Arrows rained down like hail.(矢下如雨)
During the Western Han dynasty in China,
there was a general named Li Ling. Although he was extremely loyal to the Han
Dynasty, he spent the rest of his life in the Xiongnu Kingdom and never
returned to his homeland.
He was a famous tragic hero.
In 99 BC, Li Ling approached the king of
the Western Han Kingdom proactively, saying:
'I am very familiar with the strengths of
both the Han and Xiongnu armies. If you send me five thousand soldiers as the
vanguard, I guarantee I can defeat the Xiongnu army and secure a victory.'
The king granted his request.
Li Ling led his army to the border with the
Xiongnu kingdom. At a place called Junji Mountain, his army clashed with the
Xiongnu forces for the first time. Thanks to the superior weaponry of his
troops, Li Ling emerged victorious. The Xiongnu army retreated to Junji
Mountain. Seizing this opportunity, Li Ling launched a second attack. This was
highly successful, with several thousand Xiongnu soldiers killed and almost no
casualties on Li Ling's side.
A few days later, the Xiongnu Kingdom
dispatched an 80,000-strong reinforcement army to Junji Mountain. Realising the
overwhelming numerical disadvantage, Li Ling adopted a strategy of fighting and
retreating simultaneously. He lured the enemy into a valley. Due to the narrow
terrain, the Xiongnu's numerical advantage was neutralised. Another three
thousand Xiongnu soldiers perished in this valley.
Once they had left the valley, Li Ling
realised that his army was far outnumbered and that a direct confrontation
would be disastrous. Therefore, he ordered his troops to move quickly to a vast
swampy area southeast of Junji Mountain.
The Xiongnu army's horses were at a
disadvantage in this swampy region. They set fire to the dry reeds in an
attempt to force Li Ling's army out of the swamp. Seeing this, Li Ling ordered
his soldiers to do the same, quickly creating a buffer zone. Li Ling and his
army successfully escaped the crisis.
They then fled into a forest. They fought
the Xiongnu army within the forest. The Xiongnu were skilled in mounted combat,
but not in forest warfare. The Xiongnu suffered several thousand casualties in
this battle.
Following several defeats, the Xiongnu army
leaders began to fear for their lives. They immediately convened an emergency
military meeting with several key generals.
They quickly reached a consensus that
continuing the pursuit of Li Ling's army was unsafe, as he might already have
arranged hidden reinforcements.
They therefore decided to pursue Li Ling's
army for only another fifty kilometres, to a vast, flat plain that would be
advantageous to their own forces. If victory could not be achieved on this plain,
the Xiongnu army was to retreat immediately.
During the pursuit, the Xiongnu army
suffered over two thousand casualties. Just as they were preparing to retreat,
a crucial event occurred:
An officer in Li Ling's army defected to
the Xiongnu army after being insulted by another officer. This officer informed
the Xiongnu leaders that...
Li Ling's army had no reinforcements and
was almost out of supplies and weapons.
This intelligence was crucial. Upon
receiving it, the Xiongnu leader immediately ordered a full mobilisation of
their army. Outnumbered and outgunned, Li Ling's army of 5,000 quickly ran out
of arrows.
They were forced to retreat into a valley,
where they were attacked from both sides. Lacking weapons, they could only
fight with clubs and short swords. The Xiongnu soldiers pushed boulders down
the valley and rained arrows down on Li Ling's troops.
Watching his soldiers fall one by one
around him, Li Ling cried out in grief and anguish: "I deserve to die!
I've let my soldiers die here!"
He gathered the surviving soldiers and
officers and told them, "We can only try to escape individually now. If we
manage to leave this battlefield alive, we will meet at the border city between
the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu Kingdom.'
He divided the remaining weapons equally
among all the survivors. After a sorrowful embrace and farewell, they
dispersed. Ultimately, Li Ling failed to escape the battlefield and was
captured by the Xiongnu Kingdom. Before his capture, he sighed loudly and said,
'I have betrayed the trust of the king of
the Han Dynasty; I cannot return to them.'
This idiom translates as "Arrows fell
like rain".
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
If you were Li Ling, how would you feel?
Why do you think he didn't commit suicide before being captured?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
矢下如雨(Arrows rained down like hail.)
