Translation of "The Chronicles of Xiang Yu"

Xiang Ji is a person from Xiaxiang, whose courtesy name is Yu. When he started to rebel against Qin (from: uprising, uprising), he was twenty-four years old. His younger uncle is Xiang Liang, and Xiang Liang's father is Xiang Yan, the general of Chu State, who was killed by Qin general Wang Jian. The Xiang family served as a general of the Chu State for several lifetimes and was granted the title of Xiang Di (originally a small vassal state in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and later a city of Chu), hence the surname Xiang. When Xiang Ji was a boy, he failed to learn how to read and write, so he gave up. He also learned martial arts such as fencing, but failed. Xiang Liang was very angry with him. But Xiang Ji said: "Writing can only be used to remember names. Swordsmanship can be resisted by one person, so it is not worth learning. You need to learn the art of war (that is, the art of war) that can be resisted by thousands of people." So Xiang Liang taught Xiang With knowledge of military science. Xiang Ji was very happy and roughly understood the meaning of the art of war, but he refused to complete his studies. ... Xiang Liang killed someone and ran to Wudi with Xiang Yu to avoid his enemies. He and Xiang Yu fled to Wuzhong County together. The talented upper class people in Wuzhong County are all exposed below Xiang Liang. Whenever there were large-scale corvee work (labor that ancient rulers forced people to bear, such as civil engineering, etc.) and funeral matters in Wuzhong County, Xiang Liang often took charge of them and secretly used military arrangements to restrain guests and Wuzhong youth. According to this understanding their abilities. When Qin Shihuang visited Kuaiji County and crossed Zhejiang Province, Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji went to watch it together. Xiang Ji said, "I can replace that man!" Xiang Liang covered his mouth and said, "Don't talk nonsense, (otherwise) you will be exterminated!" Xiang Liang therefore thought that Xiang Ji was different from ordinary people. Xiang Ji is more than eight feet tall, strong enough to lift a tripod (carry: lift it with both hands), and his talent and courage are beyond ordinary people. Even the local young people in Wuzhong are afraid of him.

In July of the first year of Qin II (Hu Hai) (209 BC), Chen She (Sheng) and others revolted in Daze Township. In September of that year, Yin Tong, the governor of Kuaiji, said to Xiang Liang: "Everyone west of the river is in rebellion. This is also the time when God is going to destroy the Qin Dynasty. I heard that the one who strikes first can control others, and the one who strikes last will control others." Being controlled by others. I plan to raise an army and let you and Huan Chu lead the army." At this time, Huan Chu was fleeing in the wilderness. Xiang Liang said: "Huan Chu is a fugitive. No one knows where he is hiding. Only Xiang Ji knows." So Xiang Liang went out and asked Xiang Yu to wait outside with his sword. Then he came in again and joined Yin Tong, the governor of the county. He sat down and said, "Please allow me to summon Xiang Yu and ask him to accept the order to summon Huan Chu." The county guard said, "Okay." Xiang Liang called Xiang Yu in. After a while, Xiang Liang winked at Xiang Yu and said, "It's time to take action!" So Xiang Yu pulled out his sword and chopped off the head of the governor. Xiang Liang held the county governor's head in his hand, and wore the official seal of the county governor and the ribbon with the seal on his body. The attendants and guards of the county were greatly panicked and in chaos. Xiang Yu killed dozens or hundreds of people. The entire county was so frightened that they lay on the ground and did not dare to move. No one dared to get up. Xiang Liang then summoned the powerful county officials he was familiar with and declared to them the reason for the uprising against Qin, so he mobilized the army of Wu County to revolt. He sent people to collect the subordinate counties of this county and obtained 8,000 elite soldiers. He also deployed famous and talented people in Wuzhong County and assigned them to be Xiaowei (a military attache one level lower than a general), Hou (junior minister, an official in charge of military affairs), and Sima (an official who enforces military law). . One of them was not appointed and came to Xiang Liang to complain. Xiang Liang said: "A few days ago, I asked you to preside over a certain funeral (or someone), but you did not do it well, so I cannot appoint you. "Everyone was very respectful. Then Xiang Liang became the governor of Kuaiji, and Xiang Ji became the deputy general (a general who assisted the chief general), leading troops to patrol and collect places.

