In 75 AD, a debate about whether it was worth it to rush thousands of miles and labor expeditions to rescue hundreds of lone troops was launched in the Eastern Han Court. The fifth round of Sikong believes that the lone army in the western region is only a few hundred, facing tens of thousands of Xiongnu, and the siege has been more than a year, and there are many fierce and few auspicious. Laborers went on expeditions, drained the treasury's money and grain, and the victory or defeat was unknown; it was better to ignore it and let it fend for itself.
Situ Bao Yu stepped forward: "Although there are only a few hundred generals in our Han Army, each of them is a warrior who defends the country. Now that they are in danger, we must choose to abandon them without mercy. The brutal enemy of the Xiongnu was wounded externally, and the subjects of the Han dynasty were wounded internally. The subject can only hope that there will always be nothing wrong on the border, otherwise in the future, if the Xiongnu re-offend, who will His Majesty be?"
As soon as these words came out, the people in the government and the opposition immediately burst into flames, and all the soldiers looked west. It was as if they had seen the majestic Jade Gate Pass, the snow-capped Heavenly Mountains, the Huns who were spread over the mountains, the brothers, robes, and compatriots who were covered in sores...
How fierce was the battle of the Han army in the Western Regions? More than a year ago, Liu Zhang, a lieutenant of the cavalry capital, led the Han army west out of Yumen Pass, Dou Gu, Geng Gong, Geng Bing, and others fought a bloody battle, and the Han army conquered the Cheshi State in one fell swoop, rebuilt the Western Regions Capital Protectorate, and restored the influence of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions since the Western Han Dynasty.
However, the operation of the western region has been abandoned for a long time, and the main force of the Han army is facing the problem of food shortage, and can only withdraw to Yumen Guannei. Only Geng Gong and Guan Yu were left, each with hundreds of Han troops, and left behind in the Western Regions of Jinpu City and Liuzhong City.
Three months later, hearing that the Cheshi had surrendered to the Han Dynasty, the Northern Xiongnu Shan Yu transferred 20,000 cavalry to attack the Cheshi. Geng Gongwen sent 300 sharp soldiers to support the che division, and as a result, they encountered a Large Xiongnu army halfway through, and all of them were martyred.
The Xiongnu besieged JinpuCheng with heavy troops, and Geng Gong had only a few hundred Han troops in his hands. He had to smear poison on the arrow and shouted loudly: "This is the arrow of the Han family, and the one who shoots it will die of poisonous sores!"! Subsequently, crossbow arrows were fired in the city, and all the wounds of those who were hit by the arrows festered, and the Xiongnu army was in chaos. It happened that the day was stormy, Geng Gong took advantage of the chaos to lead the crowd to rush to kill, and the first encounter defeated the Xiongnu.
However, Geng Gong knew that he had few soldiers and horses, and there was a lack of water in the city, which was not a place to live for a long time. Therefore, he resolutely abandoned Jinpu City and retreated to Shule City, where the river passed. In two months, thousands of local people were recruited into an army. When the Huns came to attack Shule City again, Geng Gong led thousands of people to rush out, and the Xiongnu army was once again defeated.
The Huns, enraged, built dikes upstream and cut off the city's water sources. Geng Gong ordered the people to dig a well in the city, and after fifteen feet, the spring did not spring, and the soldiers and civilians were so hungry and thirsty that they had to squeeze out the juice from the horse dung to quench their thirst. Geng Gong was sad about this, and Yang Tian sighed: "I heard that in the past, Li Guangli went on an expedition to Dawan and stabbed the mountains and springs with a knife; if there is no end to the sky today, give the soldiers some spring water!"
The soldiers and civilians in the city all bowed down, and soon after, the well water was dug up in the city, so everyone was united and shouted long live! Geng Gong ordered his men to load water bags and smash them into the enemy forces under the city, and the Huns saw that there was water in the city and had to retreat again.
However, at that time, when the Han Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang died, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not send reinforcements to the Western Regions. Yanqi and Guizi rebelled against the Han and killed Chen Mu, the capital of the Western Regions; another lone army, Guan Yu, was also besieged in Liuzhong City; what was worse was that Cheshi also rebelled again, besieging Geng Gong with the Xiongnu.
Geng Gong's grain was exhausted, and he could only rely on boiling leather armor and pulling out bowstrings for food. In the long run, the soldiers were killed and wounded, and they fled, and the initial hundreds of Han troops were only a few dozen people. The thousands of local soldiers recruited are also not one out of ten. The Xiongnu knew that Geng Gong had reached the point of starvation, so he sent someone to persuade him to surrender: "As long as Geng Gong surrenders, Xu Zhibaiwu King is on a high position and takes the Xiongnu woman as his wife."
