Li Guang

Li Guang (?~119 BC) was born in Chengji, Longxi (now Qin'an County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province), with ancestral roots in Huaili (now Xingping, Shaanxi Province). Li Xin, a famous general and national hero of the Western Han Dynasty, and a descendant of the famous general Li Xin of the Qin Dynasty.
In the 14th year of Emperor Wen of Han (166 BC), he joined the army as a son of a noble family. For his meritorious service in attacking the Xiongnu, he was awarded the title of Zhonglang. During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, he participated in the pacification of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion and served as the governor of seven northern border counties. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, he was summoned as the Wei Yang Palace Guard Captain. In the sixth year of the Yuanguang reign (129 BC), he served as the General of Cavalry and launched an attack on the Xiongnu. Despite being outnumbered, he was wounded and captured. He pretended to die to survive and was appointed as the Right Governor of Beiping County, known as the "Flying General". This made the Xiongnu fearful and hesitant to attack for several years, and he was later appointed as the Langzhongling. In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), he participated in the Battle of Mobei and served as the former general of the army. However, he got lost on the way and was unable to participate in the battle, so he committed suicide in anger. Sima Qian commented, 'Peach and plum blossoms speak for themselves, but they naturally become suspicious.'.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty, he was listed as one of the "64 Generals of Wumiao". During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Huairou Bo was posthumously honored and ranked as one of the "Seventy Two Generals of Wumiao".
Li Guang's ancestor was General Li Xin of the Qin Dynasty, who led his army to defeat Yan Taizi Dan. Li Guang accepted the hereditary archery technique and shot a good arrow. In the 14th year of Emperor Wen of Han (166 BC), the Xiongnu invaded the border in large numbers, and Li Guang joined the army with his son from Liangjia to resist the Xiongnu. Due to his proficiency in using arrows, he killed and captured numerous enemies, and was promoted to Hanzhonglang, serving as a knight to guard the emperor. After following Emperor Wen several times to hunt and kill fierce beasts, Emperor Wen once sighed, "How precious it is that my son did not meet him! How could the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households be as righteous as when my son became Emperor Gao (Liu Bang)!" (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) After Emperor Jing of Han ascended the throne, Li Guang became the commander of Longxi and was soon promoted to the rank of Cavalry General. During the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, Li Guang served as a brave cavalry captain and followed the Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu to resist the rebellion of Wu and Chu. Due to the capture of the rebel commander's flag, he made a name for himself in Changyi city. Although he made contributions, Li Guang did not receive any rewards after returning to court due to receiving the General Seal granted to him by the Prince of Liang without authorization. 
After the rebellion of the princes was quelled, Li Guang was appointed as the governor of Shanggu, and the Xiongnu fought against Japan and Israel. Sun Kunxie, the Duke of the Imperial Household, wrote in a letter: 'Li Guangcai is talented and unparalleled in the world.',
Proud of their abilities, they will fight against the enemy and fear death (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) He was then appointed as the Prefect of Shangjun. Later, Li Guang served as the prefect in Longxi, Beidi, Yanmen, Daijun, Yunzhong and other places, and was famous for fighting tough battles. The Xiongnu invaded Shangjun (county seat Fushi, now located in Yuhebao, southeast Yulin, Shaanxi), and Emperor Jing sent a favored eunuch to lead and train the army together with Li Guang to resist the Xiongnu. A eunuch led dozens of cavalry on a hunting trip and encountered three Xiongnu knights on the way. They engaged in battle with them, but the Xiongnu shot and killed all their attendants and wounded the eunuch. The eunuch hurriedly fled back and reported to Li Guang. Li Guang believed that the three were Xiongnu eagle archers, so he personally led a hundred cavalry to chase after the three Xiongnu eagle archers. The Xiongnu eagle archer walked without a horse and was caught up several dozen miles later. Li Guang ordered the cavalry to spread their left and right wings and personally shot and killed two Xiongnu eagle archers, capturing one alive. As soon as the prisoners were tied up and mounted their horses, thousands of Xiongnu cavalry arrived. When they saw Li Guang's army, they thought they were suspicious soldiers lured by the Han army. They were all shocked and immediately went up the mountain to set up their formation.
