records of the historian
Gaozu was a native of Zhongyangli, Fengyi, Pei County, with the surname Liu and the character Ji. His father’s name was Taigong and his mother’s name was Liu Old Woman. Earlier Liu Old Woman had been resting on the shore of a great lake and met the god of water in a dream. There was lightning and thunder and the sky was dark, so when Taigong went to check on her, he found a dragon lying on Liu Old Woman. Soon she became pregnant and gave birth to Gaozu.
Gaozu’s appearance was characterized by a straight nose and plump forehead, a beautiful beard, and seventy-two black moles growing on his left thigh. He was kind and loving, fond of almsgiving and broad-minded. From time to time he had great ambitions and was unwilling to engage in the productive labor of the common people. When he was in his prime, he was put on probation as a minor official and served as the head of Surabaya Pavilion, and there was not a single official in the court who did not know him well. He liked drinking and women. He often went to the wine shop of Wang Woman and Wu Nai to drink on credit, and when he was drunk, he would lie down. Wu Nai and Wang Woman were surprised to see that there was often a dragon above him. Whenever Gaozu came to drink in the wine shop, the wine sales were several times more than usual. By the time they realized these strange phenomena, at the end of the year, these two wine shops often destroyed the bonds to exempt him from paying for his wine.
Gaozu once traveled to Xianyang to serve in the corvée and casually watched, and when he saw Qin Shi Huangdi, he let out a long sigh and said, “Alas, this is how a great man should be sextoypal!”
Lu Gong, a man from Shanfu, was on good terms with the magistrate of Pei County, so he moved to Pei County to avoid his enemies and joined the magistrate as a guest. When the magnates and officials of Pei County heard that the magistrate’s family had a guest, they all went there to congratulate him. Xiao He, who was the chief official and was in charge of receiving the gifts, said to all the honored guests, “Those who offer gifts of less than a thousand coins sit at the foot of the hall.” Gaozu, who was the head of the pavilion, looked down on all the officials, so he deceptively wrote on the posters, “Gift of 10,000 coins”, but in fact, he did not bring a single penny with him. When the posters were handed in, Lu Gong was so surprised that he got up and went to the door to greet him. When he saw Gaozu’s face, he honored him very much and took him to the hall to sit down. Xiao He said, “Liu Ji has always loved to talk big and seldom accomplishes anything.” Gaozu thus teased the guests in the hall, and sat himself on the upper seat without humility. At the end of the banquet, Lu Gong took the opportunity to ask Gaozu to stay. Gaozu finished his drink and left last on purpose. Duke Lu said, “When I was young, I liked to read people’s faces, and I have seen many people, but none like you, Liu Ji, so I hope you can respect yourself. I have a real daughter who is willing to be promised to you as a house-cleaning concubine.” After the banquet was over, Lu Old Woman said angrily to Duke Lu, “You always wanted your daughter to be different in the first place, and betrothed her to a nobleman. The magistrate of Pei County treated you well and asked for your daughter’s hand in marriage but refused, so why did you betroth her to Liu Ji without authorization?” Duke Lu said, “This is beyond the understanding of women and children.” In the end, he still betrothed his daughter to Liu Ji. Duke Lu’s daughter was Empress Lu, who gave birth to Emperor Xiao Hui and Princess Lu Yuan Anal Toys.
When Gaozu was a pavilion chief, he often took leave to return to the fields. Empress Lu and her two children were hoeing in the field when an old man passed by asking for water, so Empress Lu invited him to a meal. The old man read Empress Lu’s face and said, “Your Ladyship is a noble person in the world.” Empress Lu asked him to read the faces of her two children. When the old man met Emperor Xiaohui, he said, “The reason why Madam can be rich and noble lies in this child.” He took the face of Princess Lu Yuan and also said that she was a rich and noble person. After the old man left, Gaozu happened to come from the house next to him, so Empress Lu said that a guest was passing by, and after taking the face of mother and son, he said that they were both rich and noble people. Gaozu asked the old man where he was, and Empress Lu said, “He hasn’t gone far yet.” Gaozu went after him and asked the old man. The old man said, “I have just seen the face of the wife and the child, both of them are as rich as you are, your face is unspeakably rich.” Gaozu then thanked him and said, “It is really as the old man said, I will never forget the kindness.” By the time Gaozu was rich, he no longer knew where the old man was.
Gaozu served as a pavilion chief, made a crown and hat with bamboo skin, and ordered the thief to go to Xue County to make it, which he often wore on his head, and often wore it when he was rich and powerful, and it was what people called “Liu’s Crown”.
When Gaozu was the head of a pavilion, he was escorting prisoners to Mount Li for the county, and many of them escaped on the way. He estimated in his heart that they had all fled by the time he reached Mount Li, and when he came to the marsh at Fengyi, he stopped to drink wine, and in the night released all the criminals he had escorted. Gaozu said, “Go away, all of you, and from now on I will not go back!” There were a dozen strong men among the torturers who were willing to follow him. Gaozu, drunk with wine, walked straight through the swamp at night, letting one man go ahead to scout the way. The man who went ahead to scout the way came back and reported, “There is a big snake blocking the way ahead, and I want to go back.” Gaozu was drunk and said, “A strong man walks, what are you afraid of!” So he went forward and drew his sword to cut the snake. The snake was then cut into two pieces and the road was cleared. After walking a few miles, Gaozu, being drunk, lay down on the ground. The people behind him walked to the place where the great snake appeared and saw an old woman crying in the night. So the people asked her, and the old woman said, “Someone has killed my son, so I am crying here.” So the people said, “Why was the old woman’s son killed?” The old woman said, “My son, who was in fact the son of the White Emperor, changed into a snake and stood in the way, and today he was cut in two by the son of the Red Emperor, and therefore I am crying here.” The people thought the old woman was dishonest and wanted to make her suffer, but the old woman suddenly disappeared. The people behind her rushed up and Gaozu woke up. They told Gaozu these things, and Gaozu was secretly happy in his heart and thought himself marvelous. The crowd of followers grew to fear him more and more.
Gaozu Beheading the White Snake, painted by Wu Youru
The First Emperor of Qin often said that “there is the Qi of the Son of Heaven in the southeast”, and at that time, he toured the east to suppress the Qi of the Son of Heaven there. Gaozu suspected that he had something to do with it, so he fled and hid himself in the lakes and rocks of Mangdang Mountain. Empress Lu and others searched for him and always found him. Gaozu was surprised and asked Empress Lu why. Empress Lu said, “There are always clouds above your place, so if you follow the clouds, you will be found.” Gaozu was very happy. When some people in Pei County heard about this, most of them wanted to follow him.
In the fall of the first year of the Second Qin Dynasty (209 BC), Chen Sheng and his men rose up in the county of Herb, and when they arrived in Chen County, they made themselves king and called themselves “Zhang Chu”. The people of many counties killed the local governors to respond to Chen Sheng. The magistrate of Pei County was very afraid and wanted to raise an army in Pei County to respond to Chen Shu. Xiao He, the chief official of Pei County, and Cao Sen, the puisne judge of Pei County, said, “You are an official of Qin Dynasty, but now you want to betray Qin Dynasty and lead the children of Pei County to rise up to fight against Chen Shiji, I am afraid that they won’t listen to you. I hope you will recall those who have fled abroad and be able to get a few hundred of them, and use them to coerce the people, who will not dare to disobey.” So the magistrate ordered Fan Kuai to recall Liu Ji. Liu Ji’s men already numbered tens or hundreds.
