Battle of Julu The Battle of Julu was fought in Julu ( in present - day Xingtai , Hebei , China ) in 207 BC primarily between forces of the Qin Dynasty and the insurgent state of Chu . The Qin commander was Zhang Han , while the Chu leader was Xiang Yu . The battle concluded with a decisive victory for the rebels over the larger Qin army . The Battle of Julu marked the decline of Qin ' s military power as the bulk of Qin ' s armies was destroyed in this battle . Background . In the ninth lunar month of 208 BC , at the Battle of Dingtao , Qin general Zhang Han defeated a force from the insurgent Chu kingdom led by Xiang Liang . Zhang Han then led the Qin army north across the Yellow River to attack another rebel state , Zhao , and defeated the Zhao army . He then ordered his deputies Wang Li ( 王離 ) and She Jian ( 涉間 ) to besiege Handan ( Zhao ' s capital ) while he garrisoned his army at the south to maintain a route for supplying the troops attacking Handan . Zhao ' s ruler Zhao Xie ( 趙歇 ) sent a messenger to request aid from King Huai II of Chu . King Huai II dispatched two armies : The first , commanded by Song Yi , with Xiang Yu ( Xiang Liang ' s nephew ) as his deputy , was to relieve the siege on Handan ; the second , led by Liu Bang , would proceed to attack the Qin heartland of Guanzhong . The king promised that he would grant whoever conquered Guanzhong first the title of " King of Guanzhong " . Song Yi ' s army reached Anyang , some distance away from Julu ( in present - day Xingtai , Hebei ) , where Zhao Xie ' s forces had retreated to . Song Yi ordered his troops to lay camp there for 46 days . Xiang Yu was eager to engage Zhang Han and avenge his uncle Xiang Liang , so he urged Song Yi to issue an attack order . Song Yi declined Xiang Yu ' s suggestion and remarked that Xiang was a foolhardy man , and gave instructions that " anyone with barbaric , defiant , fame - seeking behaviour that leads to a violation of orders will be executed " . Song Yi later sent his son Song Xiang ( 宋襄 ) to the Qi kingdom and threw a lavish banquet at Wujian ( 無鹽 ; east of present - day Dongping County , Shandong ) to see his son off . At that time there were heavy rains , and Song Yi ' s soldiers suffered from cold and hunger . Xiang Yu made use of the situation to incite the men ' s anger towards Song Yi . On the morning of the 47th day , Xiang Yu burst into Song Yi ' s command post , took the latter by surprise and killed him . Xiang Yu then announced to the army that Song Yi was plotting with the Qi kingdom against Chu , and that he had received a secret order from King Huai II to execute the traitor Song Yi . The other subordinate generals feared Xiang Yu and allowed him to be the acting commander . Xiang Yu sent a messenger to inform King Huai II and the king was forced to retroactively approve his command . The battle . Xiang Yu sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead 20 , 000 men to cross the Yellow River and reinforce Julu , and they won a few skirmishes . In the twelfth lunar month of 208 BC , Xiang Yu personally led an army across the river to meet up with Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo . By the time he arrived on the battlefield , Zhao forces in Julu had been nearly starved under a prolonged siege by Zhang Han ' s deputy Wang Li . Xiang Yu ordered his men to carry only three days worth of supplies and destroy the rest , along with their cauldrons and cooking utensils , and sink the boats they used to cross the river . In doing so , Xiang Yu was sending a clear signal to his troops that they had no chance of survival unless they defeat the enemy and seize their supplies . Xiang Yu ' s troops fought very fiercely , to the extent of " every Chu soldier taking on ten foes " , and eventually defeated Qin forces in nine consecutive engagements . Wang Li ' s supply lines were disrupted and the Qin army suffered a crushing defeat . With casualties mounting to over 100 , 000 , Zhang Han was forced to retreat from Julu to Jiyuan , and he planned to defend Jiyuan until reinforcements arrive from Xianyang ( the Qin capital ) . The Qin general Su Jiao ( 蘇角 ) was killed in action while Wang Li was captured . She Jian ( 涉間 ) refused to surrender and committed suicide