1
General Li Guang was a native of Chengji in Longxi. His ancestor Li Xin had served as a general under the Qin and was the man who pursued and captured Dan, the Crown Prince of Yan. The family was originally from Huaili but later moved to Chengji. For generations, the Li family had handed down the art of archery. In the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, the Xiongnu launched a major invasion through the Xiao Pass. Guang, as the son of a respectable family, joined the army to fight the barbarians. His skill in horsemanship and archery allowed him to kill a great many of the enemy, and he was appointed as an Attendant at the Han court. Guang's younger cousin Li Cai also served as an Attendant. Both were appointed as Regular Attendants of the Martial Cavalry, with a salary rank of eight hundred shi. Once, while accompanying the Emperor on campaign, Guang charged through barriers and grappled with fierce beasts, and Emperor Wen said, "What a pity that you were not born in your season! Had you lived in the age of Emperor Gao, a marquisate of ten thousand households would scarcely be worth mentioning!"
2
When Emperor Jing first ascended the throne, Guang was appointed Commandant of Longxi and later transferred to the post of Captain of the Cavalry. During the Rebellion of Wu and Chu, Guang served as Commandant of the Brave Cavalry. He followed Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu in the attack against the rebel armies, captured an enemy battle standard, and won renown at the walls of Changyi. But because the King of Liang had bestowed upon him a general's seal, he received no reward from the court upon his return. He was transferred to serve as Governor of Shanggu, where he fought the Xiongnu in battle day after day. Gongsun Kunye, Director of Attendants for Dependent States, wept before the emperor and said, "General Li Guang's talent and spirit are unmatched under Heaven. He is so confident in his own ability that he repeatedly engages the enemy in battle, and I fear we shall lose him." He was thereupon transferred to serve as Governor of Shangjun. Later Guang was rotated through the border commanderies, and was transferred to Shangjun. At one time or another he served as Governor of Longxi, Beidi, Yanmen, Dai, and Yunzhong, winning fame at each post through fierce combat.
3
匈奴大入上郡，天子使中貴人從廣勒習兵擊匈奴。 中貴人將騎數十縱，見匈奴三人，與戰。 三人還射，傷中貴人，殺其騎且盡。 中貴人走廣。 廣曰：「是必射雕者也。」 廣乃遂從百騎往馳三人。 三人亡馬步行，行數十里。 廣令其騎張左右翼，而廣身自射彼三人者，殺其二人，生得一人，果匈奴射雕者也。 已縛之上馬，望匈奴有數千騎，見廣，以為誘騎，皆驚，上山陳。 廣之百騎皆大恐，欲馳還走。 廣曰：「吾去大軍數十里，今如此以百騎走，匈奴追射我立盡。 今我留，匈奴必以我為大軍［之］誘（之），必不敢擊我。」 廣令諸騎曰：「前！」 前未到匈奴陳二里所，止，令曰：「皆下馬解鞍！」 其騎曰：「虜多且近，即有急，柰何？」 廣曰：「彼虜以我為走，今皆解鞍以示不走，用堅其意。」 於是胡騎遂不敢擊。 有白馬將出護其兵，李廣上馬與十餘騎奔射殺胡白馬將，而復還至其騎中，解鞍，令士皆縱馬臥。 是時會暮，胡兵終怪之，不敢擊。 夜半時，胡兵亦以為漢有伏軍於旁欲夜取之，胡皆引兵而去。 平旦，李廣乃歸其大軍。 大軍不知廣所之，故弗從。
When the Xiongnu launched a major invasion into Shangjun, the Emperor sent a palace eunuch to join Guang in drilling the troops and leading the attack against the Xiongnu. The eunuch, leading several dozen riders on a foray, encountered three Xiongnu horsemen and engaged them in combat. The three men wheeled around and shot back, wounding the eunuch and killing nearly all of his cavalry. The eunuch fled back to Guang. Guang said, "Those must be eagle hunters." Guang thereupon took a hundred horsemen and rode out in pursuit of the three men. The three men had lost their horses and were traveling on foot. After Guang had chased them for a few dozen li, Guang ordered his horsemen to fan out to the left and right while he himself shot at the three men, killing two and taking one alive. They were indeed Xiongnu eagle shooters. After they had bound the prisoner and mounted their horses, they spotted several thousand Xiongnu cavalry in the distance. The Xiongnu saw Guang's men and, taking them for a decoy force, were alarmed and drew up in battle formation on the hillside. Guang's hundred horsemen were seized with terror and wanted to gallop back to safety. Guang said, "We are dozens of li from the main army. If we now flee with only a hundred horsemen like this, the Xiongnu will pursue and shoot us down to the last man. If we remain here, the Xiongnu will surely think we are a decoy for the main army and will not dare attack us." Guang ordered his men, saying, "Forward!" They advanced until they were only about two li from the Xiongnu formation, then halted, and Guang ordered, "All of you, dismount and loosen your saddles!" His horsemen