Chapter 56 5. Li Guang: The tragic ending

In the summer of 119 BC, long stars appeared in the northwest sky.The appearance of the long star is a sign of war.Sure enough, in the summer of this year, Liu Che held a military meeting and discussed his plans to launch a general attack on the Huns. Liu Che believes that according to the idea of ​​Zhao Xin who fled back to his hometown after taking kickbacks from the Han Dynasty, he thought that the Han Dynasty would not dare to attack aggressively if he moved to Mobei.Now, we might as well use our tactics and attack the Huns' lair in Mobei to completely solve the Huns' future troubles.

Liu Che's suggestion was unanimously supported by all the generals. Thus, the decisive battle in Mobei kicked off.In this battle, the Han Dynasty had two combat legions.One legion was led by Wei Qing, and the other was led by Huo Qubing.For this expedition, Liu Che prepared 100,000 powerful horses for them. It is necessary to explain that the war horses that Liu Che equips Wei Qing and Huo Qubing are referred to as millet horses.The so-called millet horse is a horse that eats millet.Compared with herbivorous horses, this stallion has a stronger physique. For one hundred thousand war horses, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing each get half.In addition, all the private horses owned by their officials have been used. There are 40,000 horses.There were hundreds of thousands of people in the logistics of the Han Dynasty, responsible for transporting grain to the front.

In terms of combat allocation, Huo Qubing led the special forces of the Han Dynasty, planning to set off from Dingxiang to attack the main force of the Xiongnu Shanyu; Wei Qing's troops planned to set off from Daijun, and the target was Zuoxian King of the Xiongnu. Liu Che gave the order to die, and this time he set out to strive for a decisive battle! ! Plans can't keep up with changes.When the two armies were about to set off, Liu Che suddenly made a major adjustment.The reason why Liu Che adjusted his army was because he received reliable information.This information was provided by the Huns captives.It is said that the Xiongnu Shanyu has moved again, and the direction is to the east.

In fact, this intelligence is correct. The reason why Yi Zhixie Shanyu moved was because of what Xin Zhao said.Xin Zhao believed that since the Han army came for a decisive battle.If it comes, beat it.Chen Bing lined up, just wait for them. Xin Zhao's move is called, wait for work with ease.In fact, throughout the ages, any beautiful war theory cannot stand the test of practice.Soon, someone told him that his idea was not valid. Liu Che believes that since the Huns are ready for a decisive battle.That's easy to handle, the best way is to fight hard.So he decided to change Huo Qubing to Daijun, Wei Qing to Dingxiang, and let Wei Qing's main force take care of the Xiongnu Shanyu.

Just as Wei Qing was about to set off, a person relied on him, saying that he must go out to join the battle. This person turned out to be Li Guang. Li Guang was originally not included in the list for this expedition, and there was only one reason, he was old.However, Li Guang refused to admit his old age.He joined the army at the age of fourteen, and he is over sixty years old this year.For him, the most golden time in his life was dedicated to the cause of fighting the Huns.For more than forty years, how many times he has escaped from death, what else can he not cross. Moreover, this Battle of Mobei was the last moment of the Han Dynasty's decisive battle against the Xiongnu.How many decisive battles can a general who takes war as his life's career experience in his life?How many times has Li Guang been thrown on horseback all his life, is he willing to die just like that?Of course not.

Therefore, he wants to participate in the decisive battle, which is not only a decisive battle against the Huns, but also a decisive battle against himself. However, Li Guang insisted on playing, which made Wei Qing very embarrassed.Because it was not his intention not to let him fight, but the emperor Liu Che's intention.Liu Che believes that Li Guang is not only old, but also extremely unlucky.For so many years, he went to battle repeatedly, either he returned desperately, or many people went out and few returned.This time, after the decisive battle, no matter what he did, he could not let Li Guang's bad luck ruin the good deeds of the Han army.

