Li Ling was born into a family of generals, he was the eldest grandson of the flying general Li Guang, during the crusade against the Xiongnu, Li Ling fought with the Xiongnu with 5,000 soldiers and soldiers to the death of 80,000 cavalry, fighting for eight days and nights, killing tens of thousands of enemies, and finally surrendering with all his strength. Li Ling's surrender to the Xiongnu is a famous historical event, the protagonist of the event Li Ling has been controversial since ancient times, one of which is that he did not want to return to the Han Dynasty until his death, and was willing to serve the Xiongnu. In fact, after Emperor Han Zhao's succession, Li Ling's colleagues in his youth advised him to return to the Han Dynasty and promised him, but Li Ling refused to return to China, which became the biggest stain on his life. Then, why did Li Ling, who came from the family of the General Gate, not want to return to the Han Dynasty until his death? To know the answer to this question, we must start before Li Ling's expedition.
In fact, the defeat at the Battle of Li Lingjunjishan was created by the selfish intentions of Li Ling and Emperor Wu of Han. For Li Ling, grandpa Li Guang's ambition has always made him resentful. Li Guang had the title of "Flying General", and the history books recorded that he was brave and good at war, which made the Xiongnu afraid, but in fact, Li Guang lost more than he won in the battle with the Xiongnu. At the time of the Battle of Mobei, Li Guang was old and frail, and Emperor Wudi of Han did not want him to lead troops, but Li Guang was earnest and asked Emperor Wu of Han several times. Emperor Wu of Han could not resist Li Guang's pleas and eventually made him a former general. However, in such an important war, Li Guang was lost, and when he joined Wei Qing, the Xiongnu had already fled, and Li Guang was ashamed and embarrassed, and finally drew his sword and killed himself.
Li Ling was the eldest grandson of Li Guang, who was born into the Shogun family, but at this moment it became Li Ling's biggest shackle. His father Li Danghu died early, his grandfather Li Guang killed himself, and the Li family could not raise their heads in the door, so in his generation, he was eager to make a contribution and shine on the lintel. Therefore, in the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty (99 BC), when Li Guangli's army went out on a campaign, and Emperor Wu of Han ordered Li Guang to be responsible for logistics supplies, Li Ling prostrated his head and said: "The generals of the subjects, all the Jingchu warriors and warriors, the swordsmen of the Strange Materials, are also strong and strangled, shooting hits, and they are willing to be a team, and go to the south of Langan Mountain to divide the troops, and do not order the special township to divide the army." (Book of Han)
Li Ling was anxious to make a contribution, so he risked angering Emperor Wu of Han, just to get the opportunity to participate in the war. Li Ling eventually got the opportunity, but at the cost that Emperor Wu of Han did not allocate him horses. The Book of Han records that Emperor Wu of Han's initiative to ask for Li Ling was "strong and promising", which means that Li Ling's bravery greatly touched Emperor Wu of Han. However, in fact, if Emperor Wudi of Han really wanted Li Ling to make meritorious achievements, how could he not give him horses, and the reason why Emperor Wudi of Han agreed to Li Ling was probably to disperse the Xiongnu forces through Li Ling and create opportunities for Li Guangli. In other words, As early as the time of the expedition, Li Ling and his five thousand soldiers had become a lone army.
Li Ling encountered the Xiongnu Shan Yu's main force at Junji Mountain, and his 5,000 infantry was surrounded by 30,000 Xiongnu cavalry. If it was an ordinary infantry, it would not be able to compete with the Xiongnu cavalry, but the five thousand elite pawns led by Li Ling used the cart as a fortress to fight the Xiongnu to the death, repelling the Xiongnu charge several times. Because of the long-term inability to attack, the Xiongnu Shan Yu actually had the intention of retreating, but fatally, a soldier in Li Ling's army called Guan Dang surrendered to the Xiongnu because he was insulted by the lieutenant, and informed the Xiongnu that Shan Yu Li Ling's troops were alone, so the Xiongnu did not retreat and counterattack. Li Ling led his army to fight the Xiongnu to the death, killing tens of thousands of enemies, but in the end he was defeated due to the disparity in strength. Li Ling and Han Yannian and others broke through, and finally Han Yannian was killed in battle, Li Ling surrendered, and only more than 400 soldiers successfully broke through.
After Li Ling's surrender, Emperor Wu of Han was furious, and the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu was furious and scolded Li Ling, but no one remembered that he led his army to fight the Xiongnu to the death, and only Taishi ling Sima Qian said a few fair words for him, but he suffered corruption and punishment. After all, Emperor Wu of Han was not a emperor, and when he calmed down, he quickly figured out that Li Ling's surrender was because he was isolated and helpless, but it was a helpless move, so he sent Gongsun Ao to lead troops deep into the hinterland of the Xiongnu to meet Li Ling. However, Gongsun Ao did not receive Li Ling, and said to Emperor Wu of Han: "If you capture Shengkou, it is said that Li Ling taught Shan Yu to prepare the Han army for the army, so the subjects have nothing to gain." Gongsun Ao's words can be said to have made Li Ling no longer retreat, whether he was deceitful or not, when Emperor Wu of Han listened to Gongsun Ao's words, his treason charges were already confirmed. Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han ordered the destruction of the three tribes of Li Ling, and the Men family was also ashamed of Li Ling.
When Li Ling learned that his family had been killed by Emperor Wu of Han, he was heartbroken and hated him, because it was not Li Ling who trained the Xiongnu, but Li Xu, the Han Dynasty's governor of Saiwai who surrendered to the Xiongnu. Li Ling then sent someone to assassinate Li Xu to avenge the blood. But Li Xu could be killed, and what could Li Ling do to Emperor Wu of Han, who personally ordered him to be killed? Li Ling's answer was true surrender, since Emperor Wu of Han had already exterminated his three tribes for treason, why did Li Ling still have to be loyal to the Great Han?
What's more, the Xiongnu did not treat Li Ling thinly, and the Book of Han recorded: "Shan Yu Zhuangling, with his female wife, was established as the right colonel king." On the one hand, Emperor Wu of Han cursed his three tribes, and on the other hand, He gave him wealth, power, and beauty, and Li Ling finally chose to be loyal to the latter. The so-called Shomen family, his clan was destroyed by Emperor Wu of Han, why should he care about the backbone of the Shogun family.
After Emperor Han Zhao's succession, Huo Guang, Shangguan Jie, and others were in charge, and they were colleagues with Li Ling when they were young, and there was some friendship, so they sent emissaries to see Li Ling, and the emissaries advised: "Please ask Shaoqing to return to his hometown, and do not worry about wealth." However, Li Ling was reluctant to return to China, and he replied: "My husband can no longer be humiliated." ”
In fact, "no more humiliation" is more of an excuse, in fact, Li Ling already knew that the Han Dynasty had no place for him, his relatives were killed by Emperor Wu of Han, and for decades the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu regarded him as a traitor, even if Huo Guang gave him assurances, he did not dare to believe it. The general Li Ling, who fought the Xiongnu to the death, was already half dead when he surrendered, while Emperor Wu of Han personally killed the other half.
Li Ling was not a hero, and it was shameful to surrender to the enemy army for the generals, so he would never become a figure like Su Wu. Li Ling is a tragedy, his grandfather Li Guang is Wei Qing's stepping stone, and he Li Ling is Li Guangli's stepping stone, Li Ling wants to wash away the shame of the Li family, but he himself is the biggest tragedy of the Li family. As the protagonist of the tragedy, Li Ling would rather die in the Xiongnu land than return to his hometown, probably because he has a hard time in his heart.
Resources:
Book of Han