After Zhang Han defeated Xiang Liang's army, he thought that Chu's army was not worth worrying about, so he crossed the Yellow River to the north to attack Zhao and defeated the Zhao army. At this time, Zhao Xie was the king and Chen Yu was the general. Zhang Er became the prime minister, and they all fled into Julu City. Zhang Han ordered Wang Li (the grandson of the famous Qin general Wang Jian) ​​and Shejian to surround Julu. His troops were stationed south of Julu and built a passage with walls on both sides to transport grain and grass to them. As a general of Zhao State, Chen Yu led tens of thousands of soldiers to station in the north of Julu. This was the so-called Hebei army. After the Chu army was defeated in Dingtao, King Huai (Xiong Xin, the grandson of King Huai of Chu) was afraid. He went from Xutai to Pengcheng, merged the armies of Xiang Yu and Lu Chen, and led them himself. Lu Chen was appointed as Situ (originally the official in charge of education, here it is probably the quartermaster in charge of finance), and Lu Chen's father Lu Qing was appointed as Ling Yin. He appointed Pei Gong as the governor of Dang County and named him Marquis of Wu'an, commanding the army of Dang County.

At the beginning, the Qi envoy Gaoling Jun whom Song Yi met on the road was in the Chu army. He asked to see the King of Chu and said: "Song Yi once guessed that Wu Xinjun's army must fail. After a few days, Sure enough, he was defeated. He could see the signs of defeat before the battle began. This can be said to be someone who understands military affairs. "King Huai of Chu summoned Song Yi to plan important events. He admired him very much, so he appointed him as a general. Song Yi came to take charge; Xiang Yu was Lu Gong and served as the second general (deputy commander), and Fan Zeng was appointed as the last general (general under the second general) to rescue Zhao. All other generals were subordinate to Song Yi, known as the champion of Qingzi. The troops marched to Anyang and stayed for forty-six days without moving forward. Xiang Yu said: "I heard that the Qin army besieged King Zhao in Julu City. We quickly led our troops across the Yellow River. The Chu army attacked from the outside and the Zhao army responded inside. It is certain to defeat the Qin army." Song Yi Said: “Incorrect.

