Li Ling (Han Dynasty) - Aftermath of Defection

Aftermath of Defection

Emperor Wu initially thought Li Ling was killed in action, and summoned his family to pay tribute. However, he observed no signs of sorrow from Li's family and thus grew suspicious. As the battlefield was not too far from the border, it was not long before news of Li's surrender arrived. The Emperor became furious and ordered the court martial of Chen Bule, who committed suicide upon the message. The public opinion condemned Li as a traitor, and imperial officials began purposing punishing Li's family for his crime of treason. Sima Qian (司馬遷), a senior imperial historian and a friend of Li, was the only person defending him in the Han court. Emperor Wu was offended by Sima’s words of defence, taking them as an attack on his brother-in-law Li Guangli, who had also fought against the Xiongnu without much success. Sima was arrested for the crime of grand insult, and was tried and sentenced to death. Although his criminal charges were allowed to be paroled to lesser punishments, Sima Qian was not rich enough to pay it, so he was forced to accept the commutation to castration and jailed for three years.

Despite his majestic rage, Emperor Wu soon regretted his decision to allow Li Ling mobilize so hastily, and also realized what a mistake it was not listening to Lu Bode's suggestion. As a gesture, he rewarded the survivors from Li Ling's regiment.

One year later, Emperor Wu sent Gongsun Ao (公孫敖) in a rescue mission to retrieve Li Ling. Gongsun failed to achieve anything, but captured a Xiongnu soldier, who revealed that "Li Shaoqing" was training Xiongnu troops for the Chanyu. Concluding that Li Ling's treachery was evident, Emperor Wu had Li Ling's family executed. Since then, everyone from Longxi perceived the Li family as disgrace. However, it was later revealed that the one who trained Xiongnu forces was another high-profile Han defector called Li Xu (李緒), who happened to share the same courtesy name. Li Ling hence bore a deep hatred towards Li Xu, and arranged his assassination.