Li Guang's one hundred cavalry were also very scared and wanted to turn their horses and run back. Li Guang said, "I went to the army for dozens of miles, and now I am walking with a hundred riders. The Xiongnu are chasing and shooting me to the end. If I stay now, the Xiongnu will use me as a lure for the army and will not dare to attack me." (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) Li Guang ordered all the cavalry to move forward, and only stopped when they were less than two miles away from the Xiongnu's position. Li Guang ordered again, "All dismount and remove their saddles!" (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) His cavalry said, "There are many invaders and they are close, so there is an urgent situation. What should we do?" (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) Li Guang said, "The enemy invaders have taken me as their way, and now they have all removed their saddles to show that they will not leave, using their determination." (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) The Xiongnu cavalry really dare not launch an attack. At this moment, a Xiongnu general riding a white horse came out to guard his soldiers. Li Guang mounted his horse, led more than ten cavalrymen, shot and killed the white horse general, and then returned to his team, dismounting his saddle. He ordered the soldiers to release their horses and sleep on the ground. At this time, it was already late, and the Xiongnu soldiers still felt suspicious of them and dared not attack. At midnight, the Xiongnu thought that the Han army had hidden troops nearby and wanted to attack them at night, so they led their troops away. The next morning, Li Guang returned to the army. But 'the army doesn't know where to go, so it's useless to follow.' As the main general, it's not advisable to pursue without notifying the army.  
In 140 BC, Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, and his courtiers believed that Li Guang was a brave general. Therefore, Emperor Wu transferred Li Guang to the position of Wei Wei in the Weiyang Palace. At this time, Cheng Bushi was also appointed as the captain of Changle Palace. Both of them used to command the army as border prefects, but had completely different methods of leading troops. Cheng Bushi said, "Li Guang's army is extremely simple, but if the captured soldiers attack, there is no way to prohibit them; and their soldiers also lose their joy, and Xian Le dies for them. Although our army is troubled, the captured soldiers cannot attack us." The soldiers are all free to patrol and defend themselves at night, but if the Xiongnu attack, the army cannot resist. Cheng Bushi is known for his strict military management, emphasizing the organization, formation, and formation of troops. At night, patrolling and fighting, military affairs are tedious, but they are not afraid of the invasion of the Xiongnu. But the soldiers were suffering from Cheng Bushi's strictness and liked to follow Li Guang in battle, which was Cheng Bushi's gentle criticism of his old comrade Li Guang. During the reign of Emperor Jing, Cheng Bu Shi was repeatedly admonished and appointed as the Grand Preceptor of the Grand Secretariat. He was honest and devoted to grammar. 
In the second year of Emperor Wu of Han's Yuanguang reign (133 BC), Han used the city of Mayi (now Shuo County, Shanxi Province) to lure the Xiongnu military minister Chanyu into the border. Send a large army to ambush in the nearby valley, with Li Guang serving as the brave cavalry general and under the control of the defending general Han Anguo. Finally, the military official Shan Yu noticed the Han army's plan to retreat, and the siege of Mayi was unsuccessful. In the sixth year of Yuanguang (129 BC), the Xiongnu once again launched an army and headed south, with their vanguard pointing straight towards Shanggu (now Huailai County, Hebei Province). The Han army launched four attacks. Cavalry General Wei Qingzhi went out of Shanggu, Cavalry General Gong Sunao sent troops from Dai County (now located in Datong, Shanxi and Weixian, Hebei), Light Cavalry General Gong Sunhe sent troops from Yunzhong (now northeast of Togtoh, Inner Mongolia), Li Guang served as the Cavalry General and led his army out of Yanmen Pass. The generals of the four routes each led 10000 cavalry. Wei Qing launched his first expedition and stormed Longcheng (the place where the Xiongnu worshipped their ancestors in heaven and earth), beheading 700 people. Li Guangzhong was injured and captured due to being outnumbered. The Xiongnu Chanyu admired the name of Li Guangwei for a long time and ordered his subordinates: "If you get Li Guang, you will give birth to him" (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian). The Xiongnu cavalry then placed Li Guang, who was injured and sick at that time, between two horses and let him lie in a net bag made of ropes.
After walking more than ten miles, Li Guang pretended to be dead and saw a Hun boy riding a good horse next to him with a slanted eye. Li Guang suddenly jumped onto the Hun boy's warhorse, pushed him off his horse, took off his bow and arrow, and rode his horse with a whip to the south. Hundreds of Hun cavalry closely chased after him. Li Guang ran and shot the pursuers, finally escaping and collecting the remaining troops to return to the capital. The Han court handed over Li Guang to a judge, who ruled that Li Guang's troops had suffered numerous casualties and he himself had been captured alive by the Xiongnu. He should be beheaded and later used money to redeem himself, becoming a commoner. But Li Guang's astonishing equestrian and archery skills left a deep impression on the Xiongnu, which is why they called him the "Flying General of Han". During Li Guangfu's leisure time, he once went to Lantian Nanshan (Lantian Nanshan, now east of Lantian County, Shaanxi Province) with Guan Qiang, the grandson of Yingyin Marquis Guan Ying. Lantian Nanshan was a place where Xianguan lived and played. Wei Qihou Dou Ying, who had passed away due to illness, also lived in seclusion under Lantian Nanshan for several months. Once, at night, I rode a horse with a follower and went out to drink with others in the countryside.
