Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 1 Scroll 9 (continued)
The 1st year of Emperor Gaozu(206 B.C. continued)
A few days later, Xiang Yu led his troops westward and ransacked the city of Xianyang. He ordered the execution of the king of Qin, Ziying, and commanded the burning of all the Qin palaces. The inferno lasted for more than three months. His soldiers looted all the treasures of Qin, abducted the court’s women, and took them to the east. The people of Qin were horrified by Xiang Yu’s actions.
A scholar, Mr. Han, advised him: “The Guanzhong region (the heartland of Qin) is naturally fortified by mountains and rivers. It is a place secured by fortresses on all sides. The land here is fertile, making it an ideal capital for your empire.” However, as Xiang Yu saw the Qin palaces reduced to wreck, he intended to return to his hometown in the east. He dismissed Mr. Han’s suggestion, saying: “To become rich and famous and not return to one’s homeland is like wearing an embroidered gown in the dark. What is the point?” Disheartened, Mr. Han made the remark: “I’ve heard that the people of Chu were rhesus monkeys dressed-up as humans, with caps and gowns. Now I believe it is true.” Upon learning of this insult, Xiang Yu had Mr. Han executed by boiling.
Xiang Yu sent messengers to King Huai II of Chu, pleading to annul their agreement that whoever first entered Xianyang would be king. King Huai II replied, “A promise is a promise.” Enraged, Xiang Yu said, “It was my family who put King Huai II on the throne. He didn’t win any battles, so why does he get to dictate promises? When chaos erupted in the land, we installed descendants of the former monarchs to rally the troops against the Qin empire. It was you and I who donned armor and fought in the wilderness for three years until we finally crushed the Qin empire. Even though King Huai II did nothing, we can give him a king’s title but divide his land among ourselves.” His generals all agreed, saying, “Well said!” In January of that spring, Xiang Yu elevated King Huai II to the position of honorary emperor, stating, “The emperors of the past ruled over lands spanning thousands of miles and always lived upstream.” He relocated the honorary emperor to the south of the Yangtze River and designated Chen county as his capital.
In February, Xiang Yu divided the land into kingdoms and bestowed the title of king upon his generals. He declared himself the Hegemonial King of West Chu, ruling over nine commanderies in the former kingdoms of Liang (also known as Wei) and Chu, with his capital in Pengcheng. Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng were wary of the Duke of Pei but maintained a cordial relationship to avoid the appearance of breaking their pact. In private, they discussed, “The commanderies of Ba and Shu are distant, with treacherous roads, and were places where Qin exiled its convicts.” Publicly, they claimed, “The commanderies of Ba and Shu are part of Guanzhong.” Xiang Yu then conferred the title of “King of Han” upon the Duke of Pei, giving him control over the three commanderies of Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong, with his capital at Nanzheng county.
Xiang Yu divided the real Guanzhong (the heartland of the Qin kingdom) into three parts, granting them to the three surrendered Qin generals to block access by the king of Han(Liu Bang). General Zhang Han was made the King of Yong, ruling the land west of Xianyang, with his capital in Feiqiu county. Zhang Han’s chief of staff, Sima Xin, who had earlier been a prison warden who did a favor to Xiang Liang, was named the King of Sai, controlling the area from east of Xianyang to the Yellow River, with his capital in Yueyang county. General Dong Yi, who persuaded Zhang Han to surrender, was made the King of Di(Zhai), ruling Shangjun commandery with his capital at Gaonu county.
Xiang Yu transferred the King of Wei, Wei Bao, to be the King of West Wei, ruling the region east of the Yellow River with his capital in Pingyang. Shen Yang of Xiaqiu county, a favorite of Zhang Er and the first to conquer the Henan commandery, was named King of Henan with his capital at Luoyang. The King of Hán, Han Cheng, returned to his old capital at Yangdi. General Sima Ang of Zhao, who conquered the Henei commandery, was made King of Yin, ruling from the Zhaoge county.
Xiang Yu moved the King of Zhao, Zhao Xie, to be King of Dai, while Zhang Er, who had a great reputation and had accompanied Xiang Yu into the Hangu Pass, was awarded the title of King of Changshan, ruling the former land of Zhao from his office in Xiangguo county. Lord Dangyang, Qing Bu, the top general of Chu, was appointed King of Jiujiang, headquartered in Liu county. Lord Po, Wu Rui, who led the Yue tribes to support Xiang Yu, was made King of Hengshan with his government in Zhu county.
The commander-in-chief of the honorary emperor, Gong Ao, who had achieved multiple military victories, was awarded the title of King of Linjiang, with his capital in Jiangling. Xiang Yu reassigned the King of Yan, Han Guang, to be King of Liaodong, with his office in Wuzhong county. A general of Yan, Zang Tu, who joined the campaign to save Zhao and later followed Xiang Yu into the Hangu Pass, was promoted to King of Yan, ruling from Ji county.
Xiang Yu reassigned the King of Qi, Tian Shi, to be King of Jiaodong, with his office in Jimo. A general of Qi, Tian Du, who also took part in the rescue of Zhao and the western expedition against Qin, was made King of Qi, ruling from Linzi. Another general of Qi, Tian An, who conquered several cities in the Jibei region and joined the rescue of Zhao, was named King of Jibei, with his capital in Boyang.
