In 1940, a Russian construction worker stumbled upon the ruins of a palace, and strangely enough, the overall architectural style of this underground palace is full of oriental colors, with Zhou copper Han tiles, carved beams and paintings, and Chinese character inscriptions flowing in the clouds.
According to the research of scholars, it was confirmed that the identity of the owner of the underground palace was Li Ling, a famous general of the Han Dynasty.
Sima Qian wrote in the "Records of History": "The head of the Lingbei Dynasty fought for the enemy and won the death power of man, although the ancient famous generals were not enough." ”
Sima Qian's praise for Li Ling was overflowing with words. Later scholars have made a detailed examination of Li Ling's life and past, he was a great hero of the Han Dynasty against the Xiongnu, and his military achievements were outstanding.
So why is Li Ling called a hero? And why was he buried abroad, unable to wrap his body in Ma Ge, and return the fallen leaves to their roots?
Li Ling's introduction
Li Ling (李陵), courtesy name Shaoqing, was born in present-day Qin'an, Gansu, after Li Ling was a general, and his grandfather was the famous flying general Li Guang.
"But to make the dragon city fly in the future, do not teach Humadu Yin Mountain", Li Guang once made great military achievements in the war against the Xiongnu, and his reputation was far-reaching, Li Ling had high hopes since he was a child, hoping that he could inherit the mantle of his grandfather.
Li Ling also lived up to expectations, and in his childhood he showed an outstanding talent for learning, he was familiar with scriptures, quick thinking, and at the same time, he loved dancing guns and was proficient in horseback archery.
As an adult, Li Ling held positions such as shizhong and jianzhang supervisor, and because of Li Ling's outstanding ability, he was quickly promoted and deeply loved by Emperor Wu of Han.
Corporal Li Lingxian, benevolent and generous, Emperor Wu of Han, after inspecting him for a long time, decided to transfer him to the military department.
At this time, just in time for the continuous deterioration of Sino-Hungarian relations, Li Ling took the initiative to ask for help, willing to lead 5,000 soldiers and horses to attack the Xiongnu and serve the country.
Emperor Wu of Han saw that he was sincere, and with the idea of testing the waters, he gave him a soldier's charm and ordered him to lead an army to go out, and from then on, the legend of Li Ling began.
The two vertical and horizontal battlefields are alone and deep
Li Ling led his army deep into the Xiongnu for more than two thousand miles, reconnoitred the terrain all the way, marked the xiongnu position, and because of his military achievements, he was promoted to knight lieutenant.
Emperor Wu of Han ordered him to lead his men and horses to garrison Jiuquan, Zhangye and other places, and to practice more border guards and teach them archery skills to guard against the Xiongnu.
Li Ling ruled the army strictly, was a pioneer, had a high prestige in the army, and was very loved by the generals.
Intelligence officers of the Han army revealed to Emperor Wu of Han that the Right Xian King of the Xiongnu was stationed in the Tianshan Area, and Emperor Wu of Han quickly ordered Li Guang to attack the Right Xian King with 30,000 elite troops.
Emperor Wu of Han also ordered Li Ling to lead an army to transport grain and grass, and Li Ling requested emperor Wu of Han: "All of us in our army are fierce soldiers, and we should be brave enough to take the lead and act as a forward!" Emperor Wu of Han was impressed by Li Ling's courage and granted his request.
Because of the large number of troops and the shortage of military horses, Li Ling only led 5,000 infantry to set off and marched north for more than a month, and then camped at Junji Mountain.
He ordered his subordinates to draw a map of the terrain of the mountains and rivers that the troops had passed through for more than a month, and quickly returned to the court to report that Emperor Wu of Han learned of the intelligence and heard that Li Lingzhi's army was good, and his soldiers were loyal and loyal, and Long Yan was very happy.
Emperor Wu of Han rewarded Li Ling's subordinates as Lang Guan, promising Li Ling to return to the dynasty and then add officials to the knighthood, at this time Li Ling did not know that the crisis had quietly arrived, and the cost of going deep alone was high, so high that he needed to spend his life to repay.
The Huns were exhausted and captured
The infantry led by Li Ling set up camp at Junji Mountain, because the mobility of the infantry was too poor, and they did not find the Xiongnu army that was quietly approaching.
