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. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince Liu Ju 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 Lady Li (李夫人, died between 104 and 101 BC), also rendered as Li Fu-jēn, was a Han dynasty concubine of Emperor Wu. Civil unrest broke out between her family and Wei Zifu's family. Moreover, her siblings defected to the Xiongnu and became ...

, 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) to obtain certain fine horses of the Ferghana 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 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

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