said, "The enemy are numerous and close. If something urgent happens, what will we do?" Guang said, "Those barbarians think we are men about to run. If we all loosen our saddles now, we show that we will not flee, and so make them more certain of what they believe." And so the barbarian cavalry did not dare to attack. A barbarian general on a white horse rode out to marshal his troops. Li Guang mounted up and, with a dozen or so riders, galloped forward and shot the white-horse general dead. He then returned to his own men, unsaddled the horses, and ordered the soldiers to release the horses and lie down. By then dusk had fallen. The barbarian troops, deeply suspicious, still did not dare to attack. At midnight, the barbarian troops, now convinced that the Han had an ambush force hidden nearby waiting to strike under cover of darkness, withdrew their forces and departed. At dawn, Li Guang led his men back to the main army. The main army, not knowing where Guang had gone, had been unable to provide support.
4
Some time later, Emperor Jing passed away, and Emperor Wu ascended the throne. The Emperor's advisors considered Guang a renowned general, and so he was transferred from his post as Governor of Shangjun to become Commander of the Weiyang Palace Guard, while Cheng Bushi was made Commander of the Changle Palace Guard. Cheng Bushi had formerly served alongside Li Guang as a border governor and garrison commander. When they marched out to fight the barbarians, Guang imposed no formal ranks or battle formations. He camped wherever there was good water and grass, and let each man see to his own needs. He did not use sentries beating watch clappers for defense, and his headquarters kept its paperwork to a minimum. Yet he always sent scouts far afield and was never taken by surprise. Cheng Bushi, by contrast, maintained strict formations and encampments, posted sentries with watch clappers, and kept his officers working on military records until dawn. His troops got little rest, but he too was never taken by surprise. Cheng Bushi said, "General Li Guang’s army is exceedingly loose and simple; if the enemy suddenly falls upon it, there is no way to restrain them. Yet his soldiers lived at their ease and were content, and every one of them would gladly have died for him. My army may be burdensome and exacting, but the enemy cannot break into it." At that time, Li Guang and Cheng Bushi were both renowned generals of the Han border commanderies. But the Xiongnu feared Li Guang's cunning, and the soldiers too preferred to serve under Li Guang, finding service under Cheng Bushi a hardship. During the reign of Emperor Jing, Cheng Bushi had been appointed Grand Palace Master for his repeated candid remonstrances. He was a man of integrity who was scrupulous in his adherence to regulations.
5
Later, the Han used the city of Mayi to lure the Chanyu into a trap, stationing the main army in ambush in the valleys around Mayi. Guang served as the General of the Brave Cavalry, under the command of the General of the Guard. But the Chanyu discovered the trap and withdrew, and the Han army accomplished nothing. Four years later, Guang, in his capacity as Commander of the Palace Guard, was given command of an army and marched out from Yanmen to attack the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu, vastly outnumbering him, routed his army and took Guang alive. The Chanyu had long heard that Guang was a man of worth and ordered, "If you capture Li Guang, you must bring him in alive." When the barbarian cavalry seized Guang, he was wounded and ill. They slung a rope net between two horses and laid Guang in it. After they had traveled some ten li, Guang feigned death. Glancing to the side, he spotted a barbarian boy riding a fine horse. In a flash, Guang sprang onto the boy's horse, shoved the boy off, seized his bow, and whipped the horse southward. After galloping for several tens of li, he rejoined the remnants of his army and led them back through the frontier pass. Several hundred Xiongnu horsemen gave chase, but Guang used the barbarian boy's bow to shoot and kill his pursuers, and so made his escape. When he returned to Han territory, he was turned over to the judicial officials. The officials judged that Guang had lost too many men and had been captured alive by the enemy, crimes punishable by death. He was allowed to ransom himself and was reduced to the status of a commoner.
