and Wei Xiao was able to escape from Jicheng.

At this time, the Han army had run out of food, so they had to burn their baggage and withdraw. Gai Yan and Geng Yan also retreated one after another.

He personally led the retreat, thus ensuring the safe evacuation of all the generals. After the battle, he returned to Jinxiang.

"In 33 AD, Gongsun Shu sent Ren Man, Tian Rong, and Cheng Fan to sail down the Yangtze River Pass, defeat Feng Jun, Tian Hong, and Li Xuan, capture Yidao and Yiling, and occupy Jingmen and Huya Mountains."

"They built floating bridges and towers on the river and erected pillars underwater to cut off the waterway, while the army camped on the mountains to resist the Han army."

"After several failed attacks, they built thousands of ships, including tower ships, raft ships, and oared ships, in preparation for a large-scale attack."

"In 35 AD, he, together with Wu Han, Zang Gong and other generals, gathered soldiers from Nanyang, Wuling and Nanjun and oarsmen from Guiyang, Lingling and Changsha and gathered at Jingmen."

"Wu Han thought that the oar soldiers were a waste of food and fodder, so he proposed to disband them."

"Then he believed that the Shu army was too powerful and the oarsmen could not be disbanded, so he reported the situation to the emperor."

"Emperor Guangwu told Cen Peng that the Grand Marshal was used to using infantry and cavalry, and did not know how to fight on water. The matter of Jingmen was only important to the Duke of Zhengnan."

"So he recruited brave men from among the army who could attack the enemy's pontoon bridge and offered them a generous reward."

"Lieutenant General Lu Qi volunteered to lead the warriors to sail upstream and head straight for the floating bridge."

"As a result, the warship was blocked by pillars in the river and could not move forward."

"While Lu Qi led his soldiers in a desperate fight, he used torches to burn the pillars and burn down the bridge tower."

"Mobilize the whole army, march forward with the wind, and move forward unstoppable."

"The Shu army was in chaos, and thousands of people drowned."

"The Han army killed Ren Man and captured Cheng Fan alive, while Tian Rong fled back to Jiangzhou."

"I recommended Liu Long as the governor of Nanjun, and I led Zang Gong and Liu Xin to occupy Jiangguan. I also enforced strict military discipline and ordered the soldiers not to plunder the civilians."

"Wherever they went, the people offered cattle and wine as rewards for the troops."

"I met with the local elders and told them that the Han Dynasty felt sorry for the long-standing captivity of Bashu, so it sent an army to attack the distant land to punish the guilty and eliminate the harm to the people."

"And he resolutely refused to accept cattle, wine, and other things."

"The people were overjoyed and rushed to open the gates and surrender."

"Liu Xiu then appointed him governor of Yizhou, and whenever he conquered a county, he would first take on the post of governor."

"We marched into Jiangzhou and saw that Tian Rong had a lot of food and grass, so it would be difficult to conquer in a short period of time. So we left Feng Jun to garrison there, and I led the troops to capture Pingqu and collected hundreds of thousands of stones of food and grass."

"Gongsun Shu sent Yan Cen, Lü Yu, Wang Yuan, and Gongsun Hui to defend Guanghan and Zizhong, and Hou Dan to defend Huangshi."

"Set up more decoy troops to bluff, order Yang Xi and Zang Gong to resist Yan Cen and others, and then divide the troops to return to Jiangzhou by water, go up the Dujiang River, and attack and defeat Hou Dan."

"Then they marched over a thousand miles in a hurry, captured Wuyang in one fell swoop, and sent their elite cavalry to attack Guangdu."

"They attacked until they were dozens of miles away from Chengdu. Their force was as swift as a gust of wind and heavy rain. Wherever they went, they were unstoppable and the enemy was routed."

"When Gongsun Shu heard that the Han army had appeared in Pingqu, he sent a large army to meet them."

"When we reached Wuyang and got around Yan Cen's rear, the Shu region was shocked."

"Gongsun Shu was even more frightened, and he slammed his staff on the ground, asking what kind of god it was! He was stationed in Pengwang at the moment."

"I was unhappy when I heard the name of this place and wanted to move the camp, but it was too dark to do so."

"Gongsun Shu sent an assassin, who lied that he was a fugitive and came to surrender, and then he was assassinated at night."

"After conquering Jingmen, Qionggu King Ren Gui heard of your prestige and sent envoys across thousands of miles to welcome your surrender."

"When the messenger arrived, he had already been killed."

"Liu Xiu gave all the tribute items that Ren Gui brought to his family, and gave Cen Peng the posthumous title of Zhuanghou."

