King Xiang’s army built a fortress at Gaixia. The soldiers were few and out of food, and the Han army and the princes’ soldiers surrounded him on several levels. Late at night, he heard the Han army on all sides singing songs of the Chu land. King Xiang was shocked and said: "Have Han already completely acquired the Chu land? Why are there so many people in Chu?" King Xiang got up all night and drank wine in his tent.
There was a beauty named Yu, who was always favored and followed King Xiang; there was a horse named Zou, and King Xiang always rode on it. At this time, King Xiang couldn't help but lamented. He composed his own poem and sang: "Strength can lift mountains, heroism is unparalleled in the world, but fortune is not good, the dying horse will not go forward! What will happen if the dying horse does not go forward? Ji, Yu Ji, how can I arrange it properly for you?" King Xiang sang several times, and the beauty Yu Ji responded.
The tears of King Xiang flowed down one after another, and the waiters on the left and right also shed tears. No one could raise their head to look at him. So King Xiang mounted his horse, and more than 800 of his strong men rode behind him. They broke through the siege at night, rushed south, and fled at full speed. When it was almost dawn, the Han army realized it and ordered the cavalry general Guan Ying to lead five thousand cavalry to catch up.
When King Xiang crossed the Huaihe River, only a hundred of his strong men could keep up. When King Xiang arrived at Yinling, he lost his way and asked a farmer. The farmer lied to him and said, "Go to the left." King Xiang led his people to the left and fell into a large swamp. Therefore, Han soldiers caught up with them. King Xiang led his cavalry east again and arrived at Dongcheng. At this time, there were only twenty-eight people left. Thousands of Han cavalry chased him.
King Xiang himself probably could not escape, so he said to his cavalry: "It has been eight years since I led the troops in the uprising. I have personally fought more than seventy battles. All the enemies I resisted have been defeated. All the enemies I have resisted have been defeated. All the enemies I attacked surrendered, and I never failed, so I was able to dominate and take possession of the world. But now I am finally trapped here. This is because God wants to destroy me, and it is definitely not the fault of the battle.
Today I am definitely defeated. I am determined to fight to the death. I am willing to fight a happy battle for you. I will definitely win it three times. I will help you break through the siege, kill the Han generals, cut down the military flags, and let you know that it is indeed God who wants to destroy me, and it is definitely not a battle. "The cavalry was divided into four groups, facing the four directions.
The Han army surrounded them in several layers. King Xiang said to the cavalry: "I'm here to capture a Han general for you!" He ordered the knights on all sides to gallop down the mountain, and agreed to rush to the east of the mountain and gather in three places.
So King Xiang shouted and rushed down. The Han army was defeated like grass and trees falling in the wind. King Xiang killed a Han general. At this time, Chiquan Hou Yang Xi, a cavalry commander of the Han army, chased King Xiang from behind. King Xiang opened his eyes wide and scolded him. Chiquan Hou was frightened and even his men and horses were frightened and backed away for several miles. King Xiang and his cavalry met at three places.
The Han army did not know where King Xiang was going, so they divided their troops into three groups and surrounded him again. King Xiang rushed forward with his horse and beheaded another Han captain, killing 180 people. He gathered his cavalry and lost only two people. King Xiang asked the cavalry, "How is it?" The cavalry all said in admiration, "It's just as the king said."
At this time, King Xiang wanted to cross the Wu River eastward. The chief of the Wujiang Pavilion was waiting there with his boat docked, and said to King Xiang: "Although Jiangdong is small, the land is a thousand miles in length and breadth, and there are hundreds of thousands of people, which is enough to be king. I hope the king can cross the river quickly. I am the only one now. There is a boat here, but the Han army has arrived and cannot cross it."
King Xiang smiled and said, "If God wants to destroy me, why should I cross the Wu River? Besides, I and eight thousand people from Jiangdong will cross to Jiangxi. Zheng, no one has come back now. Even if Jiangdong father and brothers love me and make me king, what shame can I have to see them?
Even if they don't say anything, don't I, Xiang Ji, feel guilty? "So he said to the pavilion chief: "I know you are a loyal elder. I have been fighting on this horse for five years. I am invincible and have traveled thousands of miles. I can't bear to kill it, so I will give it to you." The cavalry were ordered to dismount and walk, holding short weapons to fight the pursuers. Xiang Ji alone killed hundreds of Han soldiers.
King Xiang also had more than a dozen wounds on his body. King Xiang turned around and saw Lu Ma Tong, the Han army's cavalry commander, and said, "Aren't you an old acquaintance of mine?" Ma Tong then confronted King Xiang, so he pointed it out to Wang Yi and said, "This is Xiang Xiang." King." King Xiang said, "I heard that the king of Han offered a reward of a thousand pounds of gold and ten thousand households for my head. I will give you this benefit." After that, he committed suicide. Wang Yi took off King Xiang's head. The other cavalrymen trampled on each other and fought for King Xiang's body. Dozens of people were killed in the fight.
In the end, Yang Xi, the knight's knight, and Lu Matong, the knight's commander, and Lu Sheng and Yang Wu, the knights, each competed for a limb. Five people came together to put the limbs together, and they were all right. therefore. Divide Xiang Yu's land into five pieces; make Lu Matong the Marquis of Zhongshui, Wang Yi the Marquis of Du Yan, Yang Xi the Marquis of Chiquan, Yang Wu the Marquis of Wu Fang, and Lu Sheng the Marquis of Niyang.