At that time, Fan Kuai followed Liu Ji back. The magistrate of Pei County regretted and feared that something would happen, so he closed the city gate for defense and tried to kill Xiao He and Cao Sen. Xiao He and Cao Sen were so afraid that they climbed over the city wall to join Liu Ji to protect themselves. Liu Ji wrote a letter on silk and silk and shot it into the city, informing the people of Pei County, “The people of the world have been tormented by the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty for a long time. Now, although the elders and fathers are defending the city for the magistrate of Pei County, all the lords have risen up against the Qin Dynasty and are about to massacre Pei County. Now the fathers and elders of Pei County will kill the magistrate together, and elect the sons and daughters who can be the leaders to elect him to respond to the lords, so that their lives can be saved. Otherwise, fathers and sons will be massacred, and that will be a waste of life.” So the fathers and the elders led their sons and daughters together to kill the magistrate of Pei, and opened the city gate to welcome Liu Ji, wanting him to be the magistrate of Pei. Liu Ji said, “The world is falling into chaos, and all the lords have risen up against the Qin dynasty, and now that the elected generals are incompetent, it will be a total loss. I don’t dare to begrudge my own life, but I am afraid that my talent is too shallow to save the lives of my father, brothers and children. This is a great matter, and I hope another suitable person will be chosen.” Xiao He, Cao Sen, and others, who were civil officials and begrudged their lives for fear that if things didn’t work out, the Qin dynasty would later exterminate them, all elected Liu Ji. All the fathers and elders said, “We usually hear about those strange things of Liu Ji, Liu Ji will get rich and noble, besides, after divination, no one is more auspicious than Liu Ji.” So Liu Ji made several humble concessions. All the people dared not take the responsibility, so they elected Liu Ji as the Duke of Pei. The crowd sacrificed to the Yellow Emperor and Chi You in the courtyard of the Pei County Government Office, and painted the blood of the animals on the drums and flags, which were all dyed red. Since the snake killed was the son of the White Emperor and the one who killed the snake was the son of the Red Emperor, the color red was revered. At this time, Pei County teenagers and powerful officials such as Xiao He, Cao Sen, Fan Kuai, etc. for the Pei Gong to gather the son, get two or three thousand people, together to attack Huling, Fang with, retreating to Fengyi.
In the second year of Qin II (208 BC), Zhou Zhang, a general of Chen Shui, led his army westward to the Playing Waters and then returned. Yan, Zhao, Qi and Wei all made themselves kings. Xiang rises an army in the land of Wu. Ping, the imperial historian of Sicuan County of the Qin Dynasty, led his soldiers to besiege Fengyi. After two days, Duke Pei went out of the city to fight with him and defeated the Qin army. Duke Pei ordered Yongge to guard Fengyi, and led his own troops to Xue County. Sichuan County’s guard Zhuang was defeated in Xue County and fled to Qi County. Duke Pei’s Zuo Sima captured Sacheon County Defender Zhuang and killed him. Duke Pei returned to Kangfu and came to Fangwu without fighting. King Chen sent Zhou Shi of Wei to attack the land. Zhou Shi sent a man to say to Yong Te, “Feng Yi, where the people of Da Liang had migrated to. Now the land of Wei has been pacified with dozens of cities. If you surrender to the king of Wei, he will make you a marquis to defend Feng Yi. If you don’t surrender, I’m going to slaughter Feng Yi.” Yong Tooth, who had always been reluctant to follow the Duke of Pei, waited until Wei beckoned him to surrender and immediately rebelled to defend Feng Yi for Wei. The Duke of Pei led an attack on Fengyi and could not capture it. The Duke of Pei became ill and returned to Pei County. The Duke of Pei resented Yongge and the sons of Fengyi for betraying him, and when he heard that Dongyang Ningjun and Qin Jia had set up Jingju as the acting king of Chu in Liuxian County, he went to join them, wanting to borrow troops to attack Fengyi. At that time, the Qin general Zhang Han pursued the king of Chen, and the other general Sima led his soldiers northward to pacify the land of Chu, slaughtered Xiangxian, and came to Dangxian. Dongyang Ningjun and Pei Gong led their troops to the west and fought with them west of Xiaoxian County, but could not win. Duke Pei returned to gather the remnants of his army and gathered them in Liuxian County, and led an attack on Dang County, which he captured in three days. In the meantime, he collected the soldiers of Dang County and got 5,000 to 6,000 of them. He attacked Xiayi and captured there. He returned to Fengyi. When the Duke of Pei heard that Xiang Liang was in Xue County, he went to meet him with more than 100 cavalrymen. Xiang Liang reinforced his soldiers with 5,000 men to the Duke of Pei, and there were ten generals with the title of Five Great Doctors. The Duke of Pei returned and led an attack on Feng Yi.
Pei Gong followed Xiang Liang for more than a month and Xiang Yu had already returned from capturing Xiangcheng. Xiang Liang summoned all the generals to Xue County. Hearing that King Chen was indeed dead, he made Xiong Xin, the descendant of King Huai of Chu, the king of Chu, and set the capital at Xu Tai. Xiang Liang called himself Jun Wu Xin. After a few months, the Chu army attacked Kangfu to the north, rescued Dong’a, and defeated the Qin army. The Qi army returned to Qi, and the Chu army pursued the defeated army alone, sending Pei Gong and Xiang Yu to lead another army to attack Chengyang and slaughter there. Duke Pei and Xiang Yu stationed themselves east of Puyang, fought the Qin army and defeated the enemy.
The Qin army regrouped and held on to Puyang, surrounding the city with water. The Chu army left and turned to attack Dingtao, which was not captured. Duke Pei and Xiang Yu attacked the land to the west to the city of Yongqiu, and fought with the Qin army, defeating them and killing Li Yu. They returned to attack Waohuang, which was not captured.
Xiang Liang defeated the Qin army again and showed pride. Song Yi admonished him, but he did not listen. The Qin Dynasty sent troops to reinforce Zhang Han and sneak attacked Xiang Liang at night. They defeated Xiang Liang at Ding Tao and Xiang Liang died in battle. Duke Pei and Xiang Yu were attacking Chenliu. When they heard that Xiang Liang was killed in battle, they led their troops and retreated eastward with General Lu. Lu Chen was stationed east of Pengcheng, Xiang Yu was stationed west of Pengcheng, and Duke Pei was stationed in Dang County.
After Zhang Han defeated Xiang Liang’s army, he decided that the army in Chu was not worth worrying about, so he crossed the Yellow River and attacked Zhao to the north, defeating Zhao’s army. At this time, Zhao Xie was the king of Zhao, and the Qin general Wang Li besieged him in the city of Ju Lu, which was known as the army of Hebei.
