Thirteen Soldiers Return to Yumen Pass

26People defended the isolated city to the death, and 13 people survived Yumen Pass. This is the strongest voice in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In March of the first year of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, flags fluttered outside the Yumen Pass, where smoke rose high in the desert. The dusty army escorted 13 haggard and ragged soldiers into the pass. Looking at the towering pass they had not seen for a long time, the thirteen soldiers burst into tears.

After they entered the pass, Zheng Zhong, the Zhonglang General guarding Yumen Pass, personally bathed and changed clothes for the thirteen men, and submitted a petition to commend them:

Gong defended the isolated city with a single soldier, facing the Xiongnu's charge and tens of thousands of people for months and years, and was exhausted. He dug a well in the mountain and boiled crossbows for food, facing the hope of death and no hope of survival. He killed and wounded thousands of ugly captives, and remained loyal and brave, not bringing shame to the Han Dynasty. Gong's integrity and righteousness are unprecedented in ancient and modern times. He should be given a high title to encourage generals.

The news that the 13 soldiers led by Geng Gong were rescued soon reached the capital Chang'an, and the whole country was excited. Even Ban Gu, the author of the Book of the Later Han, wrote the following words at the end of his biography of Geng Gong:

When I first read the biography of Su Wu, I was moved by his willingness to eat raw meat and live in poverty, yet he was not ashamed of being a great Han. Later, when I read the story of Geng Gong and Shule, I couldn't help but shed tears. Alas, righteousness is more important than life, to this extent!

It is conceivable that Ban Gu must have written these words with tears in his eyes. In the Western Han Dynasty, there was Su Wu who herded sheep without changing his ambition; in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were thirteen soldiers who returned to Yumen and defended the isolated city to the death, with righteousness being more important than life.

Many people are familiar with the history of "Su Wu Shepherding Sheep in the North Sea" in the Western Han Dynasty, and are moved by the fact that Su Wu would rather stay in the ice and snow than surrender, but they know very little about the history of "Thirteen Soldiers Returning to Yumen" in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But if you really understand "Thirteen Soldiers Return to Yumen", you will be shocked by this life-and-death rescue two thousand years ago. The long-distance raid of thousands of miles, crossing the snow-covered Tianshan Mountains, was just to rescue the Han soldiers who had held the isolated city for more than a year and dealt with tens of thousands of Hun soldiers.

The passionate and heroic defense of the lonely city

In the 17th year of Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (74 AD), after decades of recuperation, the war-torn Eastern Han Empire quickly recovered and began to re-deploy military defense for the long-abandoned Western Regions.

Emperor Ming of Han went against Emperor Guangwu of Han's policy of not intervening in the wars among the countries in the Western Regions. In November of the 17th year of Yongping, he dispatched Cavalry Commander Liu Zhang and Sima Gengzhong to attack the Cheshi Kingdom, where he won a great victory. He then re-established the Western Regions Protectorate, thus starting a new chapter in governing the Western Regions.

In order to consolidate the results of the war, Emperor Ming of Han appointed Geng Zhong and Guan Chong as Wu Ji colonels. The former stationed his troops at Jinpu City of the Hou Wang's army, and the latter stationed his troops at Liuzhong City of the Qian Wang's army. Each of them led several hundred soldiers and resumed contact with the countries in the Western Regions.

The Western Regions at this time were no longer the Western Regions during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Taking advantage of the war in the Central Plains, the Xiongnu forces that had been wiped out by famous generals such as Wei Qing and Huo Qubing grew stronger again. As the Western Regions were the Xiongnu's inherent sphere of influence, how could the unified Eastern Han Dynasty interfere with them?

In March of the 18th year of Yongping, the Chanyu of the Northern Xiongnu led an army of 20,000 to attack the Cheshi Kingdom. Geng Zhong led 300 people to fight against the enemy, but was outnumbered and had to retreat to Jinpu City. After the powerful Xiongnu defeated the Cheshi Kingdom, they quickly besieged Jinpu City. When the enemy was outnumbered, Geng Zhong personally went to the top of the city to supervise the battle and repelled the Xiongnu's siege several times.

In the bitter cold of the Western Regions, water became the most important thing for survival. In May of the same year, Geng Zhong moved his troops to Shule City for water. In July, the Huns returned, and the two sides launched a heroic offensive and defensive battle around Shule City.

To this day, we can only glimpse Geng Zhong's predicament from the lines of history books. Outside the city was a force dozens of times larger than his own, and inside the city was the Han army, which had been cut off from water and food and had to quench its thirst and fill its stomach with horse manure.

But worse news came. Guan Chong, who had been supporting each other, was also besieged in Liuzhong City by reinforcements from the Western Regions and could not come to his aid. The Cheshi State, which surrendered and then rebelled, joined forces with the Xiongnu to attack Shule City where Geng Zhong was. Geng Zhong was in a desperate situation where no one could help him.

In order to undermine Geng Zhong's fighting spirit, the Huns sent an envoy promising him a high position and generous salary, but Geng Zhong killed the envoy and continued to struggle by eating the tendons and leather from his armor and bows and arrows, waiting for reinforcements.

