Huo Qubing 18 years old and was able to be granted a marquis, but Li Guang was not granted a marquis until his death. Li Guang is not only the famous " Flying General ", but also the idol of countless literati and poets. Sima Qian also calls him "unparalleled national sage", but he is brave and good at fighting all his life but never gets a title until his death. Wei Qing , much younger than him, and Huo Qubing were all named Marquis early. What is the reason? Is it really , Emperor Wu of Han, , biased?
has only one reason, and Li Guang mentioned it to not have enough people. Han Dynasty There is an iron rule for the title of marquis. When it comes to military merits and rewards titles, no matter how famous you are, as long as you don’t have military merits, it’s useless. Li Guang has his name and reality, but he has no merit. He was very awesome when he led the army to defend the city in the early days. When the Huns heard the name of "Flying General". Unfortunately, he had no offensive ability. Li Guang had no victory in the offensive battle of the Huns and was defeated for his whole life. Huo Qubing never lost his life. At the age of 18, he led 800 soldiers to kill 2,028 enemies. This battle gave him the title of " champion Hou ". At the age of 21, he went deep into Mobei and directly fought to the current Baikal , destroying more than 70,000 main Huns. He killed more than 110,000 Xiongnu people in his life, and Emperor Wu of Han killed only 150,000 people in his battle against the Huns. In this way, the reason why Li Guang failed to be a marquis was clear.
As for why Li Guang was so famous in later generations, he must thank Taishigong Sima Qian. Sima Qian was born in a noble family and was very opposed to foreign relatives. Wei Qing was just a cavalry slave before and only entered the palace with his sister Wei Zifu's relationship. This made Tai Shigong very dislike him. Therefore, his description of Wei and Huo was simple and simple. Li Guang was different. Not only did he come from a noble family, but his grandson Li Ling was also a good friend of Sima Qian. Therefore, the description of Li Guang in "Records of the Grand Historian" was full of praise, which made the name of "Flying General" be passed down to this day.