In the third year of Qin II (207 BC), King Huai of Chu saw Xiang Liang’s army defeated and was so afraid that he moved away from Xu Tai and set his capital at Peng Cheng, combining the armies of Lu Chen and Xiang Yu to lead them personally. He appointed Pei Gong as the governor of Dang County and named him Marquis of Wu’an to lead the soldiers of Dang County. He appointed Xiang Yu as Marquis of Chang’an and called him Duke Lu. Lü Chen served as the Chief of Staff and his father, Lü Qing, served as the Minister of Order.
When Zhao repeatedly asked for rescue, King Huai appointed Song Yi as the upper general, Xiang Yu as the second general, and Fan Zeng as the last general, and marched northward to rescue Zhao. He ordered Pei Gong to attack the land to the west to enter Guanzhong. He and the generals agreed that the one who entered Guanzhong would be king in Guanzhong.
At this time, the Qin army was powerful and often pursued the defeated army by riding on their victory. None of the generals thought it was favorable to enter Guanzhong first. Only Xiang Yu resented the Qin army for defeating Xiang Liang’s army, and he was so angry that he was willing to go westward with Pei Gong to enter Guanzhong. King Huai’s veteran generals said, “Xiang Yu is a fierce and cruel man. Xiang Yu once attacked Xiangcheng, which did not leave a single survivor, all of them were pitted and killed, and no place he visited was not destroyed. Besides, the Chu army has advanced to attack the land many times, and previously King Chen and Xiang Liang failed. It would be better to send another generous person to copyright justice and march westward to inform the fathers and brothers of the Qin land of these truths. The people of Qin have been tormented by their ruler for a long time. If we can find a generous person to go there without bullying and violence, we should be able to capture Guanzhong. Now Xiang Yu is so fierce that he cannot be sent. Only Duke Pei has always been a generous man, so he can be sent.” In the end, King Huai did not promise Xiang Yu to go, but sent Pei Gong to attack the land to the west and collect the soldiers who had fled from King Chen and Xiang Liang. The army arrived at Chengyang through Dang County and fought against the Qin army at Kangli, defeating two Qin armies. The Chu army sent troops to attack Wang Li and defeated the enemy army.
The Duke of Pei led his army to the west, and met Peng Yue at Chang Yi, and in passing attacked the Qin army with him, and did not win the battle. Returning to Lixian, he met Marquis Gangwu and captured his army, which numbered almost four thousand men, and the two armies were merged. The Duke of Pei, together with the armies of the Wei general Huang Xin and the Wei minister Wu Pu, attacked Changyi, which was not taken. It passed westward through Gao Yang. Li Yai was in charge of guarding the city gate, and said, “There are many generals passing by this way, and I see that the Duke of Pei is a generous and great man.” So he asked to pay a visit to persuade the Duke of Pei. The Duke of Pei sat on his bed with his legs crossed and had two women wash his feet. Li Sheng did not bow down, but only arched his hands in a high salute and said, “You must want to put to death the lawless Qin dynasty, so you should not sit with your legs crossed to receive the elders.” At this the Duke of Pei stood up, straightened his clothes and apologized to him, and invited him to take the upper seat. Li Yai persuaded the Duke of Pei to attack Chenliu and get the grain hoarded by the Qin Dynasty. The Duke of Pei then made Li Eat the ruler of Guangye and appointed Li Shang as a general to lead the army of Chenliu and join him in attacking Kaifeng, which was not taken. The Duke of Pei went west and fought with the Qin general Yang Xiong at Baima, and then again east of Quyu, and defeated the Qin army. Yang Xiong fled to Xingyang, where Qin II sent messengers to behead him. Pei Gong attacked Yingyang to the south and slaughtered there. Relying on Zhang Liang, he finally captured the Chariot Pass in the Han land.
At this time, Sima Ang, the other general of Zhao, was about to cross the Yellow River into Guanzhong, when the Duke of Pei attacked Pingyin to the north and cut off the Yellow River crossing. He marched south and engaged in battle east of Luo Yang, but could not win, and returned to Yang Cheng, gathered war horses and cavalry from his army, and engaged Yi, the governor of Nanyang County, east of Ox County, and defeated the enemy. He captured the land of Nanyang County, and Yi, the defender of Nanyang County, fled and retreated to Wan County. Duke Pei led his troops around Wan County and marched to the west. Zhang Liang advised him, “Although Duke Pei wants to enter Guanzhong as soon as possible, the Qin army is still outnumbered and holding the dangerous area. It is a dangerous course of action not to take Wanxian now, which is attacking from the rear, with the mighty Qin army in the way.” So Pei Gong led his troops back by another road at night, changed his flag, and when it was almost dawn, he surrounded the city of Wanxian threefold. The county governor of Nanyang tried to commit suicide. His protégé, Chen Chou, said, “It is not too late to die when I return.” He then went over the city wall to see Duke Pei and said, “I heard that you had an agreement that the one who entered Xianyang first could claim the throne in Guanzhong. Now you are staying behind to besiege Wanxian. Wanyuan County is the capital of a large county, with dozens of cities and towns connected to it, and has a large population and sufficient savings. The officials and the people all thought that surrendering would surely lead to death, so they all mounted the walls to defend themselves tenaciously. If you stay here all day to attack the city, many of your soldiers will be killed or wounded; if you lead your troops to leave Wanxian County, the army of Wanxian County will surely follow you, so you will not be able to fulfill your promise of entering Xianyang first, and you will have the powerful Wanxian County as a scourge in the future. I think for you, why don’t you ask the garrison of Wanxian to surrender, reward the governor of Nanyang, and keep him here to defend the city, while you lead his soldiers to the west. Those cities and towns that have not been taken, when they hear of this news, will scramble to open their gates and wait for you to enter the city, and you will be able to pass without any worries.” Duke Pei said, “Good.” So he made the governor of Nanyang County the Marquis of Yin, and gave Chen Chou a thousand cognacs. The Duke of Pei led his troops to the west, and there was no city that he could not take. Arriving at Danshui, Marquis Gaowu Qi Gill and Marquis Xiang Wang Ling surrendered at Xiling. Returning to his army to attack Huyang, he met Meijuan, a general of Panjun’s, and, with him, subdued the counties of Analysis and Li. The Duke of Pei sent Ning Chang of Wei on a mission to the Qin Dynasty; the messenger did not return. By that time, Zhang Han had already led his whole army to surrender to Xiang Yu in the land of Zhao.
In the beginning, Xiang Yu and Song Yi went north to rescue Zhao. By the time Xiang Yu killed Song Yi and replaced him as the upper general, with all the generals such as Brandon Brand under him, he defeated the army of the Qin general Wang Li, subdued Zhang Han, and all the vassals were subordinate to Xiang Yu. When Zhao Gao killed Qin Er Shi, he sent his men to him, wanting to agree to divide the land in Guanzhong and claim the throne. Pei recognized that there was a fraud, so he adopted Zhang Liang’s plan and sent Li Sheng and Lu Jia to persuade the Qin generals and lure them with benefits, and then attacked Wuguan in the process and broke it down. He also fought with the Qin army in the south of Lantian, set up more soldiers and banners, and forbade the capturing and looting in all the places he passed by, so the people of the Qin land were very happy, and the Qin army was thus disintegrated, and Pei Gong took the opportunity to break the Qin army. He fought again north of Lantian and defeated the Qin army. Pei Gong took advantage of the victory to pursue the attack and finally defeated the Qin army.