by throwing himself into a fire . Before Xiang Yu launched the assault , forces from other insurgent principalities had arrived at Julu to reinforce the Zhao kingdom , but they did not dare to advance for fear of the large Qin army and only garrisoned outside of the battle area . When Xiang Yu attacked the Qin forces , the other rebel armies did not participate in the fighting and they watched the battle from their camps . After seeing Xiang Yu defeat the 300 , 000 strong Qin army , the other insurgent forces came to join him out of admiration for his martial valour , increasing the size of Xiang ' s army to 400 , 000 . When Xiang Yu received them at the gate of his camp , the rebel commanders were so afraid of him that they sank to their knees and did not dare to look up at him . Qin surrender . After his defeat , Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang ( the Qin capital ) to ask for reinforcements and supplies . The eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the Qin emperor Qin Er Shi , falsely accusing Zhang Han of military failure and conspiring with the rebels , and the emperor dismissed Zhang ' s request . Zhao Gao even sent assassins to kill Sima Xin on the latter ' s return journey , but Sima survived and escaped back to report to Zhang Han . Just as Zhang Han was in a dilemma whether to retreat or surrender , Xiang Yu ' s forces completely surrounded Zhang Han and prevented the Qin army from withdrawing . In dire straits , Zhang Han , along with his deputies Sima Xin and Dong Yi and his 200 , 000 men , eventually surrendered to Xiang Yu in the summer of 207 BC . Live burial of Qin soldiers . In the 11th lunar month of 207 BC , Xiang Yu led his army to the city of Xin ' an ( 新安 ; in present - day Yima , Henan ) and made camp . He perceived the 200 , 000 surrendered Qin soldiers as disloyal and suspected that they might start a mutiny , so he had them all buried alive at the south of outside Xin ' an . Another reason for the massacre was that Xiang Yu saw the Qin soldiers as a liability because they would put a strain on his army ' s food supplies . Aftermath . Although Xiang Yu had the 200 , 000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive , he spared the three generals Zhang Han , Sima Xin and Dong Yi . The three were later respectively appointed as " King of Yong " , " King of Sai " and " King of Dai " when Xiang Yu divided the fallen Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms . The three were collectively known as the Three Qins and their domains were located in the former Qin heartland of Guanzhong . After his victory at Julu , Xiang Yu led his forces towards Guanzhong and prepared for an invasion of the Qin heartland . In the winter of 207 BC , the last Qin emperor Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang in Xianyang ( the Qin capital ) , bringing an end to the Qin Dynasty . When Xiang Yu reached Hangu Pass , the eastern gateway to Guanzhong , he saw that Liu Bang had already occupied Guanzhong . Xiang Yu was displeased as he heard that Liu Bang would become " King of Guanzhong " in accordance with King Huai II ' s earlier promise . After the Feast at Hong Gate , Xiang Yu occupied Xianyang in early 206 BC after Liu Bang evacuated his forces from the city . Xiang Yu ordered the execution of Ziying and his family , as well as the destruction of the Epang Palace by fire . Legacy . Some Chinese idioms and proverbs originated from the events in the Battle of Julu , including : Ming Dynasty politician and scholar Mao Kun ( 茅坤 ) described the Battle of Julu as : " Xiang Yu ' s proudest moment in battle , and " Taishigong " ( Sima Qian ) ' s most gratifying document . " Qing Dynasty artist Zheng Banqiao wrote a poem titled " Battle of Julu " : Cruelty and barbarism masked by deception and cunning , Cao Cao and Zhu Wen both claimed the throne . This is nothing like a hero riding on a fine horse with a beautiful maiden , people who cross the Wu River shed tears . In 1912 workers constructing the Longhai Railway unearthed large amounts of human remains at Yima , Henan , the site where Xiang Yu had the 200 , 000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive . The place has since been referred to as the " Chu pits " ( 楚坑 ) .