When he returned, he passed by Baling Pavilion. Baling Pavilion had a curfew at night, and Baling Pavilion Captain got drunk and shouted loudly at Li Guang not to let him pass. Li Guang's attendant said, "This is the former General Li." Ting Wei said, "Even the current General cannot pass through at night, let alone the former General!" So he detained Li Guang and others and stayed overnight under the Ba Ling Pavilion. Not long after, the Xiongnu invaded western Liaoning and defeated the Han An Kingdom stationed in Yuyang. So the emperor summoned Li Guang and appointed him as the Right Beiping Prefect. Li Guang immediately requested Emperor Wu to allow the dispatch of Captain Balingting to go together. When he arrived in the army, Li Guang killed Tingwei and then wrote a letter of apology to the emperor. The emperor replied, "General, you are the henchmen of the country. The Sima Law says: When boarding a carriage, do not touch the crossbar in front of the carriage to show respect to others. When encountering funerals, do not wear the prescribed mourning clothes according to personal relationships. When mobilizing troops to attack those who do not obey, you must unite the hearts of the three armies and work together with the strength of the soldiers. Only in this way can you achieve a thousand miles of fear in anger, a thousand miles of terror in power, and show your reputation to the barbarians. The divine power makes neighboring countries afraid. Revenge and elimination are what I expect from the general. If you bow down and apologize, this is not what I expect!" It seems that the emperor did not blame Li Guang for this, but appreciated his approach. But this incident also reflects Li Guang's narrow chest from one aspect.
Han Anguo, a contemporary imperial censor, was humiliated by prison guard Tian Jia while he was in prison. Han Anguo said, "Aren't you afraid of me resurrecting?" Tian Jia was very humorous and said, "If you resurrect, I will kill you with urine." Later, Han Anguo was appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Liang. After learning about it, Tian Jia fled. Han Anguo humorously said, "If you don't escape, don't kill. If you escape, destroy the nine tribes." Tian Jia dared not leave and confessed to Han Anguo. Han Anguo smiled and said, "Can you pee for me?" Han Anguo not only released Tian Jia, but also treated him well. This is the demeanor of Han Anguo, where adults disregard the mistakes of petty people. But Li Guang couldn't do it. After Li Guang was appointed as the governor of Right Beiping, the Xiongnu were afraid and avoided him, and dared not invade Right Beiping for several years. Li Guang went hunting and saw a stone in the grass, thinking it was a tiger. He drew his bow and shot, shooting the entire arrow into the stone. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a stone. If you shoot again, you won't be able to penetrate the stone. As soon as Li Guang heard about the appearance of a tiger, he often had to personally shoot it. Ju Shou Right North usually shot a tiger once, but the evil tiger pounced on Li Guang and injured him. In the end, Li Guang shot and killed the tiger with his injuries. 
Li Guang, in order to uphold integrity, often distributed his rewards to his subordinates and shared food and drink with the soldiers. He served as an official with a salary of two thousand stones for over forty years, and his family did not have much surplus wealth. He never talked about purchasing family property and was deeply loved by the officers and soldiers. Li Guang is tall and has arms as long as an ape, with a natural talent for archery. His descendants and others, including Li Guang, learned archery, but none were as good as Li Guang. Li Guang is not good at words, and even when he lives in seclusion, he takes pleasure in archery to gamble on alcohol. He spent his entire life as a pastime. Li Guang loves soldiers like sons, always able to lead by example in everything. When marching and encountering a shortage of water and food, seeing water and food, not all soldiers can drink water, and he does not approach the water's edge; Soldiers don't eat everything, he doesn't taste food. Being lenient and not harsh towards soldiers makes them willing to sacrifice their lives for him. When Li Guang shoots enemies, he demands that his arrows be fired without fail, so he must not shoot within a few dozen steps. Often, as soon as the arrow leaves the string, the enemy dies in response. As a result, he was chased by enemies multiple times and was injured several times when shooting at fierce beasts due to his close range. Soon after, Langzhong Ling Shi Jian died, and Li Guang was appointed as Langzhong Ling. "Langzhong Ling" was the official in charge of the palace gates, but had great actual power and was the main functional official in the imperial palace. In the sixth year of Yuanshuo (123 BC), Li Guang became the Rear General again and followed the army of General Wei Qing to Dingxiang to attack the Xiongnu. Most of the generals were ennobled for their meritorious deeds, while Li Guangjun returned without merit. 