In the tenth month of the first year of the Han Dynasty (206 BC), Pei Gong’s army finally reached Bashang ahead of all the lords. Prince Ying of Qin, riding on a plain carriage and white horse, with a silk rope tied around his neck, sealed the emperor’s seal and runic symbols, surrendered by the side of 轵道. Some of the generals suggested that the Qin king should be executed. Duke Pei said, “At first King Huai sent me here because I could be forgiving. Besides, it would be unlucky to kill someone who has already surrendered.” He then handed the king of Qin over to the officials and headed west into Xianyang. The Duke of Pei wanted to stay in the palace to rest, but Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang advised him, and only then did he seal up the treasures and treasures of the Qin palace and its treasury, and withdrew to Bashang to reside there. Duke Pei summoned the fathers and elders of the counties and the great men and women and said, “All the fathers and elders have been tormented by the Qin dynasty’s harsh laws for a long time, and those who criticize the dynasty’s rule will be exterminated, and those who meet and talk with each other will be abandoned in the market. I agreed with the lords that those who entered Guanzhong first should be king here, and I should be king in Guanzhong. I made a pact with the fathers: those who kill shall be put to death, and those who injure and plunder shall be punished according to their crimes. All the rest of the Qin decrees were abolished. All the officials and the people lived and worked in peace and happiness as usual. The reason for my coming here is to eradicate the evils for the fathers and elders. There will be no bullying and violence, so don’t be afraid! Besides, I withdrew to station myself at Bashang only to wait for the lords to come and make decrees together.” So he sent his men and the officials of the Qin land to tour the counties and townships and inform the people. The people of Qin were so happy that they sent cattle, sheep, wine and food to reward their generals. Again, Duke Pei excused himself from accepting them, saying, “There is plenty of grain in the storehouses, and there is no lack of food, so I don’t want to break your bank.” The people were even happier, only fearing that Pei Gong would not be the king of Qin.
Someone advised Pei Gong, “The land of Qin is ten times richer than the whole world, and the terrain has advantages. Now I heard that Zhang Han has surrendered to Xiang Yu, who made him King of Yong and ruled Guanzhong. Now they are about to come over, and I am afraid that Pei Gong will not be able to keep this place. You should quickly send troops to guard Hangu Pass, not let the armies of the lords enter, and gradually conscript soldiers from Guanzhong to build up your strength and resist them.” Pei recognized his advice as reasonable and adopted it. In the middle of November, Xiang Yu really led the armies of the vassals to the west and tried to enter Hangu Pass, but the door was closed tightly. When Xiang Yu heard that Pei Gong had already pacified Guanzhong, he was very angry and sent Brandon Bu and others to break through Hangu Pass. In the middle of December, Xiang Yu arrived at Playing Water. When Cao Wouxian, the left secretary of Pei Duke, heard that King Xiang was angry and wanted to attack Pei Duke, he sent someone to Xiang Yu and said, “Pei Duke wants to be king in Guanzhong, make Zi Ying the prime minister and take the treasures for himself.” Cao Wouxian wanted to use this to beg for a reward. Yafu persuaded Xiang Yu to attack Pei Gong. Xiang Yu was treating his soldiers and planned to fight with Pei Gong the next day. At that time, Xiang Yu’s army strength was 400,000, which was called one million. Pei Gong’s strength was 100,000 soldiers, claiming 200,000, and his strength could not be matched. When Xiang Bo wanted to save Zhang Liang and went to see him at night, Pei Gong took the opportunity to reason with Xiang Yu through Xiang Bo, and Xiang Yu gave up. With more than a hundred cavalrymen, Pei Gong came to Hongmen by car and paid a visit to Xiang Yu to thank him for his offense. Xiang Yu said, “This is what Cao Wouxian, the left horseman of Pei Gong, told me. Otherwise, how could I do such a thing!” The Duke of Pei was able to get away and return thanks to Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang. Returning to his army, he immediately executed Cao Wuxian.
Xiang Yu then marched to the west and slaughtered and burned the city of Xianyang and the Qin Dynasty palaces, leaving no place he passed through undestroyed. The people of Qin were very disappointed, but because they were afraid of Xiang Yu, they just dared not disobey.
Xiang Yu sent someone back to report to King Huai. King Huai said, “Follow the agreement.” Xiang Yu resented King Huai for refusing to let him and Pei Gong enter Guan together in the west, but sent him north to rescue Zhao, delaying the agreement of the lords of the world, so he said, “King Huai, it is just what my uncle Xiang Liang has set up, there is no merit, so on what basis can he preside over the agreement! It was the generals and I who originally pacified the world.” So he pretended to honor King Huai of Chu as the righteous emperor, but in fact did not obey his orders.
In the first month, Xiang Yu made himself the hegemonic king of Western Chu, ruling nine counties in the Liang and Chu lands and settling his capital at Pengcheng. He reneged on the agreement and made Pei Gong King of Han instead, ruling Ba, Shu and Hanzhong and setting the capital at Nanzheng. Guanzhong was divided into three and granted to three surrendered generals of the Qin Dynasty: Zhang Han as King of Yong, with the capital at Wuqiu; Sima Xin as King of Se, with the capital at Liyang; and Dong Fei as King of Zhai, with the capital at Gaonu. The Chu general Shenyang, a native of Qiuqiu, was made King of Henan, and set his capital at Luoyang. Zhao made Sima Ang king of Yin and capital of Chaoge. King Xie of Zhao was renamed King of Dai. Zhao general Zhang Er becomes King of Changshan and sets his capital at Xiangguo. Brandon Bu, a general of Dangyang, became King of Jiujiang and set his capital at Liuxian. King Huai’s pillar state, Gong Ao, became King of Linjiang and settled the capital at Jiangling. Wu Rui, the ruler of Fan, became the King of Hengshan, and set his capital at Zhu Xian. Zangtan, a general of Yan, became King of Yan and set his capital at Ji County. Han Guang, the former king of Yan, was reappointed king of Liaodong. When Hanguang failed to obey, Zangtan attacked Hanguang and killed him in Wuzhi. He granted three counties in Hama to Chen Yu, the king of Cheng’an, and let him live in Nampi. He granted 100,000 households to Meijian as an echelon.
