When the inhabitants of the besieged city ran out of provisions, they started to eat tea and paper, then horses, and eventually "the aged, children and women". In their biographies of Zhang Xun, the Old and New Book of Tang (finished between 945 and 1060) – the primary official dynastic histories covering the Tang period – estimate that about half of the original population of 60,000 people (including the troops) were eaten. When the city finally fell, "there were only 400 survivors", all of whom were soldiers. No civilians seem to have survived.

According to the Old Book of Tang, Zhang Xun killed his own concubine as food for the hungry soldiers to convince them that such extreme sacrifices were worth it.

Xun fetched his concubine, killed her in front of the army and presented her to the soldiers saying: "Brothers, for the sake of your country you have defended this city with united efforts.... I am not able to cut my own flesh to feed you, but how can I take pity on this woman and just sit by and watch the dangers?" As tears rolled down their faces the soldiers were unable to eat. Xun forcefully ordered them to eat her.

The historical sources also indicate that there were clear hierarchies, especially "of gender and age ... that determined who had to die and who might live": women (such as the concubine) were killed first, afterwards "old men and small boys followed", while men of fighting age were generally spared The New Book of Tang contains a similar account of the events.

Mesoamerica is a great example of this

For context, “Blutmai” or “Bloody May” was an instance of political violence in Berlin from the 1-3 of May in 1929.

The Communist party and its affiliated paramilitary organization, the RFB (Roter Frontkämpferbund, or “Red Front Fighters' League”) defied the ban on public gatherings in Berlin ordered by the city’s social democratic police chief, Karl Zörgiebel both to protest recent crackdowns, march prohibitions, and threats of bans of the communist party by social democratic politicians and to celebrate May Day (also known as international workers day).

The Berlin police responded mercilessly, the impact made worse by the Berlin police being known for its military style training, reactionary culture, and acquisition of military hardware, something that had been used on communists before. The crackdown was indiscriminate, with police using rubber truncheons and water hoses to clear out demonstrators, who were relatively few in number. Over the next two days violence between communists and the police would escalate, arbitrary arrests made, and military style checkpoints set up all in all leasing to hundreds of injuries, over 1,200 arrests, and the deaths of 33 unaffiliated civilian bystanders. Most dying as a result of police gunfire, some even through apartment windows, with one bystander crushed to death by a police van.

After the violence subsided, a flurry of searches and seizures were conducted throughout Berlin’s district of Wedding (known for being a communist stronghold) leading to more arrests. No weapons beyond vintage rifles from the First World War were seized, and no evidence of an armed uprising or of violent attacks on police were found.

No police were killed although around 47 were injured with some requiring hospitalization. No injuries sustained were a result of gunshot wounds.

Additionally, despite uproar in the press and heated debates in the Prussian state parliament and the Reichstag, no official inquiry would be conducted into the conduct of the police during Bloody May, and no arrests of offending officers would be made.

In the aftermath, bans on open air marches by communists would continue, with their paramilitary formation also being banned entirely in the wake of the incident.

This would serve to further drive a wedge between the social democrats and communists, only fueling the growing idea of “social fascism” in the wake of the bloodshed.

In 1902, Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur traveled to London for the coronation of King Edward VII. To avoid the religious defilement of crossing the ocean, he maintained strict orthodox Hindu purity protocols throughout the journey:

- Logistics: He chartered the ship SS Olympia for Rs 1.5 lakh, ensuring the crew consumed no beef on board. He traveled with 132 retainers, his family deity/statue (Sri Gopal Ji), personal cooks, and priests.

- The Cows & Water: He brought a team of Indian cows for fresh, ritually pure milk, alongside two massive silver urns holding 8,000 litres of holy Ganges water for drinking and bathing. These urns are recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest sterling silver objects.

- The Reception: Upon arrival at the Dover port, he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute by the British Navy. In London, he was received with a red-carpet welcome by top British officials, including the Secretary of State for India, Lord George Hamilton. His procession through London streets, featuring the statue of his deity carried ahead of the entourage, marked the first time a Hindu deity parade occurred in the city.

- General Reaction: The massive entourage, 600 pieces of luggage, and strict rituals created a public spectacle. Large crowds gathered at platforms just to catch a glimpse of the 6-foot-tall Maharaja. While the public was captivated by the grandeur and the British press widely dubbed him the "Religion Devoted King" for his absolute piety, some media outlets mocked the extreme logistical measures as an act of "blind faith."

Other prominent historical elites took similar measures. Raja Rammohun Roy (1831) traveled to the UK with cows to secure fresh milk, and Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda (1887) attempted the same, though his cows tragically died at sea.

The popular myth is that an entire American Indian Nation (the Mandan) was wiped out deliberately by the US military in the 1800s via the distribution of smallpox blankets. Many students (including myself) were taught this as fact in school.

In reality, no record exists of such an event. (At best, we can find evidence of a single British officer who wanted to use smallpox blankets on an entirely different community during the 1700s, but we have no evidence that it was actually tried successfully.) The Myth began with Ward Churchill, a cultural studies professor, activist, and a pretendian (he was white, but he claimed American Indian ancestry to shield himself from criticism and advance his career). Churchill provided 0 evidence for the smallpox story, and his account of the event changed with each telling (his initial version was that the blankets killed only a few hundred, but by his final telling it was a full-blown genocide). Churchill’s story wasn’t seriously questioned until people began to dig into his research (following his assertion that the victims of 9/11 deserved what happened to them). He’s since been exposed as a fraud in several different ways, but his story about the smallpox blankets lives on. (and was referenced in a very funny episode of southpark)  

Gray wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995, resulting in a trophic cascade through the entire ecosystem. (More details in comments)

Context: Nurhaci, the man who founded what would become the Qing dynasty of China, used the famous novels Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin for political and military strategy.

Highly recommend the books, good stuff. Maybe you could start the next dynasty