6
Before long, he retired to his home, where he lived for some years. Guang lived with a grandson of the former Marquis of Yingyin in the mountains south of Lantian, where they went hunting. One night, he rode out with a single companion and drank with some people in the fields. On the way back, when they reached the Baling postal station, the duty officer, who was drunk, shouted at Guang to halt. Guang's companion said, "It is the former General Li." The commandant said, "Even a current general may not travel at night. How much less an old one!" He detained Guang and made him spend the night at the station. Not long afterward, the Xiongnu invaded and killed the Governor of Liaoxi, defeated General Han Anguo, and Han Anguo was transferred to Youbeiping. The Emperor thereupon summoned Guang and appointed him Governor of Youbeiping. Guang immediately requested that the Baling duty officer accompany him to his post, and upon reaching the army, had the man beheaded.
7
While Guang was stationed at Youbeiping, the Xiongnu heard of him, called him "the Flying General of Han," and for several years avoided the region, not daring to enter Youbeiping.
8
Once, when Guang was out hunting, he saw a rock among the grass and, mistaking it for a tiger, shot at it. The arrow struck the rock and sank in up to the arrowhead. When he looked more closely, he saw it was only a stone. He shot at it again, but could never again make an arrow penetrate the stone. Whenever a tiger was reported in the commandery where Guang was stationed, he would always go out to hunt it himself. While stationed at Youbeiping, he went out to shoot a tiger. The tiger sprang at him and wounded him, but Guang managed to shoot and kill it.
9
Guang was a man without avarice. Whenever he received a reward or gift, he distributed it among his men, and he shared his food and drink with his soldiers. Throughout his life, Guang held a salary rank of two thousand shi for over forty years, yet his household had no surplus wealth. He never spoke of family property. Guang was tall, with unusually long arms like those of an ape. His skill in archery was a gift of nature, and though his sons, grandsons, and others studied the art, none could equal him. Guang was a man of few words. When he was with others, he would draw diagrams of battle formations on the ground, and then set up archery contests to determine who would drink, making the targets wider or narrower. Archery was his sole pastime, and it remained so until the day he died. When Guang led his troops through desolate country and came upon water, he would not go near it until every soldier had drunk his fill. He would not touch his food until every soldier had eaten. He was lenient and easygoing, never harsh, and for this his soldiers loved him and served him gladly. When he shot at the enemy, he would not release an arrow unless his target was within a few dozen paces, and he was certain of hitting it. When he did let fly, the target fell the instant the bowstring sang. Because of this habit of closing to short range, he was on several occasions trapped and hard-pressed when leading troops, and when hunting fierce beasts he was sometimes wounded by them as well.
10
居頃之，石建卒，於是上召廣代建為郎中令。 元朔六年，廣復為後將軍，從大將軍軍出定襄，擊匈奴。 諸將多中首虜率，以功為侯者，而廣軍無功。 後二歲，廣以郎中令將四千騎出右北平，博望侯張騫將萬騎與廣俱，異道。 行可數百里，匈奴左賢王將四萬騎圍廣，廣軍士皆恐，廣乃使其子敢往馳之。 敢獨與數十騎馳，直貫胡騎，出其左右而還，告廣曰：「胡虜易與耳。」 軍士乃安。 廣為圜陳外向，胡急擊之，矢下如雨。 漢兵死者過半，漢矢且盡。 廣乃令士持滿毋發，而廣身自以大黃射其裨將，殺數人，胡虜益解。 會日暮，吏士皆無人色，而廣意氣自如，益治軍。 軍中自是服其勇也。 明日，復力戰，而博望侯軍亦至，匈奴軍乃解去。 漢軍罷，弗能追。 是時廣軍幾沒，罷歸。 漢法，博望侯留遲後期，當死，贖為庶人。 廣軍功自如，無賞。
