Li Mu(Chinese:Lý mục;died 229 BC), personal nameZuo( tả ),courtesy nameMu( mục ), was a Chinese military General of the State ofZhaoduring theWarring States period.He is regarded by Chinese folklore as one of the four Greatest Generals of the Late Warring States period, along withBai Qi,Wang Jian,andLian Po.He is widely considered as one of the best defensive tacticians commanders of ancient warfare.[citation needed]
Li Mu Lý mục | |
|---|---|
 AQing dynastyportrait of Li Mu | |
| Died | 229 BC |
| Occupation | Military general |
| Li Mu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | LýMục | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | LýMục | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Life
editIn 265 BC, Li Mu was stationed inYanmen Commanderyand ordered to defend northwestern commanderies of Yanshan ( nhạn sơn ) and Daijun ( đại quận ) from raids instigated by theXiongnu( Hung nô ) and other tribes. He initially adopted an extremely defensive strategy, for which he was accused of cowardice and thereafter replaced by a more aggressive general.
The Zhao state prepared an army of 1,300 war chariots, 13,000 cavalry, 50,000 infantry and 100,000 archers. The army was scattered in the countryside. The Xiongnu sent a small force to raid the border, and Li Mu pretended to be defeated, and abandoned a few thousand men to the Xiongnu. Thechanyu(or shan-yü, title for the chief of the Xiongnu) heard of this and then sent a large force to invade Zhao. The Zhao divided into two armies, encircled and beat the Xiongnu, killing hundreds of thousands of men and horses. Then the Zhao exterminated the Dan Lan, defeated the Dong Hu, forced the Lin Hu to surrender, making the shan-yü flee.[1]
In 243 BC, Li Mu took over command in the war againstYanand managed to conquer Wusui ( võ toại ) and Fangcheng ( phương thành ).[2]
Later, as the threat from Qin increased with the previous ascension of KingZheng,Li Mu turned his focus more towards the western parts of Zhao. However, the State of Zhao was significantly weakened. After having previously suffered utter defeat at the hands of Qin forces led byBai Qiduring, and in the aftermath of, theBattle of Changpingin 260 BC, in which Zhao had lost virtually its entire army, most of the core Zhao territories had fallen to Qin. Furthermore, Zhao was diplomatically isolated as the Kingdoms ofWei,Yan,andHanwere too weak to offer any kind of support, whileQiandChuwere more willing to see the kingdom extinguished than face the powerful Qin.
Nevertheless, Li Mu could still hold out against and compete with the much stronger Qin forces. So while Qin could raid Wei and Han at will, they had a much harder time pillaging in Zhao.
In 233 BC, when Qin forces under generalHuan Yi( Hoàn nghĩ ) attacked the cities of Chili ( xích lệ ) and Yi'an ( nghi an ). Li Mu was appointed as commander in chief of the Zhao army, engaging and crushing the Qin army at Yi'an ( nghi an; around present-dayShijiazhuang,Hebei) or Feixia ( phì; west of present-dayJinzhou,Hebeiprovince,China), depending on the different sources. For this accomplishment he was rewarded with the title of Marquis of Wu'an ( Võ An quân ).
During the year 232 BC, a Qin army invaded Zhao and captured the City of Langmeng, but were once again defeated by Li Mu at the Battle of Fanwu ( phiên ngô; in present-dayPingshan,Hebei).[3]Li Mu (according to some interpretations) also held off a Han-Wei incursion in Southern Zhao, after this battle the Zhao forces withdrew into their capital area.
In 229 BC,Wang Jianinvaded Zhao, but he (along with fellow generals Yang Duan He, Qiang Lei and Li Xin) could not make any progress against Li Mu, resulting in a stalemate. Eliminating Li Mu became a necessity for Qin to conquer Zhao and ultimately to unifyChina.The Qin decided to send spies to the Zhao court, bribing key courtiers such as Guo Kai ( quách khai ) and Han Cang ( Hàn thương ) to persuade the King of Zhao to replace Li Mu and Sima Shang ( Tư Mã thượng ) with Zhao Cong ( Triệu hành ) and Yan Ju ( nhan tụ ) as generals by alleging that the former were planning a rebellion. The plan succeeded. Li Mu was expelled from his position and soon thereafter either executed or forced to commit suicide on the king's orders.[4]
With Li Mu's death, the fall of Zhao became inevitable, and the state was swiftly crushed afterwards by Qin forces. And in just a few years' time the state ofDaiwould also fall, therefore putting an end to the last remnants of Zhao.
Legacy
editLi Mu sometimes appears as amenshenonChineseandTaoist temples,usually paired withBai Qi.He is also commemorated atZhenbian Hall,a temple beside theTianxian GateatYanmen PassinShanxi.[5]He is also a central character in the mangaKingdomand its anime adaptation.
References
editCitations
editBibliography
edit- "Yanmenguan Great Wall",Travel China Guide,Xi'an.
- Cosmo, Nicola Di (2002).Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-54382-8.