The Law of the Treaty of Entry into the Customs, from the Emperor’s Giant’s Illustrations
In April, all the armies withdrew under the theater, and the vassals returned to their own feudal states respectively. When King Han left for his feudal state, Xiang Yu sent 30,000 soldiers with him, and as many as tens of thousands of generals from Chu and the vassals followed because of their admiration for King Han, and traveled south along Duxian County into Erosion. The Han army burned down the trestles along the way to prevent the vassals and thieves from attacking them, and to show Xiang Yu that they had no intention to advance eastward. Arriving at Nanzheng, many of the generals and soldiers fled back to the east on the way, and the soldiers all sang songs trying to return to the east. Han Xin advised the king of Han, saying, “Xiang Yu has made meritorious generals kings, but the great king has been appointed to Nanzheng, which is an exile. The military officials and soldiers are all from Shandong, tiptoeing day and night in hope of returning home. Utilizing their sharpness at this time, they could create great achievements. After the world has been pacified, people will be at peace, so they can no longer be utilized. It would be better to order an eastward march and fight with the lords for the world.”
Xiang Yu went out of the Hangu Pass and sent people to relocate Yi Di, saying, “The ancient emperors who ruled over a thousand miles of land in a square area would surely live upstream.” He then sent messengers to move Yi Di to Chen County in Changsha, urging Yi Di to move. Gradually, his ministers became betrayed, so they secretly ordered the King of Hengshan and the King of Linjiang to attack Yi Di and kill him in Jiangnan. Xiang Yu resented Tian Rong and made Qi general Tian Du the king of Qi. Tian Rong was angry and took the opportunity to make himself King of Qi. He killed Tian Du and betrayed Chu by granting Peng Yue the seal of general and ordering him to rebel in the land of Liang. Chu ordered Xiao Gongjiao to attack Peng Yue, who defeated Xiao Gongjiao. Chen Yu resented Xiang Yu for not making himself king and ordered Xia to persuade Tian Rong to lend troops to attack Zhang Er. Qi lent troops to Chen Yu and defeated Zhang Er, the King of Changshan, who fled and submitted to the King of Han. Chen Yu welcomed Zhao Wang Xie from Dai County and re-established him as King of Zhao. The King of Zhao followed suit and made Chen Yu the King of Dai. Xiang Yu was very angry and sent his troops northward to attack Qi.
In August, the king of Han adopted Han Xin’s stratagem and returned to Guanzhong by the same route to attack Zhang Han, the king of Yong. Zhang Han met the Han army at Chencang, but the Yong army was defeated and retreated. He stopped at a good sacrifice and was defeated again, and fled to Wuqiu. The king of Han finally pacified the land of Yong. He marched his army to Xianyang, led his troops to besiege the king of Yong at Wugu, and sent his generals to attack Longxi, Beidi and Shangxian. The king of Han ordered generals Xue Ou and Wang Suck to set out from Wuguan, and by virtue of Wang Ling’s army stationed in Nanyang, to go to Pei County to meet Taigong and Lu Hou. When Chu heard of this, it sent troops to stop them at Yangxia, and the Han army could not advance. Xiang Yu appointed Zheng Chang, the former magistrate of Wu County, as the king of Han to block the Han army.
In the second year (205 B.C.), the king of Han attacked Chengyi to the east, and King Sima Xin of Sei, King Dong Fei of Zhai, and King Shen Yang of Henan all surrendered. King Zheng Chang of Han was unwilling to submit, so the Han king sent Han Xin to defeat him. Then the king of Han set up the counties of Longxi, Beidi, Shangxun, Weinan, Heshang, and Zhongdi, and set up the county of Henan outside of Guanwai. He reappointed Han Xin, the lieutenant of Korea, as the king of Han. The generals who surrendered with 10,000 men or one county were rewarded with 10,000 cognacs. The Han army repaired the fortresses on the river. The gardens and ponds belonging to the Qin Dynasty were given to the people for cultivation. In the first month, the Han army captured Zhang Ping, the younger brother of the king of Yong. The king of Han pardons the culprits.
When the king of Han came out of Hangu Pass to Shanxian County, he pacified the people outside the pass, and when he returned, Zhang Er came to pay his respects, and the king of Han treated him very favorably.
In the second month, the king of Han ordered the abandonment of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty instead.
In March, the King of Han crossed the Yellow River at Linjin, and King Bao of Wei followed with his army. The Han army captured Hanoi, captured King Yin and set up Hanoi County. The Han army crossed the river from Pingyinjin to the south and reached Luoyang. Duke Dong, the three oldest men in Xincheng, stopped the Han king to inform him of Emperor Yi’s death. When he heard about it, he bared his upper body and wept, so he held a funeral ceremony for Emperor Yi and mourned for three days. He sent a messenger to inform the lords, saying: “All the lords in the world have jointly supported Emperor Yi and served him in the north. Now Xiang Yu has exiled Emperor Yi and killed him in Jiangnan, which is a great treason. I will personally hold a funeral ceremony for Emperor Yi, and all the vassals will wear funeral clothes. Dispatch the troops from Guan Nei and gather the soldiers from San He to cross the Yangtze River and Han River to the south, and be willing to follow the vassal kings in their crusade against Chu’s murderers of Emperor Yi.”
At that time, King Xiang was attacking Qi to the north, and Tian Rong fought with him in Chengyang. Tian Rong was defeated and fled to Pingyuan, where he was killed by the people of Pingyuan. All Qi surrendered to Chu. The Chu army took the opportunity to burn down the cities and towns of Qi and captured their children. The Qi betrayed Chu again. Tian Rong’s brother Tian Heng made Tian Rong’s son Tian Guang the king of Qi, who rebelled against Chu in Chengyang. Although Xiang Yu heard that the Han army was marching eastward, he wanted to completely defeat the Qi army before meeting the Han army after continuous battles with them. Because of this, the king of Han was able to hijack the armies of the five vassals and finally entered Pengcheng. When Xiang Yu heard about this, he led his troops to leave Qi and set off from Huling via Lu County, arrived at Xiao County, and fought with Han’s army at Sui-Wu, east of Ling Bi, Peng Cheng, defeating Han’s army and killing all the soldiers of Sui-Wu, and the Sui-Wu water couldn’t circulate because of the clogging of the corpses. The Chu army then captured the parents, wives and children of the Han king in Pei County and placed them as hostages in the army. At this time, the lords saw the strength of the Chu army and the defeat of the Han army, so they all turned their backs on the king of Han and rejoined the state of Chu. Sima Xin, the king of Sai, fled to Chu.
Hou Zhou Lu, the brother of Empress Lu, commanded an army for the Han army and was stationed at Xia Yi. The king of Han came to join him, and gradually collected the soldiers who had fled, and stationed them in Dang County. The king of Han then traveled westward across the land of Liang to Yu County, and sent his visitor, Sui He, to the residence of the king of Jiujiang, Brandon Bu. The king of Han said, “You were able to get Brandon Bu to rise up and betray the state of Chu, and Xiang Yu will surely stay behind to attack Jiujiang. Being able to delay him for a few months, I will surely be able to seize the world.” Sui He went to persuade Brandon Bu, the king of Jiujiang, and Brandon Bu indeed betrayed Chu. Chu sent Long and went to attack Jiujiang.
