Li Guang is a famous general in the history of our country and has always been known as the "Flying General" during the Western Han Dynasty. Even the Xiongnu, who were known for their fierceness, could only avoid Li Guang when facing him. Li Guang's ancestor Li Xin was a major general of the Qin state during the Warring States period, and he also had the feat of repelling dan, the prince of the Yan state. Under the influence of the martial atmosphere, Li Guang's three sons, Li Danghu, Li Jiao, and Li Dare, were strict with themselves and acted boldly when they were young.
Among them, especially the youngest Li Gan, who has already shown the style of a general when he is not yet a minor.
It is said that in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (121 BC), when Li Guang led an army to conquer the Xiongnu in the north, he deliberately brought his younger son Li Gan with him, the purpose of which was to let him have a good temper in the real battlefield. Li Guang fought against the Xiongnu for many years, and did not pay attention to the tens of thousands of troops of the Xiongnu at all. Unexpectedly, because Zhang Qian was too slow to send troops, the Xiongnu Zuoxian King led 40,000 elites to quickly surround Li Guangguang's army.
Although Li Guang was not afraid of danger, his subordinates saw a steady stream of Xiongnu soldiers pouring in, and they were all frightened like earth. In order to boost morale, Li Guang took the initiative to order Li dare to send troops to test. Li dared to get the order and then put on his horse in armor and led only a few dozen soldiers into the enemy position without turning back. Li Guang saw that his son was so brave, and in addition to appreciating it, he couldn't help but worry about his son's safety.
Li Gan, who was not afraid of tigers, took the lead in rushing into the enemy position and charged around, and the Xiongnu army that killed directly retreated one after another. Although Li Dare killed, he still planned a retreat route while fighting. It didn't take long for him to find a breakthrough from the left and right flanks of the Xiongnu army, and then returned to the army unharmed.
Li Dare, who had returned from victory, said to the Han generals in a spirited manner: "The Xiongnu are nothing to fear, I feel that they are easy to defeat!" Li Guangben wanted Li to familiarize himself with the atmosphere of the army, and did not expect him to help himself. It was unthinkable that Li Dare was so brave that he dared to fight against tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops with only a few dozen horses. After this battle, Li Guang looked at Li Dare with disdain and began to reassure him to march and fight.
In the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty (119 BC), Li Dare went with Huo to the north to attack the Xiongnu. When the two armies fought, Li Darede took the lead, killed countless Xiongnu soldiers, and took the lead in taking down the battle flag of the Xiongnu Zuoxian King. In ancient times, large armies fought with war flags and drums to boost morale. Li Darede was able to capture a battle flag heavily protected by the enemy in the chaotic army, and its difficulty was far beyond that of killing a major general.
In recognition of Li Gan, the imperial court ordered him to be made the Marquis of Guannei. In his lifetime, Li Guangrong fought more than seventy battles, large and small, and in the end, he did not win the reward of the marquis. Comparing the two, it can be seen that Li Dare's ability is strong.
Unfortunately, although Li Dang was brave and fierce, he was shot to death by the great general Huo Fuyi for hurting Wei Qing.
So, what's going on?
This also starts with his father, Li Guang. In his later years, Li Guang led an army with Wei Qing to attack the Xiongnu and decided to attack from the front. Unexpectedly, Wei Qing took into account emperor Wu of Han's will and sent Li Guang to copy bread from the side. In desperation, Li Guang could only obey orders. But the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the unfamiliar terrain is even more difficult to understand. Li Guang got lost on the way to the march and missed a good fighter, which directly led to the Xiongnu Shan Yu taking the opportunity to escape.
Afterwards, Wei Qing sent someone to ask Li Guang: "What happened at that time?" Li Guang's self-esteem was extremely strong, and he was only willing to silently bear the mistake and refused to answer. Wei Qing saw that Li Guang did not want to say anything, and sent someone to question Li Guang's subordinates, which made Li Guang even more embarrassed.
He said sadly to his subordinates, "I was a teenager when I first fought against the Huns, but I am now in my sixties. Counting, there have been at least seventy battles in these decades. Now, with my old body, I have attacked the Xiongnu again, and I want to do my best for the country again. Unexpectedly, the general actually changed my marching route and asked me to take a detour. Getting lost is my own reason, but why not providence? Alas, at my age, I can no longer be insulted by those knife and pen officials. ”
In order to maintain his dignity, Li Guang drew his sword and committed suicide to avoid the smear of those knife and pen officials. Lieutenant General Li Guangjun wept bitterly for this, and when the people heard this news, whether they knew Li Guang or not, young and old, they wept over it. When Li Guang died, his eldest son Li Danghu and second son Li Jiao had already passed away, leaving only his youngest son Li Gan. Li Dang was a subordinate of Huo Fuyi at the time, and was given the title of Marquis of Guannei for his military exploits.
At this time, After Li Darede learned the news of his father's suicide, he was full of grief and anger, and vented all his anger on Wei Qing. In his opinion, his father's suicide had a great relationship with Wei Qing. So, in a rage, he found Wei Qing, and then beat him up hard. Wei Qing also felt guilty about Li Guang's death, and instead of punishing Li Dare, he hid the fact that he had been beaten.
However, Wei Qing could bear it, but his nephew Huo Went ill could not bear it. While hunting in Ganquan Palace, Huo went ill and suddenly shot Li Dare to death with a dark arrow. When Emperor Wu of Han learned of this, he was angry in his heart and slapped Huo Fuyi more than a dozen times at once. However, for the sake of Huo's repeated military achievements, Emperor Wu of Han still decided to turn a blind eye to him. Finally, Emperor Wu of Han declared that Li Gan's cause of death was hit by a deer and had nothing to do with Huo's illness.
A generation of famous generals did not wrap the body of Ma Ge, but died at the hands of their own people, which cannot but be lamented. In this regard, Cai Dongfan once said: "Li Guang has not tasted non-loyal subjects, Li Dare has not tasted non-filial piety, but has died of excessive radicalism, and even the flesh and blood cannot be arrogant!" ”
Resources:
[Hanshu Li Guangsu Jianchuan XXIV, History]