King Xiang is dead, and all the Chu lands have surrendered to the King of Han, except Lu County. The King of Han led all the soldiers in the world to massacre the city of Lu, but considering that they abided by etiquette and righteousness, and would not hesitate to die for the sake of the monarch, he took King Xiang's head and showed it to the people of Lu, and the elders of Lu surrendered.
At first, King Huai of Chu granted Xiang the title of Duke of Lu. After his death, the state of Lu finally surrendered. Therefore, King Xiang was buried in Gucheng according to the etiquette of the title of Duke of Lu. The king of Han mourned him and cried for a while before leaving.
The King of Han did not kill any branch of the Xiang clan. Xiang Bo was granted the title of Marquis of Sheyang.
Taohou, Pinggaohou and Xuanwuhou all belonged to the Xiang family, and the king of Han gave them the surname Liu.
Tai Shigong said: I heard Zhou Sheng said that Shun's eyes may have two pupils. I also heard that Xiang Yu also has two pupils. Is Xiang Yu a descendant of Shun? Otherwise, why would his fortune be so sudden? The Qin Dynasty messed up its political decrees. Chen She was the first to attack, and heroes from all walks of life swarmed up to fight for it, countless of them.
However, Xiang Yu did not have a little power to rely on. He took advantage of the chaos at the end of Qin and rose up among the people. In just three years, he led the five kingdoms of Qi, Zhao, Han, Wei, and Yan during the Warring States Period. The princes destroyed the Qin Dynasty, divided the world's land, made kings and princes, and all government orders were issued by Xiang Yu, who called himself "Overlord". Although his power did not last long, there has never been anyone like this in modern times. .
As for Xiang Yu abandoning the land of Guanzhong, missing Chu and establishing the capital at Pengcheng, banishing Emperor Yi, and proclaiming himself king, and at the same time complaining that the princes betrayed him, it would be difficult to achieve a major event.
He boasted about his military exploits and tried his best to display his personal wisdom, but he refused to follow the example of the ancients. He believed that the achievement of an overlord was to rely on force to conquer the princes and govern the world. As a result, he finally lost his country in five years and died in Dongcheng. , I still don’t realize it, and I don’t blame myself. It’s really wrong. And he actually used the words "God wants to destroy me, it is not the fault of the soldiers" to liberate himself. Isn't it ridiculous? Extended information
"The Chronicles of Xiang Yu" is a classical Chinese article written by Sima Qian, a historian of the Western Han Dynasty. It comes from the seventh volume of "Historical Records" and is about the chronicles of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu. It records the glorious and heroic events of Xiang Yu at the end of the Qin Dynasty. life.
"The Chronicles of Xiang Yu" vividly and profoundly describes Xiang Yu's life by narrating the grand historical scenes of the peasant uprising in the late Qin Dynasty and the conflict between Chu and Han. Xiang Yu is not only a hero with unparalleled strength and arrogance, "unprecedented in recent times", but also a violent, indecisive common man who only knows how to use force but not tact. Sima Qian cleverly organically unified all the contradictory aspects of Xiang Yu's character into this huge work. Although there is no lack of profound criticism, more of it is heartfelt regret and sympathy.
In "Historical Records", most of the records recorded in "Benji" are emperors, among which Xiang Yu did not become the emperor. Sima Qian included him in "Benji" to show his respect for Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu——Xiang Ji is a person named Xia Xiang, whose courtesy name is Yu. He was twenty-four years old when the rebellion began. Xiang Ji's uncle is Xiang Liang, and Xiang Liang's father is Xiang Yan, the Chu general who was killed by Qin general Wang Jian. The Xiang family has been a general of the Chu State for generations, and was granted the title of Xiang Di, hence his surname.
When Xiang Ji was a child, he once learned to write and read, but he stopped learning without success. He also learned swordsmanship, but also failed. Xiang Liang was very angry with him. But Xiang Ji said: "Writing can only be used to remember names; swordsmanship can only defeat one person, so it is not worth learning. I want to learn the ability to defeat ten thousand people." So Xiang Liang taught Xiang Ji the art of war, and Xiang Ji was very good at it. I am happy, but I have just learned a little bit about the art of war, but I am not willing to learn it to the end.
Xiang Liang was once implicated in a crime and was arrested and imprisoned in Yueyang County. He asked Cao Qian, the warden of Qixian County, to write a letter of intercession to Sima Xin, the warden of Yueyang. For this reason, the incident Only then was it settled. Later, Xiang Liang killed another person. In order to avoid his enemies, he and Xiang Ji fled to Wuzhong. The talented scholar-bureaucrats in Wuzhong are not as capable as Xiang Liang.
Whenever there is a large-scale corvee or a big funeral in Wuzhong, Xiang Liang often acts as the host, and secretly uses military arrangements to organize guests and young people to understand their talents.
When Qin Shihuang visited Kuaiji County and crossed Zhejiang Province, Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji went to watch it together. Xiang Ji said, "That man, I can replace him!" Xiang Liang hurriedly covered his mouth and said, "Don't talk nonsense, I will kill everyone!" But Xiang Liang felt that Xiang Ji was unusual. Xiang Ji was more than eight feet tall, strong enough to lift a cauldron, and talented beyond ordinary people. Even the local young people in Wuzhong were in awe of him.
Reference: Xiang Yu’s Chronicles - Baidu Encyclopedia