When the king of Han retreated westward due to the defeat at Pengcheng, he sent men on the way to look for his family, who also fled and were not met. After the defeat only Emperor Xiaohui was found, and in June, he was made crown prince and amnestied for his sins. The king of Han ordered the crown prince to garrison Liyang, and the sons of the lords in Guanzhong gathered in Liyang for defense. The Han army drew water to flood Wuguqiu, which surrendered and Zhang Han committed suicide. The king of Han renamed Wuguqiu as Samueli. At this time he ordered the shrine officials to sacrifice to heaven and earth, the four directions, God, mountains and rivers, and later to sacrifice according to seasons. The Han army enlisted soldiers from the Guan to defend the border.
At that time, King Qingbu of Jiujiang fought with Long and could not win the battle, so he and Suihe took a small way to submit to Han. The king of Han gradually gathered the soldiers who had fled, and the generals and soldiers from Guanzhong went out to reinforce them, so the morale of Xingyang was invigorated, and the Chu army was defeated between the two euphonies of Jing and Suo.
In the third year (204 BC), King Pao of Wei requested to go home to visit his sick parents, and when he arrived at Wei, he cut off the Yellow River crossing and rebelled against Han to join Chu. King Han sent Li Sheng to persuade Wei Bao, but Wei Bao did not listen. The king of Han sent his general Han Xin to attack Wei and defeated Wei’s army, capturing Wei Bao. The Han army finally pacified Wei and set up three counties, namely Hedong, Taiyuan and Shangdang. The king of Han then ordered Zhang Er and Han Xin to attack the state of Zhao to the east via the defile, and beheaded Chen Yu and Zhao Wang Xie. In the next year, Zhang Er was crowned King of Zhao.
The king of Han was stationed south of Xingyang and built a canal to connect with the Yellow River to transport grain from Ao Cang. The Han army and Xiang Yu held each other for more than a year. Xiang Yu repeatedly attacked the Han army’s canal, the Han army lacked food, and Xiang Yu eventually surrounded the Han king. The king of Han asked for reconciliation and offered to transfer the west of Xingyang to Han. King Xiang Yu did not agree. Worried about this, the king of Han adopted Chen Ping’s ploy and gave Chen Ping 40,000 catties of gold to disassociate Chu’s rulers and ministers. So Xiang Yu began to suspect Yafu. At that time, Yafu persuaded Xiang Yu to take advantage of the opportunity to capture Xingyang. By the time he was suspected, he felt angry and requested to resign from his post and go home on the ground of old age, and he died before he reached Pengcheng.
When the Han army was deprived of food, they released more than 2,000 women, clad in armor, from the east gate at night, whereupon the Chu army besieged them from all sides. The general Ji Xin then rode in the carriage of the king of Han, pretending to be the king of Han, and deceived the Chu army. All the soldiers of Chu shouted hail and went to the east of the city to watch, because of which the king of Han was able to escape through the west gate with a few dozen cavalrymen. The king of Han ordered Zhou Cao, Wei Bao, and Fir Gong, the royal historian, to guard Xingyang. The generals and soldiers who could not accompany him stayed in the city. Zhou Cao and Fen Gong said to each other, “Wei Bao is the king of a rebellious country, so it is difficult to defend the city with him.” So they killed Wei Bao.
When the king of Han went out of Xingyang and entered Guanzhong, he gathered the remnants of his army and wanted to march eastward again. Yuan Sheng advised the king of Han, “The Han and Chu armies have been holding each other at Xingyang for several years, and the Han army is always in trouble. I hope that the king will attack from Wuguan, Xiang Yu will surely lead his troops to the south and escape. With the deep ditch and high barricade, the king will allow the soldiers between Xingyang and Chenggao to rest for the time being. It is not too late to send Han Xin and others to pacify the land of Zhao north of the Yellow River and unite with Yan and Qi, and then the king will go to Xingyang. Like this, there will be many places for the Chu army to defend, and the troops will be dispersed, so that the Han army will be able to rest and recuperate, and then engage the Chu army again, and then it will certainly be able to defeat the Chu army.” The king of Han adopted his plan, and sent out his troops to be stationed between Wanxian and Yexian, and Brandon Bu to collect the remnants of his army along the way.
Xiang Yu heard that King Han was in Wanxian County, so he really led his troops to the south. The king of Han held his camp and did not fight with the Chu army. At that time, Peng Yue crossed Sui-Water and fought with Xiang Sheng and Xue Gong in Xiapi, and Peng Yue greatly defeated the Chu army. Xiang Yu then led his troops to the east to attack Peng Yue. The king of Han also led his army northward and stationed at Chenggao. After Xiang Yu repulsed Peng Yue, he heard that the King of Han resettled in Chenggao, so he led his army to the west again, captured Xingyang, killed Zhou Cao and Mung Gong, and captured Han Wang Xin, and finally surrounded Chenggao.
The king of Han fled and rode alone with Duke Teng out of Yumen in Chenggao, crossed the Yellow River to the north, and drove to Shuwu to stay. Calling himself an emissary, the king drove into the camp of Zhang Er and Han Xin in the morning and seized their military power, so he ordered Zhang Er to recruit soldiers from Zhao to the north and Han Xin to attack Qi to the east. The king of Han got Han Xin’s army and his morale was revived. He led his army to the Yellow River, and then southward to the south of Xiaoxuwu to reward his soldiers, wanting to fight again. Zheng Zhongyu, a lieutenant of Langzhong, tried to dissuade the king from fighting Xiang Yu by means of high barricades and deep ditches. The king of Han adopted his plan and sent Lu Òài and Liu Jia with 20,000 soldiers and a few hundred cavalrymen to cross the river from Baimazu and enter the land of Chu, where they and Peng Yue once again defeated the Chu army to the west of the outer city of Yan County, and eventually retook more than ten cities in the land of Liang.
The Marquis of Huaiyin received the order and marched eastward, still in the plains without crossing the river. The king of Han sent Li Sheng to persuade Tian Guang, the king of Qi, who rebelled against Chu and reconciled with Han to attack Xiang Yu together. Han Xin adopted Kuai Tong’s plan and eventually attacked Qi. The King of Qi cooked Li Sheng and fled eastward to Gaomi. When Xiang Yu heard that Han Xin had already led the soldiers north of the Yellow River to break Qi and Zhao and wanted to attack Chu, he sent Long and Zhou Lan to block the attack. When Han Xin fought with Chu, the cavalry general Gu Ying attacked and defeated the Chu army, killing Long Yi. King Tian Guang of Qi defected to Peng Yue. At this time, Peng Yue led his soldiers to station in the Liang land and attacked the Chu army to and fro, cutting off their mail route for food transportation.
In the fourth year (203 BC), Xiang Yu told Cao Guan, the Grand Secretary of the Hai Chun Marquis, “Guard Chenggao prudently. If the Han army challenges, do not engage them, just keep them from advancing eastward. I will definitely pacify the Liang land within fifteen days and join the general again.” He then sent out his troops to attack Chenliu, Waohuang, and Suoyang, and captured them. The Han army did challenge the Chu army many times, and when the Chu army did not fight, the Han army sent men to insult the Chu army for five or six days one after another, and the Da Sima was so angry that he had his soldiers cross the Bishui River. When the soldiers were halfway across, the Han army attacked and defeated the Chu army, capturing all the gold and jade belongings of the Chu state. Cao Gui, the Chief Secretary, and Sima Xin, the Chief Historian, both killed themselves at the edge of Bishui River. Xiang Yu came to Suiyang, and when he heard that Hai Chun Hou was defeated, he led his army back. When the Han army was attacking Zhong Li Chair to the east of Xingyang, Xiang Yu arrived and all the Han army retreated to the danger zone.