Shortly afterward, Shi Jian died, and the Emperor summoned Guang to replace him as Superintendent of the Imperial Household. In the sixth year of the Yuanshuo era, Guang was again appointed General of the Rear and followed the Grand General's army out of Dingxiang to attack the Xiongnu. Many of the other generals met the required kill quotas and were enfeoffed as marquises for their achievements, but Guang's forces earned no distinction. Two years later, Guang, in his capacity as Superintendent of the Imperial Household, led four thousand cavalry out of Youbeiping. The Marquis of Bowang, Zhang Qian, led ten thousand cavalry on a parallel route. After they had advanced several hundred li, the Left Worthy King of the Xiongnu descended upon them with forty thousand cavalry and surrounded Guang. His soldiers were all terrified. Guang sent his son Li Gan to ride out against the enemy. Gan rode out alone with several dozen horsemen, charged straight through the barbarian cavalry, emerged on their flanks, and returned. He reported to Guang, "The Hu cavalry are easy to handle." Only then did the soldiers' courage steady. Guang formed his men into a circular formation facing outward. The barbarians attacked furiously, and arrows fell like rain. More than half the Han soldiers were killed, and their arrows were nearly exhausted. Guang ordered his soldiers to draw their bows fully but hold their fire, while he himself took up a powerful crossbow and shot at the enemy's deputy commanders, killing several. The barbarian assault gradually slackened. As dusk fell, every officer and soldier had gone pale with fear, but Guang remained as composed as ever, rallying his troops with ever greater resolve. From that time on, every man in the army admired his courage. The next day, they fought on fiercely, and the army of the Marquis of Bowang arrived at last. The Xiongnu withdrew. The Han army was too exhausted to give chase. Guang's army had been all but annihilated, and the survivors straggled home. Under Han law, the Marquis of Bowang was charged with arriving late past the appointed rendezvous, a crime punishable by death. He was allowed to ransom himself and was reduced to the status of a commoner. As for Guang, his army's gains and losses canceled each other out, and he received no reward.
11
初，廣之從弟李蔡與廣俱事孝文帝。 景帝時，蔡積功勞至二千石。 孝武帝時，至代相。 以元朔五年為輕車將車，從大將軍擊右賢王，有功中率，封為樂安侯。 元狩二年中，代公孫弘為丞相。 蔡為人在下中，名聲出廣下甚遠，然廣不得爵邑，官不過九卿，而蔡為列侯，位至三公。 諸廣之軍吏及士卒或取封侯。 廣嘗與望氣王朔燕語，曰：「自漢擊匈奴而廣未嘗不在其中，而諸部校尉以下，才能不及中人，然以擊胡軍功取侯者數十人，而廣不為後人，然無尺寸之功以得封邑者，何也？ 豈吾相不當侯邪？ 且固命也？」 朔曰：「將軍自念，豈嘗有所恨乎？」 廣曰：「吾嘗為隴西守，羌嘗反，吾誘而降，降者八百餘人，吾詐而同日殺之。 至今大恨獨此耳。」 朔曰：「禍莫大於殺已降，此乃將軍所以不得侯者也。」
Earlier, Guang's younger cousin Li Cai had entered service alongside Guang under Emperor Wen. Under Emperor Jing, Cai had accumulated enough merit to attain the rank of two thousand shi. Under Emperor Wu, he rose to become Chancellor of Dai. In the fifth year of the Yuanshuo era, he served as General of the Light Chariots and followed the Grand General in an attack on the Right Worthy King. He met the required kill quota and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Le'an. In the second year of the Yuanshou era, he succeeded Gongsun Hong as Imperial Chancellor. Cai was a man of middling ability at best, and his reputation fell far below Guang's. Yet Guang never received a noble title or a fief, and his office never rose above that of one of the Nine Ministers, while Cai became a full marquis and attained the rank of one of the Three Excellencies. Even officers and soldiers who had served under Guang were among those enfeoffed as marquises. Guang once conversed at leisure with the diviner Wang Shuo and said, "Since the Han began attacking the Xiongnu, I have never failed to be in the field. Yet among the colonels and commanders and those below them, men whose abilities do not reach the middling level have, through merit in fighting the barbarians, become marquises by the dozens. I am not behind others, yet I have not the slightest merit by which to receive a fief—why is this? Can it be that my features are not those of a man destined for a marquisate? Or is it simply fate?" Shuo said, "General, think back for yourself. Is there anything you have regretted?" Guang said, "I once served as Governor of Longxi. When the Qiang rebelled, I enticed them into surrender; more than eight hundred surrendered, and I deceived them and killed them all on the same day. To this day, that alone is my deepest regret." Shuo said, "There is no greater disaster than killing men who have already surrendered. This is why the general has never become a marquis."
