During the Warring States period, the Xiongnu — a powerful nomadic confederation north of the State of Zhao — once again sent a large army south. Their ruler, known as the Chanyu, had little reason to worry. The Zhao general guarding the northern frontier, Li Mu, was widely regarded as a coward. Whenever the Xiongnu attacked, Li Mu withdrew behind his fortifications and refused to fight.
This time, the Chanyu expected another easy raid. What he did not know was that the “coward” who had endured years of ridicule had been preparing a trap. When the Xiongnu army advanced, Li Mu struck. More than 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry were defeated, and for years afterward, the Xiongnu did not dare launch another major attack on Zhao’s northern frontier.
The commander behind that extraordinary victory was Li Mu, one of the Four Great Generals of the Warring States period and a man later remembered as Zhao’s “Great Wall.” Yet the general who could stop the Xiongnu cavalry would ultimately prove unable to overcome suspicion within his own court. Zhao’s Great Wall would not fall to an enemy on the battlefield. It would be torn down from within.
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