"The people of Shu built a temple in Wuyang and offered sacrifices at all seasons."

"In 60 AD, Emperor Ming of Han ordered people to paint the portraits of meritorious officials and hang them in the Yuntai of Nangong. Among them was the General of the Southern Expedition, Wuyin Marquis Cen Peng."

Xin Qiji: At the end of the Xin Dynasty, war broke out all over the country, and the common people who had no means of living began to revolt.

At this time, Cen Peng had just become the county magistrate of Jiyang, Nanyang. Who would have expected that Liu Yan, who had raised an army, would capture Jiyang with a crushing force.

Cen Peng had no choice but to take his family to seek refuge with Zhen Fu, the doctor of the front team.

However, his leader Zhen Fu was very dissatisfied with his performance, and Ji Yang was lost.

You should be fighting on the front line, why are you bringing your family to me?
So, they detained Cen Peng's family and forced Cen Peng to fight against the Han army with his guests.

Cen Peng and others gathered in Xiao Chang'an and gave a heavy blow to Liu Yan's rebel army, which was full of vigor and vitality.

Not only did the coalition forces of Liu Yan and the Green Forest Army lose their weapons and armor, but Liu Xiu's second brother Liu Zhong, a sister, and hundreds of clan brothers were also killed in this battle.

But Liu Yan was also a hero of the time. With his own strength, he stabilized the morale of the three Green Forest armies, gathered troops, made a comeback, and successfully defeated Zhen Fu's 100,000-strong army.

Cen Peng fled to Wancheng, a famous city in Nanyang County, and defended the city together with the former captain Er Yanshuo.

Liu Yan led his army to besiege the city, but was unable to break through Wancheng's defense line, and both sides were forced into a stalemate.

Half a year later, the reinforcements sent by Wang Mang were defeated by Liu Xiu in Kunyang. There was no hope of help for Wancheng, and the food in the city had run out. People even resorted to cannibalism.

As a last resort, Cen Peng had to surrender the city.

Fortunately, Liu Yan was a man of great magnanimity and he was not afraid of Cen Peng, his opponent who had caused him countless troubles and losses.

Not only did he not bear a grudge against him, but he respected him out of mutual sympathy and finally saved this powerful general against all odds.

After Cen Peng surrendered to the Gengshi regime, he was named Marquis of Guide by Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan and was under the command of Liu Yan.

The gathering of heroes was originally a great blessing in life, but the good times did not last long. The talented Liu Yan was murdered by Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan and his gang.

Cen Peng was assigned to the Grand Marshal Zhu Yu and served as a colonel.

Although Cen Peng was deeply saddened by the death of his benefactor Liu Yan, he was powerless at the time and could only go with the flow.

Soon, he followed Zhu Yu to pacify Huaiyang County, and was recommended to be the Huaiyang Commandery Commandant.

Later, he was promoted to the position of governor of Yingchuan for suppressing the rebellion of Huaiyang defender Yao Wei.

However, Yingchuan was occupied by Liu Mao at that time, and Cen Peng was unable to take office.

Cen Peng had no choice but to lead his subordinates to seek refuge with his good friend Han Xin, the governor of Henei.

When Liu Xiu arrived in Henei during his tour, Cen Peng heard the news and quickly persuaded his good friend Han Xin to join Liu Xiu.

But Han Xin, with the mentality of preferring to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, prepared to hold the city.

Later, under the pressure of Liu Xiu's troops, they were forced to open the city gates and surrender.

After accepting the surrender, Liu Xiu heard that Han Xin had planned to resist stubbornly, so he wanted to kill Han Xin to eliminate future trouble.

However, he still wanted to recruit this powerful general Cen Peng, so he called Cen Peng over for a talk.

Cen Peng had always been grateful to Liu Xiu's brother, and since Liu Xiu was indeed famous, he took the initiative to express his feelings and joined Liu Xiu.

At the same time, he advised Liu Xiu not to kill Han Xin, as Han Xin was still very prestigious in the Nanyang area.

Moreover, he was upright and capable, and was a rare and useful person. After hearing this, Liu Xiu pardoned Han Xin.

Cen Peng wandered around in the turbulent times, and only at this time did he finally catch up with his wise master, thus starting his journey to shine.

How can a golden unicorn stay in a pond? It transforms into a dragon when it encounters wind and cloud.

As long as talents like Cen Peng return to their own track and stage, their brilliance is destined to be unobstructed.

The hero's sudden appearance, though a little late, finally came as expected. (End of this chapter)