12
Two years later, the Grand General and the General of the Swift Cavalry launched a major campaign against the Xiongnu. Guang repeatedly petitioned to join them. The emperor thought him too old and would not allow it; After a long delay, the Emperor relented and appointed him General of the Vanguard. This was the fourth year of the Yuanshou era.
13
廣既從大將軍青擊匈奴，既出塞，青捕虜知單于所居，乃自以精兵走之，而令廣并於右將軍軍，出東道。 東道少回遠，而大軍行水草少，其勢不屯行。 廣自請曰：「臣部為前將軍，今大將軍乃徙令臣出東道，且臣結發而與匈奴戰，今乃一得當單于，臣願居前，先死單于。」 大將軍青亦陰受上誡，以為李廣老，數奇，毋令當單于，恐不得所欲。 而是時公孫敖新失侯，為中將軍從大將軍，大將軍亦欲使敖與俱當單于，故徙前將軍廣。 廣時知之，固自辭於大將軍。 大將軍不聽，令長史封書與廣之莫府，曰：「急詣部，如書。」 廣不謝大將軍而起行，意甚慍怒而就部，引兵與右將軍食其合軍出東道。 軍亡導，或失道，後大將軍。 大將軍與單于接戰，單于遁走，弗能得而還。 南絕幕，遇前將軍、右將軍。 廣已見大將軍，還入軍。 大將軍使長史持糒醪遺廣，因問廣、食其失道狀，青欲上書報天子軍曲折。 廣未對，大將軍使長史急責廣之幕府對簿。 廣曰：「諸校尉無罪，乃我自失道。 吾今自上簿。」
Guang marched with Grand General Wei Qing to attack the Xiongnu. After they had crossed the frontier, Qing learned from captured prisoners where the Chanyu was camped. He took his best troops to go after the Chanyu himself and ordered Guang to merge his forces with the General of the Right and advance by the eastern route. The eastern route was circuitous and far, with little water or grass along the way, making it difficult for a large force to march and encamp. Guang pleaded on his own behalf, saying, "My command is the Vanguard. Now the Grand General has shifted me to the eastern route. I have fought the Xiongnu since I first bound up my hair, and now, for once, I have the chance to face the Chanyu. I wish to stand in the front and be the first to die before him." Grand General Qing had also received secret instructions from the Emperor: Li Guang was old and had always been unlucky; he must not be allowed to face the Chanyu, for fear that the desired result would not be achieved. Moreover, Gongsun Ao had recently lost his marquisate and was serving as General of the Center under the Grand General. The Grand General wished to give Ao the chance to face the Chanyu alongside him, and so he reassigned Guang from the vanguard. Guang understood what was happening and firmly protested to the Grand General. The Grand General would not listen. He ordered the chief clerk to seal a letter to Guang’s headquarters, saying, "Report at once to the command assigned in the letter." Guang departed without taking leave of the Grand General, seething with resentment. He went to take up his command and led his troops eastward with the General of the Right, Zhao Shiqi. The army had no guide and lost its way, falling behind the Grand General's schedule. The Grand General engaged the Chanyu in battle, but the Chanyu escaped and could not be captured, so the Grand General turned back. As he crossed south through the desert, he encountered the General of the Vanguard and the General of the Right. After Guang had met with the Grand General, he returned to his own camp. The Grand General sent his chief clerk to bring Guang dried rations and wine, and at the same time to question Guang and Zhao Shiqi about how they had lost their way, for Qing wished to submit a report to the Emperor on the course of the campaign. Guang made no reply. The Grand General then sent his chief clerk to summon Guang urgently to headquarters to answer formal charges. Guang said, "The colonels are not at fault. I myself lost the road. I will now present myself and answer for it."
14
When Guang reached headquarters, he said to the officers under him, "Since I first bound up my hair, I have fought the Xiongnu in more than seventy battles, large and small. Now I was fortunate enough to follow the Grand General out to meet the Chanyu’s army, but the Grand General shifted my command onto a roundabout and distant route, and then we lost the way. Is this not Heaven! Moreover, I am already more than sixty years old; I can no longer face the sword-and-brush officials." With that, he drew his sword and cut his own throat. The officers and men of Guang's entire army wept. When the common people heard the news, whether they had known him or not, old and young alike shed tears for him. As for the General of the Right, he alone was turned over to the judicial officials. Found guilty of a capital offense, he ransomed himself and was reduced to the status of a commoner.