中國的西漢王朝有一個將軍，他的名字叫李陵，他對西漢王朝非常忠誠但是他的後半輩子卻只能住在匈奴王國，他到死都沒有再回到自己的家鄉。
他是一個著名的悲劇英雄。
西元前99年，李陵主動對西漢王國的國王說。
我對漢王朝的軍隊與匈奴王國的軍隊實力都非常的了解，你只需要調派五千個士兵給我讓我作為前鋒部隊，我保證可以打敗匈奴王國的軍隊並取得勝利。
國王答應了李陵的請求。
李陵帶領這支軍隊前往與匈奴王國的國界交界處，在一座名字叫做浚稽山的地方，李陵率領的軍隊與匈奴王國的軍隊發生了第一場對戰，由於李陵的軍隊的武器比較精良，李陵在這一場對戰中取得勝利，匈奴王國的軍隊撤退到浚稽山上，李陵把握住這個敵人撤退的時機，帶領軍隊發動第二波進攻，第二波進攻非常的成功，匈奴王國的士兵戰死了好幾千個人，而李陵這邊幾乎沒有人傷亡。
幾天後，匈奴王國調動的一支總數高達八萬人的支援軍隊到了浚稽山，李陵看見雙方人數差距過大，他就採取一種邊打仗邊撤退的策略，他把敵人引到一座山谷中，由於這個地方的地勢很狹窄，匈奴王國的人數優勢無法發揮，在這座山谷裏面，匈奴王國的士兵又戰死了三千多個人。
離開這座山谷之後，李陵知道自己的軍隊人數與對方差距實在太大，正面對決自己這邊一定會輸，所以他下令快速的移動軍隊，他帶著軍隊躲到了浚稽山的東南方的一個很廣大的沼澤地區。
在這個沼澤地區，匈奴王國的軍隊的馬匹無法發揮優勢，所以他們點火引燃許多乾燥的蘆葦想要強逼李陵所帶領的軍隊離開沼澤，李陵見狀就吩咐他手下的士兵們也立刻點火引燃許多蘆葦，他在短時間快速的製造出一片隔離帶，李陵與他的軍隊順利地逃過了這場危機。
接著李陵與他的軍隊跑到一座樹林中，他的軍隊在樹林間與匈奴王國的軍隊作戰，匈奴王國的人很擅長騎馬作戰但是不擅長在樹林中對戰，這場對戰結束後，匈奴王國又死了好幾千的士兵。
匈奴王國的軍隊的領導者經過連續幾次的失敗，他們的心中開始膽怯，他立刻召集了幾個重要的將軍開了一場緊急的軍事會議。
這場會議很快就達成了共識，他們一致認為繼續追擊李陵所領導的這支軍隊是不安全的，因為李陵可能已經安排了隱藏的援軍。
所以他們決定繼續追擊李陵的軍隊，但是只能再追擊大約五十公里左右，那個地方是一塊廣大的平地，這個地方有利於自己的軍隊作戰，如果在這塊平地上還沒有辦法取得勝利，那麼匈奴王國的軍隊就應該立刻撤退。
再追擊李陵軍隊的過程中，匈奴王國的軍隊又損失了兩千多個人，正當匈奴王國的軍隊準備撤退的時候，發生了一件很重要的事情。
李陵領導的軍隊中的一個軍官因為感覺受到另一個軍官的侮辱，這個軍官竟然就因此叛逃後到了匈奴王國的軍隊中，這個軍官對匈奴王國的軍隊領導人說。
李陵這支軍隊並沒有後援部隊，而且李陵所帶領的這支軍隊所準備的物資與武器已經都快消耗光了。
這個情報太重要了，匈奴王國的領導者收到這個情報後，立刻宣布所有的軍隊立刻出動，在士兵的人數與武器的數量的雙重優勢下，李陵所領導的這隻只有五千人的軍隊很快地就把所有的弓箭都用光了。
李陵的軍隊被迫撤退到一座山谷之中，在這座山谷之中，他們被前後夾擊，他們沒有攻擊敵人的武器，他們只能拿著棍子與短刀與敵人對戰，匈奴王國的士兵從山谷上推下許多巨石攻擊李陵的軍隊，匈奴王國的軍隊射向李陵的軍隊的箭就像下雨一樣不斷地落下。
李陵看到跟隨他的士兵們在他的身邊一個一個地倒下，他悲傷又痛苦地大喊。我真的太該死了，我讓我們士兵們死在這個地方。
李陵召集了還活著的一些士兵與軍官，他對這些人說。
我們現在只能各自突圍，如果我們可以成功活著離開這個戰場，那麼我們就約在漢王朝與匈奴王國的邊境城市見面。
他把所剩下的一些武器平均分給所有還活得的人，大家悲傷的擁抱與告別之後各自散開，李陵最後沒有成功離開那個戰場，他被匈奴王國俘虜，他被抓住之前，他大聲地嘆氣說。
我辜負了漢王朝的國王對我的信任，我沒有臉再回到漢王朝了。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思箭就像下雨一樣不斷地落下。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你如果是李陵，你會有怎樣的心情感受呢?你認為李陵在被抓之前為何不自殺呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為漢書-卷54-李廣蘇建傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7054
出處為前漢記-孝武皇帝紀五卷第14