Geng Gong not only did not surrender, but also tricked the Xiongnu emissaries into going to the head of the city, killing them and roasting them and then eating them. [A thousand years later, Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong": Zhuangzhi starved for meat, laughing about the true origin of thirsting for The blood of the Xiongnu]. The Xiongnu were furious and continued to attack, unable to break the city for a long time, and held out for nearly a year.
Then there was the succession of Emperor Zhang of Han, and the dispute between the Eastern Han court and whether to rescue Geng Gong's lone army. Until Bao Yu said: "Now they are in danger, but we must choose to abandon them mercilessly." The brutal enemy of the Xiongnu was wounded externally, and the subjects of the Han dynasty were wounded internally. The subject can only hope that the border will never be troubled, otherwise in the future, when the Xiongnu attack again, who will His Majesty be his general?" ”
The generals and courtiers of the DPRK and China were boiling, and the voice of the battle was endless. The young Emperor Zhang of Han waved his hand, and the Han army from the three counties of Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang, and the allies of the Shanshan State, a total of 7,000 people embarked on the road of expedition to the western region.
More than a month later, Han Dynasty reinforcements arrived in southern Xinjiang to rescue the remnants of the besieged Liuzhong Chengguan. Subsequently, he stormed the traitor Cheshiguo, defeated the combined forces of Xiongnu and Cheshi, beheaded 3,800 ranks, and captured 38,000 cattle, sheep and camels. The Xiongnu fled north, and the Cheshi state surrendered to the Han again, and the rescue declared victory.
But at this time, guan pets in Liuzhong City in southern Xinjiang were already sick and dead, and it was not easy to talk about the snow in the Tianshan Mountains and over the mountains. No one knows whether Geng Gong north of the Tianshan Mountains is still alive, and no one knows how many Huns there are in the north of the mountains. Therefore, after deliberating, the generals decided to withdraw their troops and return.
At this moment, Geng Gong sent an emissary fan Qiang for help, knowing that Pao Ze was in danger. So he pleaded bitterly, and finally divided into two thousand Han troops, and continued to cross the mountain and go north to rescue Geng Gong. At that time, it was a cold winter, and the snow was several feet thick, and Fan Qiangyi had no hesitation and no obstacles to the wind and snow.
When Fan Qiang's reinforcements crossed the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at Shule City in a snowstorm, the defenders in the city thought that the Huns had attacked again. Fan Qiang could only shout, "I am Fan Qiang!" Lieutenant Geng Gong, the reinforcements of the Great Han have arrived." The only 26 remaining Han soldiers in the city, all in tears, opened the city gate and huddled with reinforcements.
The people abandoned the city and left, the Xiongnu heard the news and chased after them again, and the Han army fought and retreated. When they returned to the Jade Gate, only the last 13 warriors remained of the 26 surviving. They were all ragged and their faces withered. The Yumen Guanguan was greatly touched by Zheng Zhong after seeing it, and sent someone to bathe, change clothes, eat a full meal, and drink bitterly for the 13 warriors, which is the allusion of "the thirteen heroes return to the Jade Gate".
And personally wrote a letter of merit to the imperial court:
Geng Gong held the isolated city with a single soldier, and when the Xiongnu rushed, tens of thousands of people, for more than a month, his heart was exhausted. Digging mountains into wells, boiling crossbows for food, out of the hope of death and lifelessness. Thousands of ugly people were killed and injured before and after, and all the pawns were loyal and brave, and they were not ashamed of the big Han. The righteousness of the festival has never existed in ancient times. Yi Mengxian, to be a strong general. - Book of the Later Han Dynasty
Geng Gong defended the isolated city with hundreds of soldiers and horses, resisted tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops, and fought for more than a year, exhausted and exhausted. Digging mountains and digging wells for water, boiling bowstrings and leather armor for food, the danger of dying in the depths without a trace of survival. Thousands of Xiongnu were killed and wounded before and after, loyal and courageous, and not ashamed of the Han. Geng Gong's integrity and righteousness can be called unprecedented in ancient and modern times! It is reasonable to reward the knighthood and inspire all the han generals.
"Out of the hope of death without a lifetime." Thousands of ugly people have been killed and injured before and after, and all the pawns are loyal and courageous, and they are not ashamed of the big han." What a shocking insistence, hundreds of lone soldiers to thirteen heroes, behind the death and injury is just to not be ashamed of the Han, this is the han army, the dignity and pride of the Han people!
At the same time, Bao Yu stepped forward, and 7,000 soldiers of Jiuquan bravely came out. The Jade Gate Keeper went straight to the book, and the whole country was full of great righteousness. The various departments in the army do not distinguish between factions and do not envy each other's merits, but only respect for the brave and admiration for the robes. The Border Army did not give up a little hope of perseverance, and the imperial court did not give up a besieged hero, which was the highest and most moving moment of the Han people!