If you want to swat the gadfly, you don't have to worry about killing the lice on the cow (which means that the main purpose of the Chu army is to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, not to save the Zhao State, and its ambition is big rather than small. 虮: eggs of lice). Now Qin is attacking Zhao, and if they win, the soldiers will be tired. We will take advantage of the decline in Qin's combat effectiveness. If Qin cannot win, then we will lead the army to march to the west with drums beating, and we will definitely capture Qin's territory. Local. Therefore, it is better to make the Qin and Zhao armies fight each other now. When it comes to wearing strong armor, holding sharp weapons (referring to charging into battle), and bravely fighting on the front line, I can't compare to you; when it comes to sitting down and strategizing, you can't compare to me. "So he issued an order to the whole army: "Anyone who is as fierce as a tiger, as surly as a sheep, as greedy and violent as a wolf, and who is stubborn and refuses to obey orders will be killed!" "He also sent his son Song Xiang to assist the state of Qi (at that time, Qi Prime Minister Tian Rong had a conflict with Xiang Liang. Song Yi wanted to contact Tian Rong to deal with Xiang Yu, so he sent Song Xiang to assist Tian Rong) and personally sent him to Wuyan (name of place, today's Shandong). Dongping County (east of Dongping County), held a grand banquet. It was cold and raining heavily, and the soldiers were cold and hungry. Xiang Yu said to the soldiers: "We will join forces to attack the Qin army and will not advance for a long time (referring to Song Yi's inaction). If the year is not going well, there will be a famine, the people are poor, the soldiers eat taro and beans, and there is no food in the army, he actually drinks and feasts, does not lead the troops to cross the river, relies on Zhao's food to supply the army, and joins forces with Zhao to attack Qin. But he said 'taking advantage of the Qin army's fatigue'. With the Qin State being so powerful to attack the newly established Zhao State, under this situation, Zhao State will definitely be captured. If Zhao is captured, Qin will become stronger. By then, what use can be made of the decline of power? Moreover, our army had just been defeated (the defeat of Tao's army was designated), and King Huai felt uneasy even when he was sitting at the table. He gathered all the troops in the country and entrusted them to the general alone. The safety of the country depended on this action. Now he has no sympathy for the soldiers, but only follows his own selfish interests (referring to his son Song Xiangxiang), and is not a loyal minister of the country. "Xiang Yu went to see General Song Yi in the morning, and beheaded him in the military tent. He went out of the tent and issued an order to the army: "Song Yi and Qi State conspired to rebel against Chu. The King of Chu secretly ordered me to execute him. At this time, the generals all obeyed Xiang Yu out of fear. No one dared to resist, and they all said: "The generals and their families were the first to support the King of Chu." Now the general has killed the rebellious ministers -" So everyone made Xiang Yu the acting general. (Xiang Yu) sent people to chase Song Yi's son, and caught up with him in the territory of Qi and killed him. Xiang Yu also sent Huan Chu He was restored to King Huai. King Huai of Chu made Xiang Yu the general, and both Dangyang Jun (titled by Yingbu when he first came to power) and General Pu were assigned to Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu killed Qing Zi champion. After hearing this from the princes, they sent Dangyang Jun and General Pu to lead 20,000 people across the Zhang River to rescue Julu. After the battle was slightly successful, Chen Yu came to ask for more troops and led all the troops to cross the Zhang River and take the boat. They all sank into the water, smashed all the pots and earthenware (cooking utensils) used to cook food, and burned all the simple square houses. They only carried three days of military rations. This showed that all the soldiers were determined to fight to the death, and no one retreated to survive. When the troops arrived at the front line, they surrounded Wang Li, encountered the Qin army, fought many times, cut off the opponent's corridor, defeated the Qin army, killed Su Jiao (Qin general), and captured Wang Li, who refused to surrender to Chu. , burned himself to death. At this time, the courage and prestige of the Chu army exceeded that of the various princes' armies. There were more than ten camps among the princes' armies who came to relieve the siege of Julu, but no one dared to send troops to attack the Qin army. At that time, the generals of the princes' armies were hiding on the ramparts to watch the battle. Each of the Chu soldiers was able to resist ten of them. When they entered the gate of the military camp, everyone walked forward on their knees, and no one dared to look up. From then on, Xiang Yu became the commander-in-chief of the coalition of princes, and all princes were subordinate to him.

(Xiang Yu led the army. ) was about to seize and pacify the Qin Kingdom (line: adverb, will. Abbreviation: seize property and land). There were soldiers guarding the pass and they could not enter. Xiang Yu was very angry when he heard that Pei Gong had captured Xianyang. Attack Hangu Pass. In this way, Xiang Yu entered the pass and went to the west of Xishui. The Duke of Pei, Liu Bang, was stationed at Bashang (name of the place), but he had not yet had a chance to meet Xiang Yu. Military attache) Cao Wushang sent someone to tell Xiang Yu: "Pei Gong wants to become king in Guanzhong and appoint Ziying as prime minister. He wants to take possession of all the treasures. Xiang Yu was furious after hearing this and said, "Tomorrow morning, I will reward the soldiers with a big meal and defeat Pei Gong's army for me!" "The situation at that time was that Xiang Yu had 400,000 troops stationed at Hongmen Ban in Xinfeng County (Ban means slope, in the east of Xinfeng County); Liu Bang had only 100,000 soldiers stationed at Bashang. Fan Zeng persuaded Xiang Yu and said: "Pei Gong comes in. During the period before the Pass (Shandong: east of Mount Wei, generally referring to the Six Kingdoms except Qin), he was greedy for money and liked beautiful women; now that he has entered the Pass, he does not take any money or treasures, and does not get close to any women. This shows that he (Pei Gong) The ambition is not in small aspects. I sent people to observe the clouds above his head. They were all in the shape of dragons and tigers, and showed five colors. This is the weather of the emperor. The king must attack and destroy him as soon as possible, don't lose the opportunity! ”