After Han Xin had conquered Qi, he sent someone to tell the King of Han, “Qi is near Chu and has too little power, so I’m afraid I can’t stabilize Qi without being the acting king.” The king of Han wanted to attack Han Xin. The Marquis of Liou said, “Why don’t we take the opportunity to make him king of Qi and have him stationed in Qi for ourselves.” The King of Han then sent Zhang Liang with a seal to seal Han Xin as King of Qi.
When Xiang Yu heard about the defeat of Long and’s army, he was afraid and sent Wu Shibi, an xu-tai man, to persuade Han Xin. Han Xin did not listen.
Chu and Han had been locked in a long struggle, the strong men were laboring for marching and fighting, and the old and weak were tired from transferring supplies. King Han and Xiang Yu talked together on both sides of the Guangwu Stream. Xiang Yu wanted to challenge King Han alone. King Han listed Xiang Yu’s sins and said, “Initially, I received King Huai’s order together with Xiang Yu and agreed that whoever entered and pacified Guanzhong first could be the king there. Xiang Yu reneged on the agreement and made me the king of Shu and Han, this is the first sin. Xiang Yu killed Qing Zi Champion under the false order of King Huai, and made himself the general of Shang, which is the second offense. Xiang Yu should have gone back to report after rescuing Zhao, but he took the armies of the lords into Guanzhong without authorization, which is the third offense. King Huai agreed not to commit violence and plunder when he entered Qin, but Xiang Yu burned down Qin’s palace and dug up the tomb of Emperor Shi Huangdi to collect his wealth in private, which is the fourth offense. Xiang Yu also forcibly killed Prince Ying of Qin who surrendered, which was the fifth offense. Xiang Yu killed 200,000 sons and daughters of Qin by deception in Xin’an and made their generals kings, which is the sixth offense. Xiang Yu made all his generals kings in good places, but drove away the original monarchs of the places and made his subjects scramble to rebel, which is the seventh offense. Xiang Yu drove Emperor Yi away from Pengcheng and built his own capital there, took away King Han’s fiefdom and ruled Liang and Chu together, giving himself more land, this is the eighth offense. Xiang Yu sent men to assassinate Emperor Yi in Jiangnan, this is the ninth offense. Being someone’s vassal but killing his own monarch, executing those who have surrendered, failing to be fair in handling political affairs, failing to keep his word in presiding over engagements, which cannot be tolerated by the people of the world, and committing treason, this is the tenth offense. I lead a righteous division to follow the lords to kill the brutal thieves, and send sinners who have been punished to kill Xiang Yu, why to the challenge!” Xiang Yu was so angry that the ambush bowmen shot King Han. King Han was wounded in the chest, but covered his foot and said, “The thieves shot me in the toe!” When King Han was injured and bedridden, Zhang Liang asked King Han to force himself to get up and make a tour to comfort his soldiers to stabilize the army and prevent the Chu army from taking advantage of the victory to attack the Han army. The King of Han came out to inspect the army and his injury worsened, thus he drove into Chenggao.
After recovering from his wounds, the King of Han entered Guanzhong to the west and arrived at Liyang, where he consoled the local people, hosted a banquet, and beheaded the former King of Sei, Sima Xin, in the Liyang market. After four days, the king of Han returned to his army again and was stationed in Guangwu. Soldiers from Guanzhong set out to reinforce them.
At this time, Peng Yue led his soldiers to be stationed in the Liang land, attacking the Chu army to and fro, and cutting off their mail route for food transportation. Tian Heng went to submit to Peng Yue. Xiang Yu attacked Peng Yue and others several times, and Han Xin, the King of Qi, marched in to attack the Chu army. Xiang Yu was very afraid, so he agreed with the King of Han to divide the world equally, dividing the land west of the Honggou into the state of Han, and the land east of the Honggou into the state of Chu. King Xiang Yu returned King Han’s parents, wives and children, and the Han army all shouted hooray and retreated away.
Xiang Yu lifted the siege and returned eastward. The King of Han wanted to lead his troops back to the west and adopted the strategy of Marquis Liou and Chen Ping, so he sent out his troops to pursue Xiang Yu and stayed in the south of Yangxia, so that he and Han Xin, the King of Qi, and Peng Yue, the Marquis of Jiancheng, agreed to meet at a certain time and then attacked the Chu army. When the king of Han came to Guling, Han Xin and Peng Yue did not come to the rendezvous. The Chu army attacked the Han army and defeated it. The King of Han entered the camp again and dug deep trenches for defense. The king of Han adopted Zhang Liang’s plan, and at that time Han Xin and Peng Yue came to join him. Only when Liu Jia entered Chu and besieged Shouchun, and the king of Han was defeated at Guling, did he send a messenger to summon Zhou Yin, the grand secretary of state, and mobilized all the forces of Jiujiang to meet King Wu, slaughtering the father of the city on the way in, and the lords who followed Liu Jia, Qi, and Liang all met at Gaixia. The king of Han crowned King Wu as the king of Huainan.
In the fifth year (202 B.C.), Gaozu, together with the armies of his vassals, attacked the Chu army and dueled with Xiang Yu at Gaixia. The Marquis of Huaiyin led 300,000 men to resist alone on the front, General Kong on the left flank, General Fei on the right flank, the Emperor in the rear, and Marquis Jiang and General Chai behind the Emperor. Xiang Yu’s soldiers were about 100,000 men. Marquis Huaiyin took the lead to engage Xiang Yu, could not win and retreated. Generals Kong and Fei attacked and the Chu army could not win. Marquis Huaiyin took the opportunity to attack again and defeated Xiang Yu at Gaixia. When Xiang Yu’s soldiers heard Han soldiers singing Chu songs, they thought that Han army had already occupied all the Chu land, so Xiang Yu was defeated and fled, so the Chu army was defeated. The king of Han sent a cavalry general, Gu Ying, to chase Xiang Yu in the east city and beheaded 80,000 people and finally pacified the Chu land. The people of Lu County were unable to capture Chu. The King of Han led the armies of his vassals to the north and showed Xiang Yu’s head to the people of Lu County before Lu County surrendered. Then King Han buried Xiang Yu in Gucheng under the title of Duke of Lu. The King of Han returned to Dingtao, drove into the camp of the King of Qi and seized his military power.
In the first month, the lords and generals jointly requested to honor King Han as emperor. The King of Han said, “I have heard that the honorary title of emperor is only possessed by a person who is virtuous; an impractical name is not held by such a person; I dare not assume the honorary title of emperor.” The ministers all said, “Your Majesty is from a humble background, and when you have eliminated tyrannical rebels and pacified the world, those who have merited the honor are divided into lands and made princes and lords. If the great king does not claim the honorary title of emperor, everyone will have doubts about their titles. We risk our lives to ask the great king to call himself emperor.” The King of Han resigned many times and, having no way out, said, “All of you must think that this is favorable and good for the country.” On the first day of the month, the King of Han ascended to the throne of Emperor north of the Crowning Water.
