Li Guangli (died 88 BC) was a Chinese military general of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

and a member of the Li family favoured by

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign last ...

. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince

Liu Ju Liu Ju (; 128–91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", where Li is an unflattering name) was a Western Han Dynasty crown prince. He was the ...

in 91 BC, his nephew Liu Bo was among the candidates for the title of crown prince. Li was a brother-in-law of Emperor Wu, whose favourite concubine was his sister Lady Li, and was the chosen general in the

War of the Heavenly Horses The War of the Heavenly Horses () or the Han–Dayuan War () was a military conflict fought in 104 BC and 102 BC between the Chinese Han dynasty and the Saka-ruled (Scythian) Greco-Bactrian kingdom known to the Chinese as Dayuan, in the Fergha ...

. His supplies for his second sortie are described as being 100,000 cattle, 30,000 horses, and many mules and camels. Li besieged the city of Erh-shih (probably near

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

) to obtain certain fine horses of the

Ferghana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...

that had been demanded by the Han Empire but refused. He was given the title "General of Erh-shih" () in expectation of success. He diverted the river that supplied the inner city with water, and "received three thousand horses in tribute." In 90 BC, when Li was

campaigning Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

in the north against the

Xiongnu Empire The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209& ...

, his wife was imprisoned in the capital after being involved in a political scandal involving their in-law Liu Qumao (one of Liu's sons had married one of the Lis' daughters). Li sought a quick victory, hoping to win his wife's release. He overextended his army and was decisively defeated by a Xiongnu army of 50,000 led by their

Chanyu Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "'' Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the rulin ...

Hulugu Hulugu () was a chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire. He was the son and successor of Qiedihou and reigned from 96 to 85 BC. Hulugu originally did not want to become chanyu but was convinced to take the title by his brother. In the spring of 90 BC, ...

. Li surrendered to the Xiongnu, and the Chanyu gave him his daughter for marriage. However, about a year later, he was executed after having a conflict with

Wei Lü Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

( 衛律), another Han defector who was favoured by the Chanyu.

References

88 BC deaths Year of birth unknown Executed Han dynasty people Executed people from Hebei Han dynasty generals from Hebei People from Baoding Xiongnu {{China-mil-bio-stub