Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 68): The Battle of Julu

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance

By Sima Guang

Translated By Yiming Yang

Annals of Qin Book 3 Scroll 8 (continued)

The 3rd year of the Second Emperor(207 B.C.)

In October that winter, General Tian Du of Qi joined the Kingdom of Chu‘s effort to aid the Kingdom of Zhao, breaking ranks with his superior, Tian Rong.

The Duke of Pei‘s troops overpowered the forces at Chengwu, led by the commander of Dong Commandery.

Song Yi led his army to the city of Anyang, where he halted the march and stayed for forty-six days. Xiang Yu approached him and said, “The Kingdom of Zhao is in a critical situation under the siege of the Qin army. We should cross the Yellow River immediately and strike the Qin troops from outside. If the Zhao forces coordinate from inside, we can end the siege.”

Song Yi rejected this plan, saying, “No, you are mistaken. Swatting a gadfly won’t get rid of the ticks and lice. The Qin army will be exhausted even if they defeat Zhao. Then we can exploit their fatigue. If the Qin army is defeated, we will beat our drums and chase them westward, taking over the Kingdom of Qin. It is better to let Qin and Zhao weaken each other. When it comes to putting on armor and fighting with blades, Song Yi is no match for General Xiang. On the other hand, you are not as good as Song Yi at strategizing attacks from behind the scenes.”

Song Yi then issued a directive to the army: “Behead all those who are as fierce as tigers, as unrelenting as goats, as greedy as wolves, and who disobey orders!” Song Yi sent his son, Song Xiang, to the Kingdom of Qi to become the prime minister. He accompanied his son to Wuyan county, where he held lavish drinking parties to bid him farewell. It was raining heavily and bitterly cold; the soldiers were freezing and hungry. Xiang Yu voiced his grievance: “We should be attacking the Qin army, not sitting here doing nothing! This is a year of poor harvest, and people are starving. Half of our soldiers’ food is just beans and lentils; there is no food reserve for our troops. Meanwhile, he is content drinking and partying. He refuses to cross the river and join the Zhao forces in their fight against Qin, which would also secure food supplies from Zhao. He makes excuses about exploiting the Qin army’s fatigue, but the powerful Qin army attacking the newly formed Kingdom of Zhao is a guaranteed victory. When Zhao falls, the Qin will only grow stronger—there will be no fatigue to exploit. Our troops recently suffered a defeat, and our king is anxious. Our king scraped together all the forces in our kingdom to be under his command. The fate of our kingdom depends on this battle. Yet Song Yi is ignoring the suffering of the soldiers and putting his self-interest first. He is not worthy of being an officer the kingdom can rely on!”

One morning in November, Xiang Yu paid a visit to General Song Yi and beheaded him inside the general’s tent. He emerged and announced, “Song Yi colluded with the Kingdom of Qi in a treasonous act. The king has given me a secret order to kill him.” The other generals were terrified and did not dare to voice any disapproval. They all submitted to Xiang Yu, saying, “The King of Chu was enthroned by General Xiang’s family. Now it is General Xiang who has eliminated the traitor.” They supported Xiang Yu as the acting commander-in-chief. Xiang Yu then sent assassins after Song Yi’s son. The assassins pursued him into the Kingdom of Qi and killed him. Xiang Yu sent General Huan Chu to report the incident to King Huai II of Chu, who appointed Xiang Yu as the new commander-in-chief.

In December, the Duke of Pei led his troops to Li county, where he encountered Marquis Gangwu. The Duke of Pei captured Marquis Gangwu and incorporated his four thousand soldiers into his own army. He then joined forces with Generals Huang Xin and Wu Man of the Kingdom of Wei. Together, they launched assaults on a corps of Qin soldiers and defeated them.

Tian An, the grandson of the late King of Qi (Tian Jian), conquered the Jibei commandery and joined forces with Xiang Yu in his effort to save the Kingdom of Zhao.

Zhang Han built an express highway from the riverbank to the county of Julu to deliver supplies to General Wang Li at the front lines. With an ample supply of food, Wang Li’s soldiers launched even more ferocious assaults on the city of Julu. Inside the besieged city, food supplies were dwindling, and the number of defending soldiers was steadily decreasing. Zhang Er sent messengers several times urging Chen Yu to advance. However, Chen Yu believed his army was too small and no match for the Qin forces, so he hesitated to move forward for several months. Enraged by this inaction, Zhang Er sent his officers, Zhang Yan and Chen Ze, to confront Chen Yu, saying, “We were sworn friends of life and death. The King of Zhao and I are on the brink of death. You have tens of thousands of troops under your command and yet do nothing. Is this what it means to live and die together? If you still honor your vow, why not fight the Qin army with us? There is still a ten to twenty percent chance of surviving together.”

Chen Yu replied, “I do not want my soldiers to die in vain without relieving the Kingdom of Zhao. I seek revenge for the King of Zhao and Mr. Zhang in the future; therefore, I choose not to die together now. What benefit is there if we all throw ourselves to the hungry tigers?”

Zhang Yan and Chen Ze insisted on fighting to the death, so Chen Yu allocated them five thousand troops. They charged against the Qin army, but none returned. At that time, troops from the Kingdoms of Qi and Yan also came to aid Zhao. Zhang Ao recruited ten thousand soldiers from Dai Commandery in the north. They all gathered at Julu and built their walled barracks next to Chen Yu, but none dared to attack the Qin army.

Xiang Yu became a fearsome figure in the Kingdom of Chu after he beheaded Grand Marshal Song Yi. He ordered his lieutenants, Lord Dangyang and General Pu, to lead twenty thousand soldiers across the Yellow River to relieve the siege of Julu. They successfully cut off the express highway built by Zhang Han, severing the supply line of food to General Wang Li and his troops. Chen Yu also pleaded for assistance from Xiang Yu, who then led his entire army across the Zhang River. Upon crossing, Xiang Yu ordered his men to sink all the boats, break all the earthenware pots and steamers, and burn their temporary shelters. He provided only a three-day supply of food for his soldiers, making it clear that they were to fight to the death with no way to retreat.

Xiang Yu‘s forces encircled Wang Li’s army and routed the Qin troops in nine battles. Zhang Han led his forces in retreat. Encouraged by Xiang Yu‘s success, all the other rescuing forces finally dared to attack the Qin army. They killed General Su Jiao and captured General Wang Li, while another Qin general, She Jian, set himself on fire rather than surrender. The army of Chu outperformed those of the other kingdoms. Dozens of rescuing forces had previously built fortified barracks around Julu, but none had dared to attack the Qin army.

When the Chu army struck the Qin forces, the generals of the other kingdoms watched from their ramparts. Each Chu soldier fought against ten Qin soldiers. Their battle cries shook heaven and earth, stunning the soldiers of the other kingdoms. After the Qin army was decisively defeated, Xiang Yu summoned the generals of the other kingdoms to his camp. As they entered the camp gate, the generals began walking on their knees, too frightened to make eye contact with Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu thus became the undisputed commander-in-chief of all the allied forces.