The Xiongnu, as an ethnic minority entrenched in the north during the Han Dynasty, had a glorious history, and even the Han Dynasty had to avoid its sharp edge at the peak of its strength. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has waged a decades-long war with the Xiongnu, during which many Xiongnu defected to the Han Dynasty, but many Han Dynasty generals surrendered to the Xiongnu.
Li Ling
Li Ling was a representative of the Han Dynasty generals who surrendered to the Xiongnu, and his tragic life made it difficult to summarize it with the word "Han traitor". Li Ling was the grandson of Li Guang, and in order to establish meritorious service and wash away the shame of his grandfather, Li Ling took the initiative to ask The 5,000 infantry to attack the Xiongnu in the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty (99 BC) when the general Li Guangli attacked the Xiongnu. After Li Ling's army reached Junji Mountain, it was surrounded by more than 80,000 horses led by Shan Yu. Li Lingli surrendered after the war, and received the weight of the Xiongnu Shan Yu, not only marrying Shan Yu's daughter, but also making him the Right Colonel King.
When Emperor Wu of Han learned of this, he was greatly angered, and Sima Qian almost lost his life just by saying a word of affection for him. Later, Emperor Wu of Han listened to the rumors and mistakenly believed that Li Ling taught the Xiongnu to use troops and destroyed Li Ling's entire clan. After Li Ling learned of this, he gave up his intention to return to Han and lived in the Xiongnu for more than twenty years, and finally buried in a foreign country.
Li Guangli
The Han Dynasty that surrendered to the Xiongnu was far more than Li Ling alone, and his former superior, Li Guangli, also surrendered to the Xiongnu. Speaking of which, Li Guangli was also a top foreign relative of the Han Dynasty, and his sister was Lady Li, the favorite concubine of Emperor Wu of Han, and because of this nepotism, he was quite valued. However, unlike Wei Qing, who had real skills, and Huo Went ill, Li Guangli was a mediocre general. In the first year of the Taichu Dynasty (104 BC), Li Guangli was appointed as the general of the Second Division to attack Dawan, and as a result, the loss of troops was broken, and the results were very average. However, Li Guangli's sister could not stand the pillow wind blowing around Emperor Wu of Han every day, and Li Guangli not only did not receive punishment, but became the commander who presided over the war against the Xiongnu. Li Guangli could not even defeat Dawan, where was the opponent of the Xiongnu, and after several battles, the losses were not small.
The elderly Emperor Wu of Han did not have the good use of the people of the past, and in the third year of Zhenghe (90 BC), he once again ordered Li Guangli to be the commander and asked him to lead an army to conquest the Xiongnu. Before the expedition, Li Guangli conspired with the chancellor Liu Quyi to take advantage of the prince's death in the scourge of witchcraft, and Liu Qi, the prince of Lichangyi, was made the crown prince. Soon after the matter was revealed, Emperor Wu of Han beheaded Liu Quyi, denounced his entire clan, and arrested Li Guangli's family.
When Li Guangli learned of this, he was very scared, worried that he would end up with the same fate as Liu Quyi when he returned. Without stopping, Li Guangli surrendered to the Xiongnu. The Huns extended a warm welcome to Li Guangli, which aroused the jealousy of Wei Lu, who had earlier defected to the Xiongnu. In the end, Li Guangli was killed by Wei Lu the year after he surrendered to the Xiongnu, and his wife, children, and family members were also killed by Emperor Wu of Han.
Zhao Xin
Zhao Xin was actually a Xiongnu, but he had the status of a General of the Han Dynasty. Zhao Xin was originally a small tribal leader of the Xiongnu, but later surrendered to the Han Dynasty in defeat, changed his name to Zhao Xin, and was given the title of Marquis of Qi. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Xin participated in many foreign wars and made many military achievements.
However, in the war against the Xiongnu in the fourth year of Yuan Shuo (125 BC), the 3,000 horsemen led by the former general Zhao Xin were almost completely destroyed, and Zhao Xin was captured and surrendered to the Xiongnu. Zhao Xin was originally a Xiongnu, and he was familiar with the military situation of the Han Dynasty for many years in the Han Army, so the Xiongnu took a lot of fancy to Zhao Xin and named him "Zi sub-king".
Zhao Xin was originally the little king of the Xiongnu, and now surrendering to the Xiongnu is only a rebellion against the Han Dynasty, so there is no psychological burden, and he wholeheartedly advises the Xiongnu. Zhao Xin was very familiar with the han army's way of fighting, and he served as a military staff officer for the Xiongnu, which brought many troubles to the Han Dynasty. However, Wei Qing and Huo Went ill were all at this time, and the Han Dynasty was also in its heyday, and the Xiongnu were not opponents of the Han army at all, and were beaten to the point that "the Xiongnu were far away, and there was no royal court in the south of the curtain (desert)". Although Zhao Xin was crowned "Self-Sub-King", he could only live a life of fleeing in a daze, and his family members in the Han Dynasty were also beheaded.
History of Yanmen Lieutenant
This is a small character who has no name, but he lets Ma Yizhi's plot be in vain, indirectly killing the general Wang Hui. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended to the throne, he was dissatisfied with the rampant madness of the Huns and wanted to do something to the Huns, so the Strategy of Mayi was born. The Xiongnu were caught up in the schemes of the han rich merchant Nie Wengyi and sent troops to prepare to attack Mayi, but they did not know that Emperor Wu of Han had mobilized 300,000 troops to ambush on both sides, so they waited for him to enter.
However, the Han army ambushed too much, and there were no soldiers and cattle and sheep along the way, which aroused the suspicion of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu shan yu captured a Yanmen weishi, who was greedy and afraid of death, and even told the Xiongnu all the deployment of the Han Dynasty. As a result, the Xiongnu successfully withdrew, and the 300,000 troops of the Han Dynasty returned without success. Emperor Wu of Han, enraged, put his anger on the head of Wang Hui, the proposer of the plan, and beheaded him. As for the fate of this Yanmen Weishi, after he arrived at the Xiongnu, he was crowned the Heavenly King, and his status was revered, but the end of his family can be imagined.
It can be seen that the Han Dynasty generals who surrendered to the Xiongnu during the Period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty included top foreign relatives such as Li Guangli, as well as small characters such as Yanmen Weishi who did not even have a name left. Their own results have been good and bad, but their families have been implicated, all of them have been murdered, and the entire family has been discredited. For example, the Li family where Li Ling is located was originally a shogun family and had great prestige, but after the incident of Li Ling, he was directly discredited and hated. Another example is Li Guangli, as a prominent foreign family, it is also said that it is gone. Therefore, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, whether it was the han traitors who took the initiative or were forced to surrender to the Xiongnu, there was no good end.
Resources:
Historia
Book of Han