Zuo Yin of the Chu State (the Chu army adopted the official name of the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was Ling Yin’s assistant) was Xiang Bo, Xiang Yu’s clan uncle, and had always been a good friend of Zhang Liang, the marquis of Liu. Following Liu Bang at that time, Xiang Bo rode to Pei Gong's camp overnight and met Zhang Liang privately. He told him all the reasons and wanted Zhang Liang to leave Pei Gong's camp with him. Xiang Bo said, "Don't die with Pei Gong."

Zhang Liang said: "I am sending Pei Gong here on behalf of the King of Han. Pei Gong is in danger now. It is unethical for me to escape alone. I have to tell him." So Zhang Liang entered Pei Gong's tent and told Pei Gong everything. Pei Gong was shocked and said, "What should we do about this matter?" Zhang Liang said: "Who made this plan for your Majesty?" "Pei Gong replied: "The scholar with little knowledge persuaded me: 'Guard the Hangu Pass (from: Tong'reject', to resist), and don't let the princes in (Nei: Tong to accept, let in. This meaning was later written as 'Na'. ), then the land of Qin can be completely occupied and made king', so he listened to his opinion. Zhang Liang said, "Do you think the king's troops are strong enough to withstand King Xiang's attack?" "Pei Gong was silent for a while and said: "Of course it's not as good as (Gu: adverb, originally, of course). What will we do about this (and: adverb, will)? Zhang Liang said: "Please allow me to explain to Xiang Bo that Pei Gong would not dare to betray King Xiang." "Pei Gong asked: "How do you have an old friendship with Xiang Bo? Zhang Liang replied: "When he was still in the Qin Dynasty, he was friends with the minister. Xiang Bo killed someone, and the minister saved him. Things are critical now, so fortunately he came to tell me (fortunately: adverb, fortunately, fortunately). Liu Bang asked again: "Compared with you (Bo Xiang), who is younger and who is older? (which one is better than...) ? Zhang Liang said: "You are older than me." Liu Bang heard this and said: "Sir, call him in for me. I should treat him like an elder brother." "Zhang Liang went out and invited Xiang Bo. Xiang Bo then went in to see Pei Gong. Pei Gong respectfully held a bottle of wine in both hands and blessed Xiang Bo with a long life. Blessings), and agreed to marry as sons and daughters. Said: "After I entered the customs, I did not dare to touch the smallest things. I registered the household registration of officials and people, sealed up the place where documents and property were stored, and waited for the general. The purpose of sending generals to guard Hangu Pass is to prevent other thieves from entering and exiting and unusual accidents. How can you dare to rebel when you look forward to the arrival of the general day and night? I hope you will explain (to the general) one by one that I dare not betray the kindness of the general (times: betrayal, violation). Xiang Bo agreed and said to Liu Bang: "I have to come early tomorrow morning to apologize to King Xiang." Liu Bang said: "Okay." So Xiang Bo went back that night, arrived in the Chu army, and reported all Pei Gong's words to King Xiang. He took the opportunity to say (Yinyan said: took the opportunity to speak): "Pei Gong doesn't attack Guanzhong first, how dare you?" Entering customs? Now that someone has achieved great success, you want to attack him. This is unethical. Why not take the opportunity to treat him well? " King Xiang agreed.