So what to do?Li Guang has fought wars for decades and has never been afraid of death.Besides, he is a military general of the Three Dynasties, so it is really unreasonable not to let him go out to meet the world. However, after thinking about it, Wei Qing agreed to let Li Guang follow him into the battle.However, he has one condition, Li Guang cannot play forward.On this point, Wei Qing and Liu Che's opinions were unprecedentedly unified. Li Guang can't play forward, it's entirely out of safety considerations.Because Li Guang is too aggressive, if he is allowed to play forward, there may be bad things.So Wei Qing sent Li Guang and the right general Zhao Shiqi to set off from the east and make an appointment to meet up.

Wei Qing made adjustments, and Li Guang immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.First of all, he has played forward for decades, you asked him to play guard, does this call him to adapt?This is not only a question of whether to adapt, but also a question of face.It's like on the football field, the coach calls a forward shooter to go back to play as a defender, where do you think he will put his airs? Secondly, if you want to make contributions in war, the possibility of a defender is very small.It's like on the court, the defenders just pass the ball to others.The striker is the one who shoots, and the shooter is often remembered by people, and the defender is often the one behind.Li Guang has fought all his life and has experienced more than 70 battles. When will he let others back him?

Therefore, not only did Li Guang have to join the battle, Wei Qing also had to leave him a forward position.This is the best time to make meritorious deeds, turn the world around, win meritorious titles, and regain his reputation as a frequently defeated general. Li Guang asked Wei Qing again, saying: "The purpose of my participation in the war is to be a striker."It's really inappropriate for you to suddenly transfer me to play guard now.I participated in the war against the Huns when I was sixteen. After waiting for so many years, I finally had the opportunity to fight the Huns head-on.I would like to act as the vanguard, even if I do my best, I still want to catch Shan Yu and bring him back to the general.

Wei Qing is also a soldier, so of course he understands Li Guang's feelings.Just because I understand it, I work hard.As everyone knows, this battle is important to Li Guang himself, and even more important to the world of the Han Dynasty.This expedition is a decisive battle, to achieve the one-time death of the Huns, not to make small troubles.According to Li Guang's personality, it is quite inappropriate to put him in the forward position in such an important war. So in the end, Wei Qing still rejected Li Guang's request. When Li Guang heard that playing forward was useless, he immediately became angry.Suddenly, he discovered a big secret.This secret is a person.This person is Gongsun Ao.Gongsun Ao was also arranged by Wei Qing to play forward.