Shan Yu's main force of 30,000 cavalry surrounded Li Ling, Li Ling was not afraid of danger, ordered his soldiers to be stationed between the two mountains, set up a team, and waited in a strict position, the Xiongnu army saw that Li Ling's soldiers were few, ordered to rush to kill, and the battle began.
Li Ling took the lead in the charge, the archery was extremely accurate, one after another Xiongnu soldiers became the ghosts of his arrows, the Han army was deeply encouraged, ten thousand arrows were fired, and the Xiongnu cavalry fell one after another.
Li Ling led 5,000 infantry and gave the Xiongnu soldiers a first blow, the Xiongnu army fled into the wilderness, the Han army took advantage of the victory to pursue, defeated the Xiongnu, Shan Yu was horrified, and gathered his subordinates to besiege the Han army.
Li Ling led the army and fought and walked, and a few days later was forced into a valley, where many soldiers were wounded and demoralized after several days of bitter fighting.
Li Ling ordered the soldiers to ride seriously injured, drive lightly wounded, and persist in fighting without being injured, Li Ling boosted the morale of the whole army, fought again the next day, and beheaded countless Xiongnu, Li Ling took the opportunity to lead the army to break through.
At this time, the Han army, the soldiers were sleepy and lacking, and they were fighting completely by tenacious willpower, even so, they were still unstoppable, killing the Xiongnu and fleeing.
However, one of the soldiers in Li Ling's army, because he was insulted, gambled and fled the Xiongnu, he informed Shan Yu of the true situation of the Han army, and gave advice on how to defeat Li Ling.
Li Ling and the remaining soldiers fought with all their might, and finally only a dozen soldiers were left, and they were forced into a desperate situation.
His subordinates persuaded Li Ling to surrender, and Li Ling righteously said sternly: "The eldest husband should die in battle, otherwise he will not be a strong soldier." ”
In the night, Li Ling led his army out of the siege, the Xiongnu army pursued it, Li Ling saw that the general trend had gone, fought hard, and was captured.
The fall of deception into a true hero ends
The news of Li Ling's defeat and surrender was reported to Emperor Wu of Han by the officers and men of Biansai, who was furious and rebuked Li Ling's former subordinates, and Li Ling's men were humiliated and committed suicide in shame.
Emperor Wu of Han inquired about Sima Qian's opinion, and Sima Qian interceded with Li Ling, saying that he surrendered because he wanted to endure humiliation and burden, and to make meritorious deeds, but Emperor Wu of Han did not believe it, and even ordered Sima Qian to be imprisoned and sentenced to corruption.
Li Ling was surrendered, adhering to the ethics of loyalty to the country, always adhering to principles, and did not disclose any Han military secrets, and Emperor Wu of Han also thought afterwards that Li Ling failed because the reinforcements had not arrived, and he was also responsible.
So he ordered the civilian officials to go to the Xiongnu and take back Li Ling, but in the process of searching for Li Ling, the civilian officials listened to the lies of the Xiongnu captives, resulting in tragedy.
After returning to the court, the civilian official said to Emperor Wu of Han: "Listening to the Xiongnu captives, Li Ling has helped the Xiongnu train troops to deal with the Han army. ”
Emperor Wu of Han vented his anger on Li Ling's family and ordered li ling's nine tribes to be cursed, and for a time, Li Ling's notoriety spread throughout the government and the public.
When Li Ling heard this, he was devastated, he had no intention but was tragically slandered, and he was disheartened and really surrendered to the Xiongnu, and the hero ended.
epilogue:
After Li Ling surrendered, he lived in the Xiongnu for more than twenty years, and finally fell ill and died in his hometown, throughout his life, ups and downs, ups and downs.
He became famous at a young age, and after the gatekeeper, he led the army to break the Xiongnu and made great achievements, but his ending was sad, yin and yang, causing the whole family to be beheaded by the door, and he himself died in a foreign land.
"Thirty meritorious deeds of dust and earth, eight thousand miles of road clouds and moon", Li Ling, like Wei Qing and Huo Fuyi, drunkenly picked up lamps and swords, and made meritorious achievements in the vast desert.
He also longed to seal the wolf residence, helpless to create people, lamentable, although he was buried in the Russian dungeon, but his soul was immortal, worthy of the title of hero.