📚 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.
9천 명이 '42만' 대군에 맞서 성을 지키다: 제국을 뒤바꾼 전투
서기 23년, 왕망의 신(新) 왕조는 반란을 진압하려 대군을 보냈고, 곤양(昆陽) 성에는 한(漢)의 병사 약 9천 명뿐이었다. 한 젊은 장군이 밤에 기병 13기를 이끌고 성을 빠져나갔다가… 돌아와 동한 시대 가장 믿기 힘든 승리를 거뒀다. 그런데 '42만'이라는 숫자는 정말이었을까? 젊은 장군은 훗날 한 광무제가 되는 유수였다. 그는 흩어져 도망치는 대신 성을 지키자고 고집했다. 밤에 기병 13기를 이끌고 나가 정릉과 언현에 흩어진 한의 병력 1만여 명을 모았다. 7월 7일, 유수는 결사대 1천 명을 이끌고 신의 선봉에 정면으로…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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