Pei Gong led more than a hundred cavalry to pay homage to King Xiang the next day. When he arrived at Hongmen, he said, "I will join forces with the general to attack Qin, and the general is fighting north of the Yellow River. , I fought in Henan. However, I did not expect that I could enter Guanzhong first and defeat Qin, and that I could see the general here again. At this time, there are rumors among villains, causing a gap between the general and his ministers - (before he finished, he was interrupted by Xiang Yu)" Xiang Yu said: "This is what your left Sima Cao Wushang said, Duke Pei; otherwise, how could I be like this? What's the situation? "On that day, Xiang Yu left Pei Gong to drink with him. Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo sat facing east. Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo sat facing east. ), Yafu (the person whose status was second only to his father, Fan Zeng was an adviser to Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, and he was over seventy years old, so he was respectfully called Yafu) was sitting facing south. Yafu was Fan Zeng. Sitting in the north, Zhang Liang was facing the west. Fan Zeng winked at King Xiang many times and raised his jade ornaments three times to signal to him, urging King Xiang to make up his mind to kill Liu Bang. Xiang Yu remained silent but did not respond. response). Fan Zeng stood up, went outside the tent, summoned Xiang Zhuang (Xiang Yu's cousin), and said to him: "The king is not cruel (not cruel, soft-hearted), you go in (if: you), step forward Happy birthday. After celebrating his birthday, he asked for a sword dance and took the opportunity to stab Pei Gong on his seat (sitting: act) and kill him. Otherwise, all of you will be captured by him! Xiang Zhuang then went into the tent to celebrate his birthday. After congratulations, he said: "The king is drinking with Pei Gong. There is nothing in the army to entertain him. Please allow me to dance with the sword!" King Xiang said: "Okay." "Xiang Zhuang drew his sword and danced. Xiang Bo also drew his sword and danced. Lao used his body to cover Pei Gong, so Xiang Zhuang could not attack.

So Zhang Liang went to the camp gate to meet Fan Kuai. Fan Kuai asked: "What happened today? Already? Zhang Liang said: "It's very critical!" Now Xiang Zhuang draws his sword and dances, his intention is always on Pei Gong. Fan Kuai said: "This matter is too urgent (pressing: adjective, urgent, critical). I ask to go in and share the fate of life and death with him!" "Fan Kuai then entered the camp gate with a sword and a shield. The guards standing on both sides holding halberds and crossing the gates wanted to stop him from entering, but Fan Kuai turned his shield sideways and collided with him ( Use: conjunction to connect two actions, indicating that the latter one is the purpose of the previous one. Pu: fall down, especially to fall forward.) The guard was knocked to the ground, and Fan Kuai opened the tent and stood facing the west ( Phi: separate, here means to open, to uncover), he stared at King Xiang with his eyes wide open, his hair stood up, and the corners of his eyes were cracked. King Xiang stood up from his knees and said, "What is the guest doing?" :do what)? Zhang Liang said, "It's the man named Fan Kuai, one of Pei Gong's guards."

King Xiang said, "He is really a strong man. Give him a bottle of wine." "The people on the left and right gave him a large glass of wine. Fan Kuai thanked him, got up, and drank while standing. King Xiang said, "Give him the front legs of a pig! " So he gave him a pig foreleg that was not fully cooked. Fan Kuai turned his shield on the ground, put the pig's leg on top of the shield, drew his sword, cut it off and ate it. King Xiang said: "The strong man still has it. Can I drink alcohol again? Fan Kuai said: "I will not escape even if I die. How can I refuse a drink?" The King of Qin had a ferocious and cruel nature like a tiger or a wolf. He killed people as if he was worried that he would not be able to kill them all (ju: quan, bing), and used torture as if he was worried that he would not be able to use them all (punishment: punishment, punishment. sheng: bing). Everyone in the world rebelled against him. . King Huai of Chu made an agreement with the generals: "Whoever conquers Qin first and enters Xianyang will be crowned king in Guanzhong." ’ Now Pei Gong has conquered Qin and entered Xianyang. No one dares to approach him (haomao: fine hair. Metaphor for small things). He seals the palace and carriages and retreats his troops to Bashang to wait for the arrival of the king. The reason why soldiers were sent to guard Hangu Pass was just to guard against thieves coming in and out and unexpected changes. For your hard work and great achievements, without the reward of being a prince, (you) listened to the slander (to elaborate: small talk, slander) and wanted to kill the meritorious officials. This is the continuation of the destroyed Qin Dynasty. I personally think about the king, I feel this approach should not be taken. King Xiang had no words to answer, so he said: "Sit down." Fan Kuai sat down next to Zhang Liang (from Zhang Liang: sit down next to Zhang Liang). After sitting for a while, Liu Bang got up and went to the toilet (eg: to: Go to...) and took the opportunity to summon Fan Kuai to come out.