15
Guang had three sons, named Danghu, Jiao, and Gan, all of whom served as Imperial Attendants. Once, when the Emperor was amusing himself with his favorite Han Yan, Yan behaved disrespectfully. Danghu struck Yan, who fled. The Emperor regarded Danghu as a man of courage for this. Danghu died young. Jiao was appointed Governor of Dai Commandery. Both sons died before their father. Danghu left behind a posthumous son named Li Ling. At the time of Guang's death in the field, his son Gan was serving under the General of the Swift Cavalry. The year after Guang died, Li Cai, then serving as Imperial Chancellor, was charged with encroaching on the land around Emperor Jing's funerary park. Facing prosecution, Cai too took his own life rather than submit to interrogation, and his fief was abolished. Li Gan, serving as a colonel under the General of the Swift Cavalry, had fought valiantly against the Left Worthy King of the Xiongnu, seizing the enemy's war drums and battle standards and taking many heads. He was granted the title of Marquis Within the Passes with a fief of two hundred households, and succeeded his father as Superintendent of the Imperial Household. Before long, Gan, harboring resentment against Grand General Qing for having driven his father to his death, attacked and wounded the Grand General. The Grand General concealed the incident. Not long afterward, Gan accompanied the Emperor on a journey to Yong and went hunting at the Ganquan Palace. The General of the Swift Cavalry, Huo Qubing, who was related to Wei Qing, shot and killed Gan. Huo Qubing was at the height of imperial favor at the time, and the Emperor covered up the deed, declaring that Gan had been killed by a charging deer. A little more than a year later, Huo Qubing died. Gan had a daughter who served in the Crown Prince's household and was favored by him. Gan's son Li Yu also enjoyed the Crown Prince's patronage, but he was a man who cared only for profit, and the Li family gradually declined.
16
When Li Ling came of age, he was selected to serve as Superintendent of the Jianzhang Palace, in charge of the cavalry. He was a skilled archer who treated his soldiers with care. The Emperor, considering the Li family a line of hereditary generals, gave him command of eight hundred cavalry. He once penetrated more than two thousand li into Xiongnu territory, passing through Juyan to survey the terrain, but encountered no enemy and returned. He was appointed Commandant of Cavalry and given command of five thousand men from Danyang and Chu, whom he trained in archery at Jiuquan and Zhangye to garrison the frontier against the barbarians.
17
Several years later, in the autumn of the second year of the Tianhan era, General Li Guangli of Ershi led thirty thousand cavalry to attack the Right Worthy King of the Xiongnu in the Qilian and Tianshan mountains. Li Ling was ordered to lead his five thousand archers and infantry north from Juyan, about a thousand li deep, to draw off part of the Xiongnu forces and prevent them from concentrating against Li Guangli. When Ling had reached the appointed rendezvous and was turning back, the Chanyu descended upon him with eighty thousand men and surrounded his army. Ling's army of five thousand fought until their weapons and arrows were exhausted. More than half his men were killed, but they had also killed or wounded more than ten thousand of the Xiongnu. Fighting as they retreated, they battled for eight days straight. When they were still more than a hundred li from Juyan, the Xiongnu blocked the narrow passes and cut off their route. Ling's provisions were spent and no reinforcements came. The enemy pressed their attack and called on Ling to surrender. Ling said, "I have no face with which to report back to Your Majesty." And so he surrendered to the Xiongnu. His forces were destroyed. Of the survivors who fled and scattered, only some four hundred managed to make their way back to Han territory.
18
After the Chanyu had taken Ling captive, he had long heard of the Li family's reputation, and Ling had fought with great valor. He therefore gave Ling one of his own daughters in marriage and honored him. When the Han court learned of this, it had Ling's mother, wife, and children executed. From that time on, the name of the Li family was disgraced, and the men of Longxi who had once been proud to call themselves their retainers now felt only shame.
19
The Grand Historian says: The tradition says, "When a man’s own conduct is upright, things are done even without commands; when his own conduct is not upright, even commands are not obeyed." Was this not said of General Li? I once saw General Li in person. He was as plain and unassuming as a common farmer, and he could scarcely string two words together. Yet on the day of his death, everyone in the realm, whether they had known him or not, grieved for him with all their hearts. Was it because his faithful and sincere heart was trusted by the scholar-officials? A proverb says, "Peach and plum trees do not speak, yet beneath them a path forms of itself." This saying may seem a small thing, but it speaks to something great.