A rescue plan full of twists and turns.

In August of the 18th year of Yongping, Emperor Ming of Han died. The Eastern Han Dynasty was in chaos and had no time to care for Geng Zhong and others who were trapped thousands of miles away. When letters of rescue were sent to the new successor Emperor Zhang of Han, officials in the court and the public debated whether to rescue them.

The majority, led by Sikong Diwulun, advocated giving up the rescue, because the rescue was useless both in terms of operational difficulty and strategic significance.

The Eastern Han Dynasty was in the midst of a period when the previous emperor had passed away and the new emperor's throne was not stable. The Shule City where Geng Zhong and others were besieged was neither a military fortress nor had any economic value. In addition, the journey was too long. Even if reinforcements arrived, Geng Zhong and others might have already been trapped and died in the city.

Just when Emperor Zhang of Han was about to be persuaded, Prime Minister Bao Yu spoke up for justice and facilitated this great life-and-death rescue.

"Now you send people to a place of danger and abandon them hastily. You will allow the barbarians to be violent outside and hurt the ministers who died in the disaster inside. If you really want to make sure that there will be no border troubles in the future, then it will be fine. But if the Xiongnu invade the border again, how will Your Majesty send generals?"

Most of the people considered the issue out of practical considerations, but only Bao Yu saw the true value of this rescue: "If we abandon loyal and loyal ministers outside the Great Wall, who will be willing to devote themselves to the country and die for it if there is another war at the border in the future?"

If Geng Zhong was not rescued, it would chill the hearts of hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the border. The Eastern Han Empire had a long national border and needed millions of soldiers to guard the border. The consequences of Geng Zhong's domino fall were self-evident.

Emperor Zhang of Han, a wise ruler, ignored the opposition of many people and sent elite troops from Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang counties, together with reinforcements from Shanshan, totaling more than 7,000 people, to successively capture Liuzhong City and Jiaohe City, forcing the Cheshi Kingdom to surrender again and defeating the Xiongnu cavalry.

However, as the snow blocked the mountain, and the Han reinforcements heard that Guan Chong was dead, they were in dispute over whether to save Geng Zhong. At this moment, Fan Qiang, an old subordinate of Geng Zhong, led 2,000 elite soldiers to advance in the snow, and finally arrived at the city of Shule despite everyone's opposition.

In the 5,000-year history of China, there are few battles that can be compared to this one on a snowy night. The sky was covered with snow, and the lonely city in the cold and quiet night was suddenly awakened by the neighing of soldiers and horses. After nearly a year of hard defense, the Shule City defenders, who had only 26 people left, looked at the soldiers and horses under the city in horror, and then heard the familiar voice that they had been dreaming about:

"I am Fan Qiang. The Han army has sent troops to welcome the captain."

From hundreds of people holding out to only 26 people still struggling; from digging wells for water to drinking horse manure to quench thirst; from eating leather from armor to eating animal tendons from bows and arrows, Geng Zhong led his troops to the last moment when they ran out of ammunition and food, and finally ushered in the dawn of victory.

The far-reaching impact of the Thirteen Soldiers Returning to Yumen:

The tragedy of "Thirteen Soldiers Return to Yumen" was far from over. In order to get rid of Geng Zhong, the thorn in their side, the Huns ambushed the Han army on their retreat several times. The Han army suffered heavy losses, and the number of heroes walking out of Shule City was reduced from 26 at the beginning to 13.

This life-and-death rescue mission that spanned thousands of miles finally came to a successful conclusion in March of the first year of Jianchu reign of Emperor Zhang of Han. The thirteen heroes of Shule City, including Geng Zhong, received due merits and rewards, but the historical impact of "The Thirteen Soldiers Return to Yumen" goes far beyond this.

From the perspective of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the new emperor Zhangdi succeeded to the throne and pushed forward this life-and-death rescue against all odds, which resulted in a successful outcome. He won a lot of popular support and quickly consolidated his ruling position, making the former ministers headed by Diwu Lun feel guilty and had to bow their heads and surrender. On the other hand, Geng Zhong's safe return to the country also quickly united the people's hearts, allowing the people of the Eastern Han Dynasty to feel the country's strong military power and strengthen their sense of national identity.

The thousand-mile rescue operation also sounded the alarm for the countries in the Western Regions. The small countries in the Western Regions, which were originally wavering between the Xiongnu and the Eastern Han Dynasty, reviewed again what it meant to "Whoever openly offends the mighty Han Dynasty will be punished, even though he is far away." This provided strong military support and military deterrence for the implementation of the Eastern Han Dynasty's subsequent Western Regions policy.

But the most important thing is that the patriotism and loyalty embodied in the "Thirteen Soldiers Returning to Yumen" have, with the advancement of history, become the enduring will of the Chinese nation and are integrated into the hearts of every Chinese son and daughter.

If a country and a nation have a group of people who are willing to die for their country at any time, then such a country and nation will always stand firm. I think China has achieved this today.