The Emperor said that Emperor Yi had no descendants. Han Xin, King of Qi, was familiar with the customs of Chu, so he was reappointed King of Chu and set his capital at Xiapi. He appointed Peng Yue, the Marquis of Jiancheng, as the King of Liang, with the capital at Dingtao. Formerly King Han Xin was made King of Han, with the capital Yangzhai. Reappointed Wu Rui, King of Hengshan, as King of Changsha, with the capital at Linxiang. The emperor was grateful to Meiji, a general of Panjun, for his war service and for following the emperor into the Wuguan Pass. King Brandon Bu of Huainan, King Zangtan of Yan, and King Zhang Ao of Zhao were given the same fiefs as before.
The world was roughly pacified. Gaozu set his capital at Luo Yang, and all the vassals were his subjects. The former king of Linjiang, Gong驩, rebelled against the Han king for Xiang Yu. Gaozu ordered Lu Òài and Liu Jia to surround Linjiang, but they could not capture it. After a few months, he subdued him and killed Gongmin in Luoyang.
In the month of May, the soldiers all returned home. The sons of the lords who stayed in Guanzhong were exempted from corvée service for twelve years, while the soldiers who returned home were exempted for six years and were given food for one year.
Gaozu hosted a banquet at the Southern Palace in Luo Yang. Gaozu said, “Marquis and generals, don’t hide anything from me, tell me the truth. What is the reason why I can gain the world? What is the reason why Xiang lost the world?” Gao Qi and Wang Ling replied, “Your Majesty is arrogant and likes to insult people, while Xiang Yu is kind and willing to love people. However, Your Majesty sent men to attack cities and capture land, and the places they subdued and captured were granted to them, sharing the benefits with all the people of the world. Xiang Yu, however, was jealous of the wise and capable, framing those who were meritorious and casting suspicion on those who were virtuous, winning victories without counting the merits of others, and seizing land without giving others the benefit of the doubt, and this is the reason why he lost the world.” Gaozu said, “All of you know only one aspect of this, but not the other. If you want to say that I can’t compare with Zifang in planning strategies in the curtains and deciding battles to win thousands of miles away, I can’t compare with Zifang. I am no match for Xiao He in defending the country, comforting the people, supplying food and wages, and ensuring that the grain routes are not blocked. I am no match for Han Xin in commanding an army of millions, winning battles and attacking. The three of them are all outstanding men, but I was able to appoint them, which is the reason why I was able to get the world. Xiang Yu only had one Fan Zeng but was unable to appoint him, and that is why he was captured by me.”
Gaozu wanted to set up a long-term capital at Luoyang. Liu Jing, a Qi native, persuaded Gaozu, and Marquis Liou also persuaded Gaozu to enter Guanzhong to build the capital, and Gaozu rose on the same day and entered Guanzhong to build the capital. In the sixth month, he granted amnesty to the whole world.
In October, King Zangtan of Yan rebelled and captured the land of Dai. Gaozu personally led an army to attack the rebels and captured King Zangtan of Yan, and then he crowned the lieutenant Lu as King of Yan. He sent Prime Minister Fan Kuai to lead an army to attack Dai County.
In the fall of that year, when Li Gui rebelled, Gaozu personally led an army to attack the rebels and Li Gui fled. Li Gui was a general of Xiang’s clan. When Xiang failed, Li Gui called himself Duke Chen and did not follow Xiang Yu, but escaped and surrendered to Gaozu, who made him Marquis of Yingchuan. When Gaozu came to Luo Yang and summoned the marquis according to his name, Li Gui felt afraid and so rebelled.
In the sixth year (201 BC), Gaozu made a pilgrimage to see the Duke of Tai once every five days, and performed the rites of father and son like ordinary people. The family magistrate of the Duke of Taigong advised the Duke of Taigong, “There are not two suns in the sky, nor are there two sovereigns on the earth. Now the emperor, though a son, is still a sovereign, and the Duke of China, though a father, is still a subject. How can you make a monarch kneel down and worship his subjects! Like this, the majesty and honor of the monarch cannot be manifested.” Later, when Gaozu was on a pilgrimage to see Taigong, Taigong greeted him at the door with a broom in his arms and walked backwards. Gaozu was so surprised that he got out of his car to assist Taigong. Taigong said, “The emperor is the sovereign, how can he disturb the law and order of the world because of me!” Then Gaozu honored Taigong as the Supreme Emperor. Gaozu appreciated the words of the family order in his heart and gave him five hundred pounds of gold.
In December, a petition was sent to inform King Han Xin of Chu of a conspiracy to rebel. Gaozu asked his ministers around him, who were clamoring for the opportunity to go and conquer Han Xin. Gaozu adopted Chen Ping’s plan and pretended to tour Yunmengze and met with the lords in Chen County. When Han Xin, the king of Chu, went to meet him, he took the opportunity to capture him. On the same day, Gaozu granted amnesty to the whole world. Tian Ken came to congratulate him and advised Gaozu, “Your Majesty has captured Han Xin and set the capital at Qin. The land of Qin is geographically superior, surrounded by mountains and rivers, thousands of miles away from the vassals, and millions of warriors with halberds, so the advantages of Qin are a hundred times stronger than those of other places. The geographical situation was favorable, and to send troops from here to the vassal states was like standing on a tall dwelling house and pouring water from a bottle downward. Qi, to the east, there is the abundance of Langxie and Jimo, to the south, there is the danger of Mount Tai, to the west, there is the barrier of the Turbid River, and to the north, there is the produce of the Bohai Sea. With a land area of two thousand miles, millions of halberd-wielding warriors, and thousands of miles of distance from the vassals, Qi was ten times stronger than anywhere else. Thus these two places may be considered East and West Qin. If he is not a close son or daughter of His Majesty, let him not be crowned King of Qi.” Gaozu said, “Good.” He gave him five hundred pounds of gold.
Ten days later, Gaozu made Han Xin the Marquis of Huaiyin, dividing his original fiefdom into two kingdoms. Gaozu said that General Liu Jia had won many battles and made him King of Jing, ruling east of Huai Shui. He made his younger brother Liu Jiao the king of Chu, ruling the west of Huai Shui. He appointed his son Liu Fei as the king of Qi, ruling over seventy cities, and said that the people of Qi language belonged to the state of Qi. Gaozu then assessed the merits of his achievements and divided the feudal domains with all the marquises. He moved Han Wang Xin to Taiyuan.
In the seventh year (200 BC), the Xiongnu came to Maiyi to attack Han Wangxin, who took the opportunity to plot with the Xiongnu to rebel in Taiyuan. When Manqushen and Wang Huang, the Baitu people, made Zhao Li, the former general of Zhao, king of the rebellion, Gaozu himself went to crush the rebels. When the weather was so cold that two or three tenths of the soldiers froze off their fingers, they finally came to Pingcheng. The Xiong Nu besie