Xiang Yu is an aristocrat of Chu, and there are two kinds of opinions. It is said that Xiang Yu's family is the imperial clan of Chu. Xiang surname, originally derived from the surname of Chu royal family, was later sealed in Xiang land, hence the name Xiang. On the other hand, Xiang Yu's family was originally an aristocrat of Lu, and has been a general of Chu for generations.
Xiang Yu's grandfather, Xiang Yan, was a famous Chu, who was killed in the Chu War. Many of his ancestors, Shi Xiang, were also generals of the State of Chu. Xiang Yu himself is said to have two pupils, [1] that is, each eye has two overlapping pupils, which is traditionally regarded as a saint with different phases in China. Before that, there were legends about Shun Di and Jin Wengong, who were the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Xiang Yu is eight feet long, can carry the tripod, and has outstanding talent. [ 1]
[Editor] There is little ambition
Historical Records of Xiang Yu's Biography says that Xiang Yu "failed to learn books and swords when he was young." His uncle Xiang Liang was dissatisfied with him. Yu Yue said, "Books are enough to register surnames. The sword is an enemy, not enough to learn, but to learn from ten thousand enemies. " So Xiang Liang taught him the art of war, but Xiang Yu refused to finish it all after he had a little idea.
Later, because Xiang Liang killed someone, he fled to Wuzhong (now southern Jiangsu) with Xiang Yu to avoid revenge. When Qin Shihuang toured Huiji (the county is in Suzhou, Jiangsu), Xiang Yu and Xiang Liang watched the emperor's tour together. Xiang Yu said, "He can take the place", which scared Xiang Liang to cover his mouth. Since then, Xiang Yu has shown great respect to him.
[Editor] Arise against Qin
In the first year of Qin Ershi (209 BC), in July, Chen Sheng and others rose up against Qin. In September, Huiji Shouyin Tong planned to oppose Qin and negotiate with Xiang Liang, but Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu killed Yin Tong. According to historical records, Xiang Yu killed dozens to hundreds of people in Yintong House at that time. Xiang Liang sent troops to Wuxian (present-day Suzhou) to fight Qin, and soon gathered 8,000 elite soldiers. Xiang Liang was appointed ShouJiang, Xiang Yu was appointed general.
Later, Xiang Liang led 8,000 soldiers (that is, 8,000 soldiers in Jiangdong) to cross the river, and some anti-Qin troops joined, increasing their strength to 670,000 and entering Xiapi. Xiang Liang adopted Fan Zeng's suggestion, found Chu Huaiwang's direct grandson among the people, and made him King of Chu, still known as Chu Huaiwang, in order to win the hearts and minds of Chu people.
[Editor] Battle of Julu
Main project: Battle of Julu
Xiang Liang was later killed by Zhang Han, the general of the Qin Dynasty, in the battle of Dingtao. So he led the army to attack Zhao and defeated Zhao. Zhao Wangzhao retreated to Julu (also known as Julu). After the defeat of Ding Tao, Chu Huaiwang moved to Pengcheng and appointed Yi Song as the general. Xiang Yu will lead the troops to save Zhao and seal the title for the public. Chu Huaiwang and the generals agreed that "the first one who settled in Guanzhong" would be named king. [2]
After Song Yijun arrived in Anyang, he stayed there for 46 days. Xiang Yu suggested sending troops, but Yi Song refused to accept it, so Xiang Yu was killed. The generals of Chu army did not dare to resist Xiang Yu, so Xiang Yu became a fake general. Xiang Yu sent someone to report to Wang Huai, and Wang Huai appointed Xiang Yu as the general. In the first 207 years, Xiang Yu invaded Julu, and advanced Ying Bu and other 20,000 people crossed the river to attack Qin Jun. Then Xiang Yu led the rest of the Chu army to cross the river and ordered his men to smash the boat after crossing the river, meaning that they would die if they didn't win the battle. Later generations called it "cross the rubicon", which means to die if you don't succeed. In the end, Xiang Yu won nine wars and nine victories. According to historical records, the Chu army defeated Qin Jun with one enemy of 100,000 to 300,000. The armies of other anti-Qin vassal states all bowed to their knees. When Xiang Yuanmen summoned them, they all knelt down trembling, and no one dared to look up at Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu became the general of the princes and the commander-in-chief of the armies of the princes.
Zhang Han, the general of the State of Qin, then led his men to surrender to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu was worried about the mutiny, so he ordered the Chu army to kill more than 200,000 soldiers in the south of Xin 'an overnight, but did not kill his enemies Zhang Han, Sima Xin, the chief of Qin Dynasty, and a man named Dong Kun.