In contrast, General Tian Rong of Qi, who had repeatedly spurned Xiang Liang and refused to join Xiang Yu’s western expedition, received no title. Similarly, Lord Cheng’an, Chen Yu, who relinquished his field marshal seal and did not join Xiang Yu’s campaign, also went unrewarded. Many of Xiang Yu’s supporters pleaded, saying, “Zhang Er and Chen Yu were inseparable and both accomplished much for the kingdom of Zhao. Since you awarded Zhang Er a king’s title, you must also reward Chen Yu.” Reluctantly, Xiang Yu awarded Chen Yu three counties around Nanpi county, upon hearing that he was staying there. Mei Juan, a general under Lord Po with numerous military merits, was granted the title of Marquis and a fief of one hundred thousand households.
The King of Han was furious and wanted to wage war against Xiang Yu. His generals, Zhou Bo, Guan Ying, and Fan Kuai, all urged him not to proceed. Xiao He cautioned him, saying, “As much as you despise being the King of Han, it is better than being dead.” The King of Han retorted, “Why would we end up dead?” Xiao He replied, “Our forces are vastly outnumbered compared to his. We have lost every time we faced him in battle. What else could the outcome be, except death? King Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou were able to defer to one man while commanding an army of ten thousand chariots. I implore Your Majesty to go to Hanzhong and establish your base there. Allow the people to recover from the ravages of war, recruit talent from across the land, and use the resources of the Ba and Shu regions to reclaim the three kingdoms of Qin—Kingdoms of Yong, Sai, and Di. Once we secure Qin, we can then strategize to take over the entire country.” The King of Han agreed, saying, “Well said!” He reported to his position in Hanzhong and appointed Xiao He as the Prime Minister. He also awarded Zhang Liang with twenty-four hundred ounces of gold and two buckets of pearls. Zhang Liang, in turn, redirected all these treasures to Xiang Bo.
The King of Han also asked Zhang Liang to thank Xiang Bo with lavish gifts so that Xiang Bo would advocate to Xiang Yu on his behalf to grant him all the land around Hanzhong. Xiang Yu approved the request.
In April of that summer, allied forces began to depart from the banner of Xiang Yu to take their positions in their respective kingdoms. Xiang Yu assigned thirty thousand soldiers to accompany the King of Han to Hanzhong, while tens of thousands more followers trailed behind him on their own will, entering Hanzhong through the plank road at Shi Valley in southern Du County.
Zhang Liang accompanied the King of Han to Baozhong before being ordered to return to his own king (King Han Cheng) by the King of Han. Zhang Liang advised the King of Han to burn all the plank roads they had used to travel from Xianyang to Hanzhong. The first reason was to prevent surprise attacks from the three kingdoms of Qin. The second reason was to demonstrate to Xiang Yu that he had no intention of advancing eastward.
Tian Rong was enraged when he learned that Xiang Yu had moved the King of Qi, Tian Shi, to Jiaodong and promoted Tian Du to be the King of Qi. In May, he led his troops to attack Tian Du, who fled to the Kingdom of Chu. Tian Rong detained the King of Qi and refused to allow him to go to Jiaodong. Fearing Xiang Yu’s authority, Tian Shi escaped to Jiaodong. Furious, Tian Rong pursued Tian Shi to Jimo and killed him there, proclaiming himself the King of Qi.
Peng Yue, commanding ten thousand troops in Juye County, remained unresponsive to calls from others. Tian Rong conferred upon Peng Yue the title of general and ordered him to attack Jibei. In July, Peng Yue killed the King of Jibei, Tian An, making Tian Rong the ruler of the three kingdoms of Qi (Jiaodong, Jibei, and Qi). Tian Rong then directed Peng Yue to launch an assault on the Kingdom of Chu. In response, Xiang Yu ordered the Duke of Xiao, Jiao, to lead the defense against Peng Yue. Peng Yue decisively defeated the troops of Chu.
When Zhang Er arrived in his kingdom, Chen Yu was furious, saying, “Zhang Er has the same achievements as I do, yet he is made a king while I am only a marquis. Xiang Yu is very unfair to me.” He secretly sent Zhang Tong and Xia Yue to lobby Tian Rong, the King of Qi, saying, “Xiang Yu is unjust as the nation’s power broker. He promoted his own generals to be kings of prosperous lands and moved the former kings to poor regions. General Chen Yu believes it was wrong to move the King of Zhao to Dai in the north. Now that Your Majesty has risen against this injustice, we hope you will support General Chen Yu‘s campaign against Changshan to restore the King of Zhao to his rightful place. The Kingdom of Zhao will then become the bulwark of the Kingdom of Qi.” Tian Rong agreed to the plan and sent troops to aid Chen Yu‘s offensive.
Xiang Yu harbored enmity for the King Han Cheng of State of Hán, due to Zhang Liang‘s support for the King of Han, and because Han Cheng had not significantly contributed to the downfall of the Qin Empire. As a result, Xiang Yu did not allow Han Cheng to return to his kingdom, instead taking him to Pengcheng, where he stripped him of his kingly title and demoted him to Marquis of Rang. Later, Han Cheng was assassinated.
Reflection by Rio Grande 
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