As we all know, the Xiongnu have been a major enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty since ancient times, in order to resist the ambitious Xiongnu during the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Great Wall with huge manpower, material and financial resources, and in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of han sent troops to fight with them many times in order to repel the Xiongnu, so there were also many famous generals in the Han Dynasty, such as Huo Zhiyi, Wei Qing and others.
But in fact, there was another great general in the Han Dynasty, in fact, his merits were not much worse than those of Huo and Wei, but what made people puzzled was that this person finally surrendered to the Xiongnu. Why, at first, did this general, who regarded the Xiongnu as a mortal enemy, end up resolutely unwilling to return to the Han Dynasty that gave birth to him and raised him? Today, I will talk about the ins and outs of this matter for you.
Not long after Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, he sent Li Ling to lead an army to attack the Xiongnu, who expected that Li Ling, who only led 5,000 elite troops, actually encountered the Xiongnu's 80,000 troops, the gap between the two sides is so large, who wins and who loses is naturally self-evident.
In desperation, Li Ling immediately sent a distress signal to the supporting troops, but did not expect that the leader of the support, Lu Bode, did not send troops to support them, and the final result can be imagined, the Han Dynasty was defeated in this battle, and Li Ling was also reduced to a prisoner.
Emperor Wu of Han was very angry when he learned that Li Ling did not fight the Xiongnu to the death but surrendered to the Xiongnu, not only that, many ministers in the dprk and China also echoed and condemned Li Ling, but at this moment, Sima Qian stood up and made a different voice, he believed that Li Ling not only had the spirit of credit and morality, but also was very filial to the elders, so that people who were loyal and righteous must be waiting for the opportunity to continue to serve the country. However, Emperor Wu of Han, who was angry, could not listen to it, and even moved his anger to Sima Qian's body and sentenced him to palace punishment.
After Emperor Wudi of Han calmed down, he could not help but have some regrets, so he sent troops to the Xiongnu to bring Li Ling back, but he did not expect that Emperor Wudi of Han did not wait for Li Ling in the end, but waited for a news that made him angry, that is, Li Ling not only surrendered to the Xiongnu, but also helped the Xiongnu to train troops to resist the Han army.
At this time, Emperor Wu of Han was completely on fire, and without saying a word, he issued an order to behead all the old and young people in Li Ling's family, and when the people in Li Ling's hometown knew about this, they were ashamed of Li Ling.
In fact, there was a misunderstanding in this matter, it turned out that it was not Li Ling who led the troops to train the Xiongnu army, but Li Xu, but there was a mistake among the people who passed the message, which led to the tragic end of Li Ling's home full of doors being cut off. Later, when Li Ling heard about this, he was very sad, on the one hand, he was loyal to the motherland, on the other hand, he was pulling himself apart alone, and his wife and children who had been wronged, Li Ling had a hard time accepting this fact for a while, when the envoys of the Han Dynasty visited the Xiongnu, Li Ling could not help but question the envoys for the sake of the country to treat him like this, and the two of them found out after a confrontation that there was such a misunderstanding in the middle.
This is undoubtedly a big joke made by heaven to Li Ling, Li Ling's father died very early, he and his mother depended on each other for their lives, they were raised by their mother hard, it was difficult for them to become a general to let their mother enjoy the happiness, but because of a misunderstanding, his mother was killed by the monarch he was loyal to, such a blow almost made Li Ling depressed, he did not know how to face the motherland he loved, and he did not know how to face his mother under the Nine Springs. After some choice, Li Ling eventually stayed with the Xiongnu.
Later, the envoys of the Han Dynasty went to the Xiongnu to meet Su Wu, who had been imprisoned for a full nineteen years and did not surrender, and before leaving, Li Ling set up a banquet to send Su Wu off, and after drinking, Li Ling could not help but express his inner thoughts to Su Wu, if the imperial court sent someone to bring him back to the Han Dynasty at that time and forgive him for the transgression of surrender, then he would go back to continue to serve the country, but because of the misunderstanding, he killed all his family members, and he could no longer return to the Han Dynasty with peace of mind. Later, Su Wu was taken back to the Han Dynasty, but Li Ling remained in the Xiongnu all his life and never returned until his death.