[Edit] Enter Guanzhong
Xiang Yu continued to March into Guanzhong, but Pei Gong Liu Bang had already taken the lead in occupying Xianyang and Qin Dou. Liu Bang's subordinate Sajima Cao Wushang sent someone to see Xiang Yu and said, "Pei Gong wants to be the king of Guanzhong, making Zi Ying the phase, and has all kinds of treasures." Xiang Yu flew into a rage. At that time, Xiang Yu commanded 400,000 troops, while Liu Bang had only100,000 troops. [1] Fan Zeng lobbied Xiang Yu to eradicate Liu Bang. Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet, but he didn't kill him during the dinner. Liu Bang left safely, and later generations called this banquet "Hongmen Banquet". 206 years ago, after Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, he killed Qin and sent Qin Gong to burn. The place he passed was "completely broken", and the people in Guanzhong were disappointed with him. [2]
[Editor] Self-reliance is king
At this time, Xiang Yu was advised to stay in Guanzhong, and he could achieve great things, but Xiang Yu did not intend to stay in Guanzhong. He said: "wealth does not return to my hometown, like clothes embroidered at night, who knows." [ 1]
Later, Xiang Yu honored the king as Emperor Chu Yi, and with great efforts to eliminate Qin, he enfeoffed the world. Xiang Yu established himself as the "overlord of the West Chu", ruled the nine counties of Liang and Chu, and made Pengcheng its capital. He sealed the land of the original six countries to active subordinates and other anti-generals, and moved the original Wei, Zhao Wangkai, Yan Guang and Qi to remote places. In violation of the agreement with Wang Huai, he named Guanzhong, which should belong to Liu Bang, as Zhang Han, Sima Xin and Dong Kun, and Liu Bang as Hanwang in Hanzhong. These improper enfeoffment measures made some people dissatisfied with Xiang Yu and planted the seeds that Xiang Yu was attacked by many parties in the future, thus failing.
Soon Xiang Yu moved Yidi to Chen County, Changsha, and secretly ordered someone to kill him halfway. In the same year, Tian Rong rose up and became the king of Qi, and sent troops to support Chen Yu in defeating Zhang Er, the king of Changshan. Chen Yu re-established Zhao Xie as the king of Zhao.
[Editor] Chu-Han War
Major projects: Chu-Han War
In the first 206 years, Hanwang Liu Bang sent troops to occupy Guanzhong, and Xiang Yu did not attack Liu Bang with all his strength because he was fighting in Qi. In the first 205 years, the Han army took this opportunity to unite the 560,000 troops of the five vassal States to attack Chu and occupy Pengcheng. Xiang Yu heard the news and led 30 thousand soldiers to save him. In the battle of Pengcheng, the Han army was defeated and the Han army lost hundreds of thousands of people. The body in the water even blocked the river, and Liu Bang escaped.
Xiang Yu led his troops to the west, the Han army stuck to Xingyang, and the Chu army could no longer move west. In the first 204 years, the situation in Xingyang was critical. Han disguised Ji Xin as Liu Bang and surrendered. Liu bang took the opportunity to flee to the west. Xiang Yu was furious when he learned of the trap and burned Ji Xin. The Chu army soon captured Xingyang.
Since then, the Chu and Han armies have become a seesaw situation in today's Henan Province. However, Han Xin led the Han army to win many battles in the area north of the Yellow River, and Peng Yue also led troops to invade the rear of the Chu army. The situation began to go against Xiang Yu.
In the first 203 years, Chu and Han made peace, sharing the world equally, with the gap as the boundary, belonging to Han in the west and Chu in the east. Xiang Yu led the army to return to the east, and Liu Bang quickly broke his word and sent troops to attack Chu. Liu Bang agreed that Han Xin and Peng Yue should join hands with Xiang Yu, but they didn't act. As a result, Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu in Guling. On the one hand, Liu Bang persisted, on the other hand, he lured Han Xin and Peng Yue to send troops after the job was done, and finally made them join Liu Bang.
[Editor] Wujiang committed suicide.
At the beginning of 202, the three parties of the Han army surrounded Xiang Yu's army with insufficient food and asked the soldiers to sing in Chu language, which made Xiang Yu's army mistakenly think that his hometown had been mastered by the Han army. This "embattled" psychological tactics distracted Xiang Yu's army. After Xiang Yu and his beloved concubine sang the famous Gaixia Song on this occasion, Xiang Yu led the elite cavalry and decided to break through.
