In 36 BC, the Western Han Dynasty sent 40,000 troops to the west to attack Khan, the northern Xiongnu who was an enemy of the Han Dynasty. When the army arrived in Zhi Zhi (now Kazak), it was unexpectedly discovered that a strange mercenary in Zhi Zhi's army used fish phosphorus array (the so-called "fish scale array"), which should be the consistent tactic of Roman infantry phalanx, that is, the infantry in the phalanx kept their shields straight around the phalanx to protect the phalanx, while the soldiers in the middle of the phalanx raised their shields to protect the whole phalanx. )。 This structure is like a turtle. It is invulnerable and has strong short-range firepower. It should be very powerful against infantry. But it's a pity that this tactic won't work when you meet the cavalry of the Han army. It was not until the battle was over that Rome was defeated. Only the soldiers of the Han army learned from the prisoners in Rome that these soldiers actually came from a distant and unfamiliar country-Daqin (Rome).

In 53 BC, crassus, one of the three giants of the Roman Empire, led the first Roman legion to attack the kingdom of Parthia in Central Asia (called the rest country in China history books, located on the Iranian plateau). The Parthians fought to the death. In May, the Roman Expeditionary Force entered a place called Calais and was ambushed by Parthians. Facing the dark Parthian army, crassus, unwilling to lay down and die, made a desperate breakthrough. After a fierce battle, the Roman legion completely collapsed, and crassus ordered his men to escape. After the Battle of Calais, the Roman Empire temporarily stopped harassing Parthia. In 20 BC, the two countries made peace. However, when the Romans proposed to repatriate all Roman soldiers captured in the Battle of Calais, there was one thing that puzzled them. When counting the number of prisoners of war, they found that there were only a few hundred. However, the news they got before was that many soldiers of the First Legion did not actually die, and the Romans and Parthians were in a state of confusion for some time.

The whereabouts of the Romans

Later, historians finally solved the mystery. It turned out that more than 1000 Roman soldiers rushed out of the encirclement. If they want to survive, their only choice is to avoid the blockade of Parthia's army and continue eastward. Finally, the remnants of the first Roman legion rushed out of the Parthian border and entered the Central Asian basin. There, however, are scattered small countries like Kangju and Da Yue. As a result, Roman soldiers who were good at fighting were accepted as mercenaries by these small countries. After these Roman soldiers came to Central Asia, they still maintained an independent fighting and lifestyle. If there is no big change, they are likely to gradually multiply and take root here. However, at this time, a war changed their fate again. The special prisoners of the Han army were Roman soldiers who fled to Central Asia that year. Some of them went to Kangzhou, while others acted as mercenaries in Da Yue. In 40 BC, Da Yue's family was in turmoil, and Wang Zhiyi, the assistant general, started a war and became the king of Da Yue. The defeated four vice kings, with their own troops and their families (later, 70,000 troops of Guishuang Empire invaded the Western Regions and were defeated by thousands of Han troops led by Ban Chao and the Western Regions), including those Roman soldiers, fled eastward to take refuge in the Hexi Corridor within the Han Empire. There, these Roman soldiers were properly placed. Roman soldiers who fled to Kangju were not so lucky, because they were involved in the war between the northern Xiongnu and the Han army.

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Huns on the border of the Han Empire have suffered many devastating blows. In 57 BC, there was a coexistence of five orders in the Xiongnu. In 53 BC, Uhaanyehe declared that he belonged to the Western Han Dynasty, and led his troops to move south to the vicinity of Yinshan Mountain. However, Zhi Zhi Khan, who was an enemy of the Han Empire, joined forces with the Han army to attack him for fear of inviting ghosts, and led his troops westward to Central Asia. In 40 BC, when Khan's army arrived in Kangzhou, there were only more than 3,000 people left. However, Zhi Zhi Khan soon got help from Kangju. King Kangju not only placed Zhikhan on the eastern border, but also lent him his Roman soldiers. In this way, the remaining Roman legions once again became mercenaries of the northern Xiongnu army.

The first encounter between the Han Dynasty and Rome! This should be the best part of the movie!

With the help of Kangju, Zhi Zhi Khan soon became strong again, and insulted the western countries, and established Zhi Zhi City. This castle is completely modeled after the Roman castle and is relatively strong. So the Huns hope to prepare for a decisive battle with the Han army here. In view of the fact that Zhi Zhi Khan's activities seriously threatened the security of the countries in the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, in 36 BC, the Han Empire sent Chen Tang as a general and led an army to attack Khan in Zhi Zhi. When the Han army surrounded Zhi Zhi, they found these strange soldiers in the other army. According to China's historical records, Zhi Zhi City is not only guarded by a "heavy wooden city outside the Tucheng", but also a "hundred infantry fish scale array". According to the previous understanding of Han people, it is impossible for Huns, as nomadic people, to master these tactics. What is even more surprising is that during the battle, these soldiers held high a huge shield one person high. They formed a square queue, wrapped the team tightly with the shield, and then shouted slogans and marched in a unified pace. When the enemy is far away, throw the spear out first; Come a little closer, and then pull out the knife and fight. However, due to the huge gap in strength, tactics and military thinking, I met Shang Chen, a ruthless character who will be punished far away! This strange tactic didn't change the result of the battle. Because the heavy cavalry of the Han Dynasty was very fast, they surrounded the phalanx of Roman soldiers in a twinkling, and then charged from all directions. Faced with the huge impact of the Han cavalry, the Roman tortoise broke up in an instant. The Han army easily broke through the phalanx of Roman soldiers. Finally, the army of the Han Dynasty took advantage of the situation and broke through Zhi Zhi City. Hundreds of Xiongnu nobles, headed by Khan, were beheaded in World War I. As for the Roman soldiers who were in shock, only 100 people were left, and they became prisoners of the Han army like their eldest Xiongnu.

The Han army escorted these Roman soldiers back to China without beheading them like the Huns. This is about proper location. In order to accommodate these special prisoners, Emperor Han Yuan also issued a special decree to establish Li Gan County (now Yongchang County, Gansu Province) in Hexi area. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "Li Gan County was established in the early Han Dynasty, and the county was named after the country", and some historians in later generations also thought that Li Gan was the name of the Roman Empire in the Han Dynasty. Since then, the descendants of the once-missing Roman First Legion have thrived here. Until 592 AD, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty merged Li Gan County into Fanhe County. Since then, there is no record of these Roman soldiers in China's history books. Note: Regarding this period of history, some scholars have verified that Ma Chao's Xiliang Army is descended from Rome, and the authenticity is unknown. It is worth mentioning that the Han Dynasty never confronted the Roman Empire on a large scale, but dealt a heavy blow to the northern Xiongnu and wiped out the Roman servant army. The Huns were forced to flee to Europe, and it was this group of fleeing Huns who destroyed the divided Roman Empire.

I remember an episode of "The Lost Legion of crassus in Rome" about this. Until now, the descendants of these Romans still live in China, and many of them have yellow hair and blue eyes. All cemeteries face the west-the direction of the Roman Empire.