There are many famous generals in ancient China, and often appear in the poetry of later generations are the "Flying General" Li Guang, such as "but make the Dragon City fly in general, do not teach Humadu Yinshan; Jun does not know the hardships of the battlefield, and still remembers General Li" and so on, but Li Guang himself has not been crowned marquis in his lifetime, so Wang Bo said "Feng Tang is easy to be old, Li Guang is difficult to seal", and most of Li Guang's descendants have also suffered tragically, especially his eldest grandson Li Ling.
Born in 134 BC, Li Ling looked very heroic and majestic when he was young, and he also had superb skills in riding and shooting martial arts, coupled with a considerable personality of generous and protective soldiers, so everyone believed that he had Li Guang's legacy and was a person who could inherit and realize Li Guang's legacy. It was precisely because of this consideration that Emperor Wu of Han appointed him to command eight hundred cavalry, and Li Ling had become a general at a young age.
When Li Ling was young, although the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu fought for many years, the xiongnu's power had been greatly reduced, far from the extent that liu bang could be surrounded in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, but it still had a strong strength, there were often wars on the frontier, and the vast battlefield was a broad enough stage for Li Ling. Although he only had 800 cavalry, he also went deep into the Xiongnu for more than 2,000 miles to inspect the enemy's situation, and repeatedly received Li Guangli and made great contributions.
In the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty (99 BC), Emperor Wudi of Han appointed Li Ling to transport grain and grass for Li Guangli, and after receiving the order, Li Ling personally came to the top of the hall, kept touching the ground with his head, knelt down and begged: "I and my subordinates want to directly confront the Xiongnu, please don't let us just serve as a transport team..." Emperor Wudi of Han was touched by his sincerity, so he gave him five thousand infantry to observe the enemy situation.
When Li Ling led his army to March to Junji Mountain, he encountered more than 30,000 cavalry of the main army of the Xiongnu Shan Yu, and was surrounded by the Xiongnu in a circle and circle. In ancient times, cavalry had an absolute advantage over infantry in the vast terrain, not to mention that the Xiongnu iron horse was known for its bravery and good fighting, so the Xiongnu thought that they were foolproof after encircling Li Ling's army.
However, although Li Ling was besieged by a large army, he was still not in a hurry, and ordered the soldiers to rely on the terrain to form a large chariot, once the Xiongnu cavalry launched a charge, the Han soldiers issued arrows in the formation, the Xiongnu cavalry came like a tide, and fell like grass in the control of the Han army, and the Xiongnu fell several thousand people in a wave of charge, resulting in the Xiongnu alone being frightened, so they ordered the 80,000 horses of the left and right kings to form a cavalry army of about 100,000 horses (and 10,000 had been killed).
The Xiongnu cavalry and Li Ling's infantry fought for many days, the Xiongnu could not win but suffered heavy losses and wanted to retreat, but some traitors in Li Ling's army absconded to the Xiongnu army to inform that the Han army was about to run out of arrows, so the Xiongnu continued to attack, and finally Li Ling pretended to surrender in order not to tire the soldiers, hoping to find an opportunity to return to the Han Dynasty in the future, at this time the Xiongnu's iron horse had been crippled.
After Emperor Wudi of Han heard that Li Ling surrendered to the Xiongnu, without much thought, he wiped out his entire family, and even Sima Qian, who interceded for it, was also sentenced to palace punishment, and Li Ling has been staying in the Xiongnu ever since, and after the death of Emperor Wudi of Han, Huo Guang asked him to return to Han, and Li Ling said sadly: "Soldiers are not insulted", and he carried the insult all his life.
References: Book of Han, History