The Battle of Gaixia took place in 202 BC, near the end of the Chu–Han Contention a brief period between the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the rise of the Han Dynasty between the forces of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Although the Han forces had previously achieved several victories against Chu, they still did not control the whole of China. Most of eastern China remained under Chu authority. The Course of the Battle In this battle, the Han army, commanded by Han Xin and outnumbering the Chu forces by roughly four to one, achieved a decisive victory that drove Xiang Yu and the remnants of his army back to the fortified city of Gaixia. Despite the crushing defeat, the remaining Chu forces were still strong enough to worry both Liu Bang and Han Xin. Zhang Liang then offered a stratagem based on the idea that the people of Chu were deeply attached to their homeland. He suggested that Han soldiers sing Chu folk songs to break the enemy’s morale. That night, Chu songs echoed around Gaixia. The sound terrified the entire Chu army. even the top generals and Xiang Yu himself believed that Chu had already fallen if so many Han soldiers could sing their homeland’s songs. Zhang Liang tactic, later known as “Songs of Chu from All Four Sides”, was so effective that within a single night, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers either fled or surrendered. This included nearly all Chu generals, such as Xiang Bo, who surrendered to Liu Bang, and Zhongli Mo, who fled eastward. By the next morning, only Xiang Yu and his 800 loyal guards remained in Gaixia. Though Xiang Yu fought fiercely to break out, he was vastly outnumbered and unable to escape. He ultimately took his own life at Wujiang, on the banks of the Yangtze River. Many accounts describe his final decision some claim he felt too ashamed to face the people of Chu, while others speculate he may have survived and fled far away. However, Chinese historians mostly agree that Xiang Yu committed suicide because he had no path to escape and refused to die at the hands of the Han army. Outcome Xiang Yu death marked the end of the Chu–Han Contention. Although Chu lingered for a short time afterward, it no longer posed any threat to Han and soon surrendered completely. The state of Chu collapsed, and Liu Bang ascended the throne, establishing the Han Dynasty in 202 BC. An Interesting Note Sui Wendi Yang Jian (541–604 AD), the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty in 581, was said to be a descendant of a Han soldier who fought at Gaixia. According to legend, this soldier retrieved a piece of Xiang Yu leg to claim a reward promised by Liu Bang to the entire army. For this, he was granted a marquisate, lived comfortably, and over the centuries, his family gradually rose to great power, eventually producing the founder of the Sui Dynasty. #totalwar #threekingdoms #totalwarthreekingdoms #china #chenguohui_strategygames - @chenguohui_strategygames