Li Ling

Li Ling (Chinese: 李陵, died 74 BC), courtesy name Shaoqing (少卿), was a Han Dynasty general, who served under the reign of Emperor Wu (漢武帝) and later defected to the Xiongnu after being defeated in an expedition in 99 BC.

Li Ling was born in Chengji (成紀, in modern-day Tianshui) in the Longxi (隴西) region. He was the grandson of the famous "Flying General" Li Guang. According to the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, Li Ling was good at mounted archery, liked making friends and enjoyed a good reputation, much like his grandfather. As a result, Emperor Wu thought of him as future military hopeful, and appointed the young Li as a high-profile imperial servant (侍中建章監), a position which Wei Qing and Huo Qubing had previously held.

Li Ling was later assigned a military position to the border front, and once led 800 men over 1,000 miles into Xiongnu territory for a reconnaissance mission. Although he did not encounter any enemy, Emperor Wu soon promoted him to the role of cavalry commander, assigned him to lead 5,000 elite infantry, and placed him in charge of training local reserve forces in Jiuquan (酒泉) and Zhangye (張掖). A few years later, Li Ling started serving regular military roles, but limited to providing escort for higher-level generals such as Li Guangli (李廣利, also Emperor Wu's brother-in-law).

In 99 BC, Emperor Wu ordered Li Guangli to lead 30,000 men for an offensive from Jiuquan against the Xiongnu in the Tian Shan region. Li Ling was assigned to provide an escort for Li Guangli's supply line, a role Li Ling vehemently disliked. Li Ling therefore requested Emperor Wu to allow him to lead an individual regiment of his own to the east. Li Ling commented that he led a personal legion of "warriors from Jingchu and extraordinary swordsmen", who were capable of "strangling tigers and sharpshooting". Emperor Wu initially frowned at the idea, and warned Li Ling that there was no additional cavalry available to assign to him. Li Ling then bragged that he would crush the Chanyu's main tribe with nothing more than his 5,000 infantry. Impressed by Li Ling's enthusiasm, Emperor Wu agreed and gave him the go-ahead.

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