Anyone who is not stupid can see that Wei Qing is leaving the opportunity to Brother Gongsun Ao.During the battle of Qilian Mountain, Gongsun Ao was lost and disappointed, and was deposed as a common man.He also desperately needs a chance to come back. After talking for a long time, it turned out that the striker's index was robbed by Gongsun Ao.When Li Guang saw it, he became even more depressed, unable to vent his anger.However, he still had nothing to say, and left Wei Qing's general's tent angrily. The army set off.Wei Qing pulled out more than a thousand miles beyond the Great Wall, crossed the vast desert, and found the Xiongnu Shanyu.As the intelligence said, the Xiongnu Yizhixie Shanyu had already laid out his troops and was getting impatient for waiting. Yes, the Han army was exhausted after rushing thousands of miles. For the Xiongnu, this was the best time for a decisive battle. Conversely, if the Xiongnu launched a sudden attack, it would be quite unfavorable to the Han army.In fact, it wasn't this matter that worried Wei Qing the most.What he was worried about was that the troops of Li Guang and Zhao Shiqi had not arrived for a long time. It seems that Li Guang and his party got lost in the desert again. However, war can't wait.First of all, Wei Qing ordered the soldiers to form a strong position with Wugang vehicles.The so-called Wugang chariot is an armored chariot.Surrounded on all sides, all the Han troops were lurking in the iron formation.Immediately afterwards, Wei Qing ordered 5,000 people to launch an attack. The Xiongnu dispatched more than ten thousand cavalry to fight against the Han army.The two sides fought, and the sky was dark.Unexpectedly, just as the two sides were fighting happily, a scene happened in the desert that the Xiongnu Shanyu did not expect. It turned out that the desert was windy. The strong wind whipped up sand and flew all over the sky, it was dark, and there was no distinction between the enemy and the enemy.What made the Xiongnu Shanyu unexpected was still behind.Taking advantage of the dark wind and sand, Wei Qing ordered the iron formation to be opened, divided into two parts, and surrounded the Huns. Only then did Yi Zhixie realize that he had been duped. Wei Qing's five thousand cavalry were just a decoy.According to his many years of combat experience, the Han soldiers are so fat that they are not opponents at all.If you want to fight, you can only die.The only way out is to slip away. Thus, Yi Zhi left the team obliquely and led the hundred brothers to break through and escape. At this time, the Han army and the Xiongnu soldiers were still fighting until dusk.In the end, the Xiongnu soldiers found that their heads were missing, and they had no intention of fighting, so they broke up one after another.Wei Qing cleaned up the battlefield, but there was no sign of the Xiongnu Shanyu.Later, when the Xiongnu captives were captured and questioned, it turned out that before dusk, Shan Yu had slipped away to the northwest. Wei Qing decided to send Qingqi to chase after him, and his own army followed behind.Wei Qing had no rest, and chased the Xiongnu Shanyu overnight. The next morning, after walking for more than two hundred miles, there was no sign of the Huns.However, the people of the Huns can be seen along the road.Wei Qing concluded that the headquarters of the Xiongnu Shanyu must be ahead. Wei Qing marched westward again, unexpectedly, he really found something good, this is the legendary Zhao Xincheng. Zhaoxin City is located in the southeast of Harhelin City in present-day Mongolia.Before Wei Qing arrived in Mobei, Zhao Xin had already ordered people to move all the Xiongnu food into the city.Unexpectedly, Xin Zhao's strategy of waiting for work with ease did not succeed, and even his old nest was found by Wei Qing. Wei Qing's troops entered Zhao Xincheng and stayed there for a day.In the end, he packed all the food in Zhao Xincheng, burned the city, and went home. When Wei Qing led his army across the Hanhai Desert South Road, news came that Li Guang and the other two generals who were playing the rear guard had found them.Wei Qing immediately summoned the Secretary-General (Chang Shi) and told him to prepare some food and wine, and greet Li Guang for him. It's a greeting, but it's a question.However, when the Secretary-General asked Li Guang why he lost his way and how he lost his way, Li Guang kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word. If Li Guang didn't say anything, the Secretary-General had nothing to do with him, so he had to go back and report to Wei Qing.Wei Qing said, it's fine if he doesn't come, as long as you call all his staff for interrogation.Ever since, the Secretary-General returned to Li Guang's place again, ready to roll the roll.At this time, Li Guang suddenly spoke. Li Guang said to the Secretary-General: Don't call names.The army got lost, it was all my fault, just let me go to the general for questioning. Li Guang kept his word.However, no one expected that this lonely hero would push himself to the end of his life. Li Guang came to Wei Qing's commander-in-chief's mansion, and his subordinates followed.When Li Guang slowly walked into the Commander's Mansion, everyone was surprised to find that this veteran general, with gray hair and a heroic body, couldn't conceal the loneliness and desolation in his eyes. Everyone watched Li Guang silently.At this time, Li Guang turned around, and facing his subordinate brothers, he said in an infinitely sad way: I participated in the war against the Huns at the age of sixteen, and experienced more than seventy battles.I am very fortunate to be able to follow the general and participate in this campaign.Unexpectedly, the general would not let me play forward, and I lost my way.All of this is God's will.I am over sixty years old this year, and I can no longer bear the interrogation by military judges. It's too late, but it's fast.As soon as Li Guang finished speaking, he suddenly drew his sword and killed himself. The sunset was red at dusk, and the desert was stained red with blood.Brave heroes, high-spirited heroes, lonely heroes, tragic heroes.This is the back view of Li Guang left to the battlefield, and it is also the last footnote of his life. When the news of Li Guang's suicide came out, all the brothers in Li Guang's army cried bitterly.When the news spread farther, people all over the world, no matter how old or strong, shed tears and mourned for it. Yes, the decisive battle is over, and the hero's curtain call is over. The wind fluttering on the side can be saved, and the boundless vastness is even more so.I have been to the battlefield, and the desert buried me again.If I am reborn in the next life, I will still be that immortal legend: But let the flying generals of Dragon City stay, and don't teach Huma to go to Yinshan.