《资治通鉴·汉纪·汉纪三十》
官吏用残暴的手段建立威严，利用王莽的禁令侵占民间财产。富人不能保护自己的财产，穷人不能活命。于是，无论贫富都当起强盗。他们依靠高山大泽的险阻，官吏无法制服，只好蒙蔽上级，以致盗贼渐渐地越来越多。
吏用苛暴立威，旁缘莽禁，侵刻小民，富者不自保，贫者无以自存，于是并起为盗贼，依阻山泽，吏不能禽而覆蔽之，浸淫日广。
Officials used cruel means to establish their authority and used Wang Mang's ban to seize private property. The rich cannot protect their own property, and the poor cannot survive. As a result, the rich and the poor become robbers. They relied on the difficulties of high mountains and deep lakes, and the officials could not subdue them, so they had to deceive their superiors, so that the robbers gradually became more and more numerous.