It was the Western Chu Concubine, who ended the series of consecutive victories of the Qin army in the war against the rebel forces, laying the foundation for ending the Qin dynasty after the death of Qin Shi Huang.
In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, died of an illness. The second son, Ho Hoi, was brought to the throne by eunuchs Trieu Cao and Ly Tu, becoming Qin Nhi The.
The image of Western Chu Concubine Xiang Yu in Chinese TV series.
Nhi The did not have the same talent as his outstanding father, and could not handle the anger of the peasants, causing uprisings everywhere.
Within a year, a series of vassal states from the previous Warring States period were restored, such as Chu, Zhao, Yen, Wei, and Qi.
Qin Nhi The appointed Chuong Ham as marshal, and generals Vuong Ly, Tu Ma Han, Dong E, To Giac, and Thiep Nhan brought troops to suppress.
In just a few months, Chuong Ham won the battle like splitting bamboo, turning the tide between Qin and his vassals. It was Zhang Han who killed Xiang Liang, Xiang Yu’s uncle.
Because he thought that the Chu army at that time was no longer a threat, Zhang Han turned to fight the Trieu country, causing Zhao Vuong Yet to flee to Cu Loc (Xingtai, Hebei province today) and ask for help from the vassal countries.
In the context of more than 200,000 Qin troops of Vuong Ly besieging Cu Loc citadel, the main force of Zhang Han played a supporting role, no force of the vassal countries dared to intervene.
But Xiang Yu was the one who made the difference, defeating the Qin army 9 times and winning all 9, cutting off the path of Zhang Han’s fortune for Vuong Ly. The prestige of Chu’s army surpassed that of the vassal countries.
The army of the vassals came to save Cu Loc and were stationed near more than 10 barracks, but no one dared to bring troops to fight. When the Chu army fought the Qin army, the vassal generals stood on the wall and watched. According to the History of Sima Thien, all Chu soldiers were strong enough for one person against ten, the shouts of Chu’s army rang in the sky, and the vassal army raised an army to destroy Qin and trembled.
At the end of the battle of Cu Loc, Xiang Yu destroyed the Qin army, killed To Giac, and captured Vuong Ly; Card Nhan set himself on fire and died. After this decisive defeat, Qin’s main army led by Zhang Han became passive and collapsed.
Xiang Yu was the person who had the greatest merit in destroying the Qin army.
Not receiving the support of the Qin king, Qin Nhi The, Zhang Han, for fear of Xiang Yu’s power, surrendered, surrendered his life, along with the generals under him and 200,000 Qin troops for Xiang Yu’s decision.
According to historical records, tens of thousands of Qin Kingdom soldiers who surrendered on the way to escort were mistreated terribly. But because they were prisoners and wanted to preserve their lives, they could only endure it patiently.
When they just arrived at Tan An, the mood of the 200,000 prisoners of the Qin Kingdom was very complicated. The history of historian Sima Thien of the Han Dynasty records:
“The generals of the Qin Dynasty told each other secretly: The Zhang generals tricked us into surrendering to the vassals, so now they can only enter the gate to fight the Qin state.
If we were lucky enough to defeat the Qin, that would be great, otherwise the vassals would force us to bring them back to the east, and Qin would kill our parents, wife and children anyway.”
The generals heard vaguely what they discussed, and reported it to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu immediately called Anh Bo and General Bo to discuss:
“The Qin generals are still numerous, their stomachs don’t obey me, if they go to Quan Trung but they don’t follow me, big things will be in danger, better just kill them, keep only Chuong Ham, chief historian Han, and admiral E to go in with them. only Qin land.”
In fact, after escorting prisoners to Tan An citadel, 200,000 Qin troops mysteriously disappeared. Because if these 20,000 troops were not destroyed, maybe Xiang Yu could not enter the Qin land, kill Qin Wang and burn everything down so easily.
The fact that the West Chu Ba Vuong Xiang Vu killed tens of thousands of Qin prisoners is not specifically recorded in Chinese history books.
Anecdotes say that Xiang Yu secretly planned to kill all the prisoners by making them dig a large hole.
West Chu Concubine Xiang Yu is known for being brazen, tyrannical and refusing to listen to anyone.
To the west of Tan An citadel at that time, there was a very large suburban grassland. Xiang Yu immediately ordered 200,000 prisoners to dig a deep hole, only to be buried alive in that deep hole with no way to get out.
Those who tried to escape were cut to death and thrown into the pit they dug.
Today, mass graves of the Qin army are often mentioned near Nghia Ma commune, Ha Nam province, China. This area has flat grasslands in all four directions as recorded in history books.
As recorded in 1912, during the renovation of the railway system in the area. The workers unearthed many white skeletons. That may be the remains of 20,000 Qin soldiers killed by Xiang Yu in the past.
Over the decades of the Chinese civil war, these sites and remains have not been excavated or preserved.
The event that Xiang Yu buried 200,000 Qin soldiers alive is considered one of the bloodiest massacres in Chinese history.
This event is compared with the burial of 450,000 million Zhao soldiers alive by the Qin general Bach Khoi in the Battle of Truong Binh during the Warring States period.