Huo Qubing, a famous Western Han Dynasty star, was besieged by Xiongnu in a deserted place during a war against Xiongnu. It's June, steaming hot, running out of food and grass, and lacking of water. Soldiers fell ill one after another, and many people urinated endlessly, with red urine, painful urine and swollen faces. Faced with this dilemma, General Huo was very anxious. In the midst of many difficulties, the general's groom suddenly found that all the horses were safe; He reported his observations to the general. It turns out that these war horses eat a kind of weed that grows in front of chariots. General Huo immediately ordered the soldiers to make soup with this weed. Strange to say, the soldiers miraculously recovered from the disease after drinking this weed soup. The soldiers bravely fought against the Huns and won the battle. General Huo was overjoyed. Because this kind of grass grows in front of parked chariots, it is named plantain.
There are also stories about plantain, such as the story of Yao Shunyu and the story of Ma Wu, a famous soldier in the Western Han Dynasty, who was besieged by the enemy in a frontier battle.