In 121 BC, Li Guang, as Langzhong Ling, led four thousand cavalrymen out of the Right Beiping to join the army of Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, in the expedition against the Xiongnu. Li Guang's army advanced hundreds of miles when suddenly they were surrounded by 40000 cavalry led by the Xiongnu King Zuoxian. Li Guang's soldiers were very afraid, so he sent his son Li Gan to enter the enemy's formation first to investigate the situation. Li Gan led dozens of cavalry to charge into the enemy's formation, piercing through the encirclement of the Xiongnu and capturing both wings of the enemy before returning. After returning, he reported to Li Guang, 'The Xiongnu soldiers are easy to deal with.' Li Guang's soldiers finally settled down after hearing this. Li Guangbu formed a circular formation facing outwards to resist the enemy. The Xiongnu launched a fierce attack on the Han army, with arrows raining down like rain. More than half of the Han soldiers were killed or injured, and the arrows were almost exhausted. Li Guang ordered the soldiers to pull up their bows and not fire them. He held a strong crossbow called "Dahuang" and shot several Xiongnu deputy generals. The Xiongnu soldiers were greatly frightened and gradually dispersed. At this time, it was already late and the Han officers and soldiers were frightened to the point of turning pale, but Li Guang remained confident and devoted himself even more to reorganizing the army. From then on, military officers and soldiers greatly admired Li Guang's courage. The next day, he fought against the enemy soldiers again, and at this time, the reinforcements from Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, arrived and lifted the siege of the Xiongnu. Li Guang's army was almost completely wiped out, and his achievements outweighed his own, without receiving any rewards. Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, delayed his journey and was executed. Later, he used money to redeem himself and became a commoner. Li Guang fought against the Xiongnu for over forty years, but never received the title of marquis. At that time, he was the cousin of Han Zhonglang, Li Cai. "Cai is a person in the lower middle," which is the eighth rank in the "List of Ancient and Modern Characters in the Book of Han. His reputation was far inferior to that of Li Guang. During the reign of Emperor Jing, Li Cai accumulated two thousand stones of credit. In the fifth year of the Yuanshuo era, he was appointed as the General of Light Chariots, and later granted the title of Marquis of Le'an. In the second year of the Yuanshou era, Sun Hong, the Acting Grand Duke, was appointed as the Prime Minister and held the position of San Gong. Many of Li Guang's subordinates were also ennobled, but Li Guang did not receive any titles or cities, and his official position did not exceed that of the Nine Ministers. During a conversation between Li Guang and Wang Shuo, a fortune teller named Wang Qi, he said, "When I attacked the Xiongnu, Guang was not among them, and below the rank of colonel in various departments, his talent was inferior to that of the Chinese. However, there were dozens of people who won the title of Marquis for their achievements in attacking the Hu army, and Guang was not a descendant. What's wrong with those who won the fiefdom without any merit? Why don't I consider myself a Hou evil and have a fixed destiny?" (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) Wang Shuo said, "General, think about it. Have you ever done anything that you can regret?" Li Guang thought about it and said, "When I was the governor of Longxi, the Qiang people rebelled. I tempted them to surrender, and more than 800 of them surrendered. On the day of surrender, I killed them. The biggest regret to this day is only this." Wang Shuo said, "There is no greater sin than killing those who have surrendered. That's why you can't be sealed
In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), General Wei Qing and Cavalry General Huo Qubing went deep into the northern desert to attack the Xiongnu. Li Guang repeatedly requested to go on expeditions with the army, but Emperor Wu believed that he was too old to be employed. It was not until the fourth year of Yuanshou that he was appointed as a former general and accompanied Wei Qing on his expedition. Leaving the frontier, Wei Qing learned of the location where Dan Yu was stationed. Wei Qing decided to lead his troops to launch a frontal attack on Dan Yu and ordered former General Li Guang and Right General Zhao Shi to launch a pincer attack from the eastern route. The east road is winding and far, with very little water and grass, which is not conducive to marching. Li Guang hoped to be a vanguard and confront Shan Yu head-on. He said, "I am a former general, but now the general has ordered me to leave the eastern region and fight against the Xiongnu. Therefore, I am determined to be Shan Yu. I am willing to take the lead and die first." (Biography of General Li in the Records of the Grand Historian) However, Emperor Wu believed that Li Guang was old and unlucky, and always encountered various situations when going on expeditions. He secretly instructed Wei Qing not to let Li Guang confront Shan Yu head-on. Li Guangjian refused to be transferred. Wei Qing refused his request and ordered Changshi to write a document, urging Li Guang to quickly go to his unit and follow the instructions in the document.