After Pei Gong came out, King Xiang sent his captain Chen Ping to summon Pei Gong and said, "Now come out." , without saying goodbye, what should I do? " Fan Kuai said: "You cannot take into account small details in big actions, and you cannot ignore small accusations in big etiquette. blame). Now other people are just like the knife and the chopping board, and we are the fish and the meat between the knife and the chopping board, so why should we say goodbye? "So he left immediately. He only ordered Zhang Liang to stay and say goodbye. Zhang Liang asked: "What (gift) did the king bring when he came (cao: hold, take)? Pei Gong said: "I have brought a pair of jade bis to give to King Xiang and a pair of jade buckets to give to Ya's father." Just in time for the wrath (Hui: coincidentally, just in time), I dare not offer it. Sir, offer it to me. Zhang Liang said: "I will do as I am told respectfully." "The situation at that time was that King Xiang's army was at the foot of Hongmen Ban, and Liu Bang's army was at Bashang, forty miles apart. Liu Bang gave up the car he came in and the cavalry he brought with him, escaped from danger, and rode alone. He escaped on foot with Fan Kuai, Xia Houying, Jin Qiang, and Ji Xin, holding swords and shields. They marched secretly from the foot of Li Mountain through Zhiyang County (Before leaving) Liu Bang confronted Zhang Liang. Said: "It's only twenty miles from this road to our army station (but: no more than. Er: expresses a restrictive narrative tone, equivalent to 'that's all')." It is estimated that when I get to the army (du: estimate), my husband will make a fortune (nai: talent). "After Liu Bang left, he arrived at the army. Zhang Liang went into the tent and apologized to King Xiang, saying: "Pei Gong cannot bear to drink (that is, he is drunk), so he cannot say goodbye (in person). I order my ministers to solemnly present a pair of white jade stones, and then bow down (bow down twice, this is a word of respect, not the actual reference) and present it in front of the king; I also offer a pair of jade buckets to the general (Fan Zeng) forward. King Xiang asked: "Where is Pei Gong?" Zhang Liang said: "I heard that the king wanted to blame him for his mistakes, so he escaped and went back alone. He has returned to the army." King Xiang accepted the jade bi and placed it on his seat. Yafu took the jade bucket and placed it on the ground. He drew his sword and struck the jade bucket, breaking it. He said, "Alas!" This guy is not worthy of discussing important matters with him (note, Fan Zeng is scolding Xiang Zhuang on the surface, but actually scolding Xiang Yu)! The person who captured King Xiang’s world must be Pei Gong, and our group will be captured by him! "Pei Gong returned to the army and immediately sentenced Cao Wushang to death (Li: adverb, immediately).

A few days later, Xiang Yu led his troops westward to Xianyang City, massacred, and killed Qin Jiang's prince Ying. , burned down the palace of Qin Dynasty, and the fire was not extinguished for three months; they plundered the property and treasures of Qin Palace, took away the women of Qin Palace, and then returned to the east. Someone advised King Xiang to say (or: no definite pronoun, meaning someone). , some people): "The Guanzhong area is surrounded by high mountains, rivers and fortresses, and the land is fertile and rich. It is possible to establish a capital and establish a hegemony here. King Xiang saw that all the palaces of the Qin Dynasty were burned to pieces. He missed his hometown again and wanted to go back east. He said: "If you don't go back to your hometown after getting rich, it will be like traveling at night wearing brocade clothes. Who knows that he is already rich?" What's up? The person who persuaded King Xiang said: "People say that the people of Chu are just macaques wearing human hats. It is true." "When King Xiang heard this, he boiled the lobbyist to death in a pot.

King Xiang sent someone to report the completed mission (that is, the destruction of Qin) to King Huai. King Huai said: "According to the It turned out that I had agreed to do something with the generals. "So he respected King Huai as the Righteous Emperor (not called Emperor of Chu, which means that he is the emperor morally and has no right to command the world). King Xiang wanted to call himself king, so he first made all the generals and ministers kings, and said to them: “When the world begins to rise in rebellion, the descendants of the princes of the six countries are temporarily appointed as kings to attack the Qin Dynasty. But it was all because of the strength of the generals and me that I personally put on armor and held weapons and took the lead, fought hard in the camp, and finally destroyed Qin and brought peace to the world in three years.

