The longest-reigning emperor of China, the Kangxi Emperor (1661 – 1722), was also the last to maintain traditional Manchurian army regulations. These decreed that a commander who returned from a battle alone (with all his men dead) would be put to death. The same for an ordinary foot soldier.
The rule was intended to motivate bravery. Trying to save oneself would just end in an execution, so soldiers knew their whole unit needed to defeat the enemy to win.
