📚 Yuanshen Haikua — a Qing-dynasty endgame manual
Red to move — checkmate in 7, machine-verified. Black has the larger army: two chariots, two cannons, three pawns and an advisor pair guarding the palace. Red has two chariots, one cannon, one pawn, both advisors and one elephant — yet seven moves are enough to tear open that crowded formation, for Black's king, however well screened, stands closer to the trap than he looks. The name borrows the Battle of Kunyang in the year 23 — one of the most famous victories of the few over the many in Chinese history: some 9,000 Han soldiers held the city against the Xin dynasty's host, which tradition swells to '420,000'. How real is that number, and what did the young general who slipped out of the city at night with 13 horsemen go on to do? The anecdote below examines it. First, the board: can you find the opening move of the 7-move sequence?
✓ Engine-verified — The Fairy-Stockfish engine (NNUE) confirms Red checkmates in 7 moves — the main line was checked move by move, every move legal. Date checked: 2026-11-03.
9,000 Men Hold a City Against '420,000': The Battle That Turned an Empire
In 23 AD, Wang Mang's Xin dynasty sent a huge army to crush a revolt, and Kunyang city held only about 9,000 Han troops. A young general led 13 horsemen out of the city at night... and returned to win the most improbable victory of the Eastern Han age. But was the '420,000' figure real? The young…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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