Although Yi Di had no merit, he should have divided the land and made him king. "All the generals said: "Okay. So he divided the world and established generals as lords and kings. King Xiang and Fan Zeng suspected that if Pei Gong agreed to be the king of Guanzhong, he would go on to occupy all of China. However, they had already reconciled at the Hongmen Banquet. They would betray themselves, so they secretly discussed: "The roads in Shu are dangerous, and the sinners exiled by the Qin Dynasty all live in Shu. "He also said: "Ba and Shu can also be considered as the territory of Guanzhong. "So he established Peigong as the king of Han, ruled Bajun, Shujun, and Hanzhong County, and established Nanzheng as the capital. However, he divided Guanzhong into three parts and named Zhang Han, the three surrendered generals of the Qin State, as kings in order to block the eastward route of the Han Dynasty.… ...King Xiang established himself as the Overlord of Western Chu (Western Chu: in ancient times, Jiangling was called Southern Chu, Wu was called Dong Chu, Pengcheng was called Western Chu, and Xiang Yu made Pengcheng his capital. Overlord: the leader of the princes and kings), ruled nine counties, and established Pengcheng as his capital. /p>

Xiang Yu stationed his army at the base of Gaixia. There were fewer and fewer soldiers and no food. The Han army and the princes' troops surrounded King Xiang several times. Xiang Yu was shocked and said: "Have all the Han troops captured Chu? Why are there so many Chu people here? "Xiang Yu then got up at night and drank in the military tent. There was a beautiful woman named Yu, who was favored by King Xiang, and she often followed him. There was a horse named Zui, and he often rode on her. So Xiang Yu sang sadly and became angry. He was so high-spirited that he wrote a poem by himself: "My strength can lift mountains, my heroic spirit is overwhelming, but the weather is unfavorable and my horses cannot gallop." What can I do if my horse fails to gallop? Yuji, how will Yuji arrange you? "After singing it several times, Yu Ji also sang with him. Xiang Yu shed tears for several lines, and the guards around him also shed tears. No one could look up at Xiang Yu.

So Xiang Yu crossed They mounted their horses, followed by more than 800 strong men on horseback. They broke through the siege that night and rushed south. At daybreak, the Han army discovered that Xiang Yu had broken through and ordered Guan Ying, the general in charge of the cavalry, to lead 5,000 men. The cavalry pursued Xiang Yu. When Xiang Yu crossed the Huaihe River, there were only more than a hundred cavalrymen who could follow him. When Xiang Yu reached Yinling (the name of Qin County), he lost his direction and couldn't find the road. He asked an old farmer, who lied to him and said: "Turn left. "Xiang Yu walked to the left and fell into a large swamp. Because of this, the Han army caught up with King Xiang. Xiang Yu led his troops east again and reached Dongcheng (the name of Qin County), leaving only twenty-eight The cavalry of the Han army were chasing thousands of people. Xiang Yu himself estimated that he could not escape, so he said to his cavalry: "It has been eight years since I started fighting. I have experienced more than 70 battles. I have defeated all the enemies I encountered. I was defeated; all those I attacked surrendered, and I became hegemonic and occupied the world. But today I am finally besieged here. This is because God wants to destroy me, and it is not my fault for directing the war. I was bound to die today, but I am willing to fight a battle that determines the final victory or defeat for you. I must defeat the enemy three times, break through the siege for you, kill the Han generals, and cut down the enemy's flag, so that you can know that this is God's death. It was not my fault of using soldiers to fight the war. So he divided his cavalry into four teams, facing four directions. The Han army surrounded them layer by layer. Xiang Yu said to his cavalry: "I will kill one of his generals for you." " He ordered the cavalry to rush down in all directions, and agreed to gather at three places on the east side of the mountain. So Xiang Yu shouted and charged straight down, and the Han army all fell on their backs (invincible: this originally describes the appearance of scattered vegetation and fallen trees). So he killed a general of the Han army. At this time, Chiquan Hou Yang Xi was the cavalry general and pursued King Xiang. King Xiang glared at him and scolded him. Chiquan Hou himself and his horse were frightened and retreated for several miles. His cavalry met at three places. The Han army did not know where King Xiang was, so he divided his army into three parts and surrounded them again. King Xiang attacked and killed another captain of the Han army. Dozens or hundreds of people gathered his cavalry again, only losing two of his cavalry, and asked his horsemen: "How is it?" The cavalry all said with admiration: "It's just like what you said!" "