Li Guang left without saying goodbye to Wei Qing, and returned to the camp with extreme anger. He led his troops to meet with the Right General and set off from the East Road. The troops lost their way and fell behind the general due to the lack of a guide or the death of a guide (army lost guide), delaying the agreed military period. In the Battle of the Northern Desert, Wei Qing "waited for the enemy while facing the enemy," but Li Guang and Zhao failed to arrive during the war. Wei Qing made a decisive decision and creatively used a new tactic of coordinating chariots and cavalry. He ordered his troops to "surround themselves" with Wugang chariots to prevent sudden attacks from the Xiongnu cavalry, and ordered 5000 cavalry to launch an attack on the Xiongnu. Yizhi Xie Chanyu faced off with ten thousand cavalry. In this battle, the Han army pursued for more than 200 miles and captured and beheaded more than 19000 enemy soldiers. However, Yi Zhixie, who believed that the Han army was strong in many aspects and that the Xiongnu were not at a disadvantage in battle, took advantage of the nightfall and mounted a skilled running elite cavalry, leading hundreds of strong cavalry to break through the encirclement and flee northwest. Wei Qing took advantage of the victory and advanced northward, attacking Zhao Xincheng in Yanshan (now a branch south of Hangai Mountain), capturing a large amount of grain and military supplies gathered by the Xiongnu. The Han army stayed here for a day, then set fire to Zhao Xincheng and the remaining grain that could not be transported from the city, and returned south. After arriving in the southern desert, Wei Qing met with Li Guang and Zhao Shiqi. 
After the meeting, in order to report the progress of this battle to Emperor Wu, Wei Qing sent the chief historian to bring dry food, wine, and food to Li Guang, and asked about the situation of Li Guang and others getting lost. Li Guang did not answer, so Wei Qing urgently asked the Chief Historian to check the records of the Mo Mansion in Guang, and went there. The term 'book' refers to a document or calligraphy order. There are two possibilities for the 'Mofu' here, one is the shogunate of Wei Qing, and the other is the shogunate of Li Guang. Both shogunates have documents as a basis for confrontation. Li Guang said, "All the school captains are innocent, but I have lost my way. I am now writing my own book." ("Biography of General Li" in "Records of the Grand Historian") Li Guang returned to the military headquarters and said to his subordinates, "Guang Jiefa fought against the Xiongnu for more than seventy years. I am fortunate to have received a single soldier from the General, but the General has moved back to the Guang headquarters and lost his way. Isn't it heaven! Moreover, Guang is over sixty years old, and he can no longer deal with officials who are skilled as knives and pens (officials who are responsible for writing official documents with sharp strokes like knives)." ("Biography of General Li" in "Records of the Grand Historian") After finishing his sentence, he drew his sword and committed suicide. The soldiers and doctors under Li Guang's command all cried. The people, whether they know him or not, both old and young, shed tears upon hearing it.  
Li Guang had three sons, with his eldest son Li Danghu dying early and his posthumous son Li Ling. Li Jiao, the second son, was appointed as the prefect of Daijun and died before Li Guang. Li Gan, the youngest son, often accompanied the army on expeditions. When Li Guang died, Li Gan, as a school captain, joined Huo Qubing to attack the Left Prince of Xian, fought fiercely, captured the Left Prince's drum flag, and beheaded many people. He was awarded the title of Marquis of Guannei and had two hundred households in his fiefdom. In the second year after Li Guang's death, Li Cai, Li Guang's younger brother, committed suicide for his crime. Afterwards, Li Gan acted as the Langzhongling on behalf of Li Guang. Before long, he harbored resentment towards his father Li Guang for his death and wounded General Wei Qing, but Wei Qing remained silent. Later, Li dared to go to Shangyong and hunt at Ganquan Palace, but was shot and killed by General Huo Qubing. At that time, Huo Qubing was being favored by Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu argued, 'The deer touched and killed him.' (From the Book of Han, Biography of Li Guangsu)