Geng Gong: The Bloodthirsty and Lonely Loyalist

*Geng Gong, the Bloodthirsty and Lonely Loyalist* is the first installment in the six-part historical fiction series *Bloody Loyalists*. Drawing from the historical accounts of the Eastern Han dynasty, this epic novel chronicles the extraordinary defense of Shule City, where military commander Geng Gong and a garrison of several hundred men held out against a formidable force of 20,000 Xiongnu cavalry. Stationed in the Western Regions during the Yongping era, the ambitious young officer Geng Gong led his outnumbered troops in a desperate retreat to Shule City after the Xiongnu invasion. Facing insurmountable odds, the garrison endured extreme hardship—cutting off water supplies, digging a well deep into bedrock, boiling leather and bowstrings for sustenance, and resolutely executing enemy emissaries sent to negotiate surrender. After months of grueling siege warfare, only twenty-six soldiers remained alive. Reinforcements eventually broke through the freezing Tianshan Mountains, allowing thirteen emaciated survivors to finally return through the Yumen Pass. Despite his triumphant defense of imperial borders, Geng Gong later fell victim to political corruption and court conspiracy, ultimately dying in obscurity. Yet, his indomitable spirit endured through the centuries, inspiring generations of poets, military figures like Yue Fei, and enduring as an enduring symbol of loyalty, bravery, and national integrity in Chinese history.