Xiang Yu led more than 800 people to break through, followed by the Han army with 5 thousand cavalry. After crossing the Huaihe River, Xiang Yu's cavalry was only 100. Xiang Yu got lost in Yinling and asked the farmer by the roadside for directions. The farmer lied about the route, which made Xiang Yu's army lost in osawa.
Xiang Yu arrived in Dongcheng, leaving only 28 riders, who were chased by Han cavalry. Xiang Yu thought he could not get away with it, so he told his men that everything was arranged by heaven, not his own responsibility for poor combat, and then led the cavalry to assault and killed a Han general. The riders of the Han army are "both men and women are surprised, and it is easy to make miles." Because Xiang Yu divided the cavalry into three teams, the Han army didn't know the real position of Xiang Yu, so it could only be surrounded by scattered troops. Xiang Yu suddenly rushed down again, killing a captain of the Han army, killing nearly 100 people, and losing only two of his 28 men as proof of his strong fighting capacity.
Xiang Yu retreated to Wujiang River, and the director of Wujiang Pavilion prepared a boat for him to cross the river. However, Xiang Yu said that he had led 8,000 soldiers across the river in Jiangdong before, but now no one can come back and have no face to meet his elders, so he refused to cross the river. Xiang Yu ordered all the soldiers to dismount and fight, and finally all the Chu troops died. Xiang Yu fought the Han army alone, killing and injuring hundreds of people, but dozens of others were injured. When he saw his old friend, he said, "I heard that Han offered a reward for my head, using my daughter's price and location, so I will do you a favor." Then he killed himself. Lv Matong and other five people got the body of Xiang Yu, and everyone got a reward. After Xiang Yu's death, the rest of the western Chu surrendered to Han. Because Xiang Yu was blocked, Lu refused to surrender until the Han army showed Xiang Yu's head.
Later, Hanwang Liu Bang buried Xiang Yu in the old city (now Shandong) with Lu, and personally mourned and cried.
story
○ In 203 BC, Han Xin was stationed under gāi to prepare for a decisive battle with Xiang Yu. He ambushed the army in ten directions, and sent soldiers to shout abuse in Chu Yingkou, which led Xiang Yu to lead hundreds of troops all the way to Gaixia. Being ambushed on all sides by Han Xin, surrounded by the Han army.
At night, Chu songs came from the Han army camp surrounded by Chu troops. Chu songs were tactfully desolate and many Chu soldiers left tears. Xiang Yu said in surprise: "Did the Chu army surrender to Liu Bang? Otherwise, how could there be so many Chu people in the Han army? "
Xiang Yu stabilized his mood, mounted his horse, led a cavalry composed of more than 800 strong men, and ran south while the night was tight. Guan Ying, the general of the Han army, immediately led five thousand cavalry to pursue. Xiang Yu lost his way when he ran to Yanling and asked an old man who was farming in the field how to get there. The old man told him to turn left. Xiang Yu ran to the left and ran into a swamp, where he was killed by Han soldiers.
Caught up. Xiang Yu's cavalry fought bloody battles with the Han soldiers who arrived. Xiang Yu stabbed left and chopped right, killing many Han soldiers. When the soldiers of the Han army saw Xiang Yu's bravery, they didn't dare to approach at that time. They just shouted and killed at a distance.
Xiang Yu ran to Wujiang River with cavalry. Director Wujiang rowed a boat and waited by the river. When he saw Xiang Yu coming, he said to him, "Get on the boat and cross Jiangdong at once. Although Jiangdong is small, it has more than 1000 miles of land and hundreds of thousands of people. You can still be king there. " Xiang Yu smiled and said, "At the beginning, I crossed the river from Jiangdong to the west with 8,000 children. How can I go back alone now? " Even if the elders in Jiangdong sympathize with me and make me king, how can I face them? With that, he gave his beloved Zhuhe horse to Tingchang, turned the car around again, and fought the Han army with the rest of the soldiers holding daggers. Xiang Yu wiped out hundreds of Han troops by himself and suffered more than a dozen injuries himself. Finally, he drew his sword and killed himself by the Wujiang River.
Enlightenment of wisdom
○ Xiang Yu is brave and straightforward, but he is arrogant and lacks ingenuity, so he will be besieged. However, he finally committed suicide by the Wujiang River, which also showed his noble character and heroism of preferring to die rather than surrender (humiliation), knowing shame and attaching importance to righteousness.