So Xiang Yu wanted to cross the Wujiang River eastward (Wujiangpu on the west bank of the Yangtze River). The chief of the Wujiang Pavilion docked the boat on the shore and waited for Xiang Yu. He said to Xiang Yu: "Although Jiangdong is small, the land is thousands of miles away and there are dozens of people. Ten thousand is enough to become a king. I hope the king will cross the river quickly. Now I am the only one with a boat. Even if the Han army catches up here, there will be no way to cross the river. Xiang Yu laughed and said: "Since God wants to destroy me, why should I cross the river?" Moreover, I, Xiang Yu, led eight thousand of Jiangdong’s disciples across the Wu River to advance westward, but now not a single one of them has survived. Even if the fathers and brothers of Jiangdong love me and make me their king, what shame would I have to see them? Even if they don't say anything, don't I feel ashamed in my heart? So he said to the chief of the pavilion, "I know you are an old and virtuous man." I have been riding this horse for five years, and I have never encountered any rivals. I have traveled thousands of miles, and I cannot bear to kill it, so I will give it to you! "So he ordered the cavalry to dismount and walk, holding short and light weapons to fight. Xiang Ji alone killed hundreds of Han soldiers, and King Xiang himself suffered more than a dozen wounds. Looking back, he saw Sima Lu Matong among the Han cavalry ( He was originally a general under Xiang Yu, but at this time he had returned to the Han Dynasty from Chu State) and said: "Aren't you my old friend? Lu Matong faced Xiang Yu and instructed Wang Yi, "This is Xiang Yu." Xiang Yu then said: "I heard that the king of Han offered a reward of one thousand taels of gold and ten thousand households for my head. I will give you some benefits." " So he cut his neck and committed suicide.

Tai Shigong (self-proclaimed) said: I heard from Zhou Sheng that "Yu Shun probably has two pupils in his eyes." I also heard that Xiang Yu also had two pupils.

Is Xiang Yu a descendant of Shun? Why did it arise so suddenly? The Qin State made major mistakes in political measures. Chen She took the lead in attacking. Heroes flew up like a swarm of bees, and the generals fought for supremacy together, too many to count. However, Xiang Yu did not have any foundation (including land and power). Instead, he took advantage of the chaos in the world to start a rebellion among the people. In three years, he led the five princes (the anti-Qin armed forces of the five countries outside Chu) to destroy Qin and divide the world. Xiang Yu was granted the title of prince, and all government orders were promulgated by Xiang Yu, who was known as the overlord. Although the overlord's power could not be maintained to the end, his outstanding achievements were unprecedented in recent times. When Xiang Yu gave up Guanzhong, missed Chu (and returned eastward), exiled Yi Emperor, and established himself as king. He did these unwise and unpopular things, but blamed the princes for betraying him, so as to achieve hegemony. , it’s very difficult. Boast one's merits (睷: conceited, boastful. Fa: meritorious service), show off one's own talents, but do not follow the example of the ancients. He thinks that he has become the king (that is, thinks), and wants to conquer and govern the world by force (management: planning, governance) , after five years of war, his country was finally destroyed (die: to cause... to perish, the use of the verb). He died in Dongcheng, but he still didn't realize it, let alone blame himself. That would be wrong. Actually said (but: adverb, unexpectedly.

Quote: Saying) "It's not my fault that God wants to destroy me." Isn't it ridiculous?