Early Life
Li Ling was born in Chengji (成紀, in modern-day Tianshui) in the Longxi (隴西) region. He was the grandson of the famous "Flying General" Li Guang. According to the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, Li Ling was good at mounted archery, liked making friends and enjoyed a good reputation, much like his grandfather. As a result, Emperor Wu thought of him as future military hopeful, and appointed the young Li as a high-profile imperial servant (侍中建章監), a position which Wei Qing and Huo Qubing had previously held.
Li Ling was later assigned a military position to the border front, and once led 800 men over 1,000 miles into Xiongnu territory for a reconnaissance mission. Although he did not encounter any enemy, Emperor Wu soon promoted him to the role of cavalry commander, assigned him to lead 5,000 elite infantry, and placed him in charge of training local reserve forces in Jiuquan (酒泉) and Zhangye (張掖). A few years later, Li Ling started serving regular military roles, but limited to providing escort for higher-level generals such as Li Guangli (李廣利, also Emperor Wu's brother-in-law).
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