李牧 / Li Mu
李牧 / Li Mu enters the wiki through 《资治通鉴·秦纪》105｜战争花样赵国李牧最会耍 as the 赵国 commander who follows 廉颇 as Zhao’s next major military asset. In the 244 BCE annalistic frame, 赵道襄王 appoints him to attack 燕国, and he takes 五遂 and 方城.
The episode’s main Li Mu material is a retrospective northern-frontier command story. Stationed around Dai and Yanmen against 匈奴, he receives unusual operating autonomy: he can appoint local officials according to need, direct local tax revenue into military funds, reward troops with meat and drink, train riding and archery, watch beacon signals, and use spies.
Li Mu’s controversial rule is to avoid battle. When Xiongnu forces enter, people, livestock, and supplies withdraw into fortified positions, and anyone who captures prisoners or fights without authorization is executed. The source says this prevents serious frontier losses for years, but it also makes both Xiongnu observers and Zhao insiders call him timid.
The episode treats his temporary removal as the proof of his method. After 赵丹 / 赵孝成王 replaces him, the new commander fights every raid and repeatedly loses, leaving frontier people unable to farm or herd normally. Li Mu returns only after the ruler agrees not to interfere with the old policy.
Once soldiers are rested, rewarded, and eager for battle, Li Mu changes posture. He exposes people and livestock as bait, feigns retreat, deliberately lets a small party be captured, draws the Xiongnu chanyu’s main force deep, then attacks with frontal fixing, flanking, and route-cutting formations. The episode says the result destroys more than 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry, forces the chanyu to flee, and keeps Xiongnu forces away from the Zhao frontier for more than ten years.
The page is source-scoped. Li Mu’s wiki role is not only “famous general,” but a case where reputation damage, patience, soldier morale, intelligence, and resource limits are held together until the commander can choose one decisive fight.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》112-2｜秦始皇也是他的书迷？ moves Li Mu from the frontier retrospective into the direct Qin-Zhao front. After 桓齮 kills Zhao general Hu Zhe and the episode reports a 100,000-person slaughter in 234 BCE, 赵迁 / 赵幽缪王 appoints Li Mu. Li Mu defeats Huan Yi around Yi’an and Feixia, Huan Yi flees back to Qin, and Zhao grants Li Mu the title 武安君.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》112-3｜韩非与姚贾论战，秦王当裁判 returns to Li Mu as the next unresolved obstacle after 韩非’s death. The source says Qin’s conquest tempo continues and that, among the remaining six-state problems, Zhao’s Li Mu remains the serious military opponent to watch.
《资治通鉴·秦纪》113｜李牧如何用一己之力阻秦国统一 completes that obstacle branch. In 232 BCE, the source says Qin withdraws after meeting Li Mu on the Zhao front, reinforcing the host’s claim that Qin is not simply invincible in every field encounter. In 229 BCE, Qin avoids letting Li Mu define the campaign by bribing 郭开 into accusing Li Mu and 司马尚 of rebellion, after which 赵迁 / 赵幽缪王 replaces them with 赵葱 and 颜聚. Li Mu refuses the order and is killed or arrested, turning his final wiki role into the starkest case of Zhao discarding the commander Qin most feared.
Connections
- 赵国, 赵道襄王, and 赵丹 / 赵孝成王 - state, 244 BCE appointing ruler, and earlier ruler in the frontier-removal branch.
- 廉颇 - predecessor figure whose removal sets up Zhao’s need for a new usable commander.
- 燕国 - target of Li Mu’s 244 BCE campaign.
- 匈奴 - northern opponent in the episode’s main strategy case.
- 边境防御耐心, 游牧骑兵劫掠不对称, 诱敌离位, and 战场信息控制 - concepts developed or extended through his method.
- 战国军事形态转变, 战争成本与速决纪律, and 《孙子兵法》 - broader military and strategic frame.
- 王翦 - later Qin opponent previewed by the episode.
- 桓齮, 秦国, and 赵迁 / 赵幽缪王 - Qinji 112-2 anti-Qin field victory and title branch.
- Qinji 112-3 - closing pointer from Han Fei’s death back to Zhao’s remaining military resistance.
- Qinji 113, 司马尚, 郭开, 赵葱, 颜聚, 反间流言楔入, 谋反指控陷阱, and 阵前换将风险 - final Zhao-front command-removal branch.