“Chaos and Conquest: The Rise of Xiang Yu and the Fall of the Qin Dynasty”
In the aftermath of the Qin Dynasty’s collapse, chaos reigned supreme across the land. Disappointed and fearful, the Qin people hesitated to resist. Xiang Yu sent messengers to report back to King Huai of Chu. King Huai responded, “As agreed.” Xiang Yu resented King Huai’s refusal to allow both him and Liu Bang to enter the Pass together, opting instead to save Zhao and later fulfill his promise to conquer the world.
He said, “King Huai was installed by my family, the Xiangs. Without military achievements, how could he secure the throne? The fate of the world, and the generals and records.” He then honored King Huai as the Righteous Emperor, though he did not follow his orders.
In the first month, Xiang Yu declared himself the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, ruling over Liang and the nine counties of Chu, with his capital at Pengcheng. Breaking his promise, he installed Liu Bang as King of Han, and ruled over Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong, with the capital at Nanzheng. He divided Guanzhong into three parts, appointing three Qin generals: Zhang Han as King of Yong, with the capital at Feiqiu; Sima Xin as King of Sai, with the capital at Liyang; Dong Yi as King of Dai, with the capital at Gaonu. Chu general Xia Qiu Shen was appointed King of Henan, with his capital at Luoyang. Zhao general Sima Ang was appointed King of Yin, with his capital at Chaoge.
King Zhao moved the capital to Wangdai. Zhao’s prime minister Zhang Er was appointed King of Changshan, with his capital at Xiangguo. Prime Minister Yang Qiying was appointed King of Jiujing, with his capital at Liuyu. King Huai’s pillar minister Gong Ao was appointed King of Linjiang, with his capital at Jiangling. King Fan Wu Rui of Hanshan, with his capital at Zhu. Yan general Zang Tu was appointed King of Yan, with his capital at Ji. The former King of Yan, Han Guang, moved the capital to Liaodong. Guang refused, and Zang Tu attacked and killed him without end. Chen Yu, the King of Chen An, was appointed King of Hejian, with his capital in Nanpi. Mei Xu was appointed as the Marquis of Meixu with one hundred thousand households.
In April, the soldiers were discharged for the game, and all the vassals went to their own countries. When Han Wang’s kingdom was invaded, Xiang Wang sent 30,000 troops to follow him, and Chu and the princes followed. Du Nan went to Shizi and entered Zhong, and went to burn the bridge road, and prepared for the vassal soldiers to attack them, showing that Xiang Yu had no intention of going east. In the south, the generals and soldiers went their own way and their soldiers sang for their return. Han Xin said to Han Wang, “Xiang Yu is the king of the generals, but the king is alone in Nan Zheng. It’s a move. The military officers and soldiers are all people from Shandong, who are returning day and night. The edge is used, and great achievements can be achieved. The world is already settled, and everyone is safe, and it cannot be reused. It is better to decide to the east and compete for the world.”
Xiang Yu went out of the Pass and ordered the Emperor Yi. He said, “The emperor of the ancients is a thousand miles away and must live upstream.” He sent someone to move the Emperor Yi to Chenzhou, Chen County, urging the Emperor Yi to act, and some ministers gradually betrayed him. He secretly ordered the King of Hengshan and the King of Linjiang to attack and kill Emperor Yi in Jiangnan. Xiang Yu resented Tian Rong and established Tian Du as the King of Qi. Tian Rong was angry and declared himself King of Qi and killed Tian Du and rebelled against Chu; he gave Peng Yue the general’s seal and asked to return to Liang’s territory. Chu ordered General Xiao Gong Jiao to attack Peng Yue, and Peng Yue defeated him. Chen Yu resented Xiang Yu for not being a king, and Xiah Shuo said, “The sound is happy, the next sound is tax.”