Chapter 301: Review of the Ten Greatest Ancient Battles: The Battle of Gaixia

Review of the Ten Greatest Ancient Battles: The Battle of Gaixia

Date: 202 BC

Location: Gaixia (present‑day Lingbi, Anhui)

Combatants: Han Xin vs Xiang Yu

Overview: The conclusion of the Chu–Han power struggle.

Han Xin set tenfold ambushes to encircle the Chu army and ordered his soldiers to sing Chu folk songs at night.

Xiang Yu thought the Han forces had fully occupied Chu territory, his troops' morale collapsed, and he led eight hundred cavalry in a night breakout, ultimately committing suicide by the Wu River.

Why it is famous: "Tenfold Ambush", "Surrounded by Chu Songs", "The Hegemon Bids Farewell to His Concubine".

This battle laid the foundation for four centuries of Han rule, and Xiang Yu's heroic downfall is steeped in tragic aesthetics.

When the sky screen lit up, the High Ancestor Liu Bang's hand holding the tea cup paused.

It's not that he hadn't seen the scene—these past days the sky screen has been bright every day, and he's grown accustomed to it.

But when the words "Battle of Gaixia" appeared, his expression was clearly different from when he watched other battles.

In the earlier battles he was just spectating, cracking sunflower seeds, eating peanuts, and making jokes.

For this one, his complexion darkened.

Gaixia.

It was the last battle of his life, and also the hardest.

Ying Zheng noticed Liu Bang's change of expression, but said nothing.

He lifted his tea cup for a sip, his gaze falling on the sky screen.

Liu Che wrote the four characters "Battle of Gaixia" in the booklet, his pen tip hesitating briefly.

He glanced at his own High Ancestor, then at the sky screen, and remained silent.

Liu Xiu sat upright, his tea cup still in hand but untouched.

He noticed Liu Bang's expression differed from usual—

Usually the High Ancestor was carefree and smiling, without decorum, but now his eyes were complex.

That complexity belongs only to those who have fought the toughest battle.

Han Xin stood outside the Han camp's tent, looking up at the sky screen.

He was still young, in his early thirties, wearing a half‑worn armor and a sword at his waist.

He was the Grand General of the Han army, yet he had never seen Gaixia—because the battle had not yet been fought.

The sky screen told him he would fight his most important battle here, his opponent Xiang Yu, and that he would win.

A few bodyguards beside him also saw it, each flushed with excitement, but Han Xin did not smile.

He stared