33 Li Guang

The “Flying General”

Li Guang (?-119 BC) was the most famous and legendary general fighting Xiong Nu in Han Dynasty. He had qualified with unusual bravery and quick-wittedness, especially the high accuracy of shooting arrows, which had been admired as “zero loss in hundred shootings” Historians described his sagas with most vivid and detailed scenarios in most “thick ink and gaudy colors”. So his name was far more popular than that of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. Li Guang spent his whole life time at the northern border of anti-Xiong Nu frontier. Once he had been the garrison general in Hebei Province, many Xiong Nu soldiers, terrified on hearing Li Guang’s name, warned each other: “Be careful, this is Han’s flying general!” Then Xiong Nu soldiers dared not to herd their horses in the south. But there must something like God played a joke to him, he never won a great victory instead of suffering a series of setbacks. There were dozens of his subordinates been promoted to be “Hou” (a post at top of official ladder) for their unusual military deeds, but, Li himself never.

Once Emperor Wudi sent four commanders commanding four separated divisions of troops to fight Xiong Nu, Li Guang was among them. Li unfortunately encountered enemy’s most powerful elite force. Due to the great disparity of strength, Li’s troops were totally defeated and Li himself was wounded and captured. Xiong Nu wanted to bring Li back alive. When Li lay on a wagon pretended to be dead, he saw a Xiong Nu escorting soldier ride a good horse. When the soldier move close, he burst a surprise action, jumped up, mounded the horse, grasped bow and arrows, pushed down the enemy and ran away. Hordes of Xiong Nu’s cavalrymen followed him, he drew the bow, shot down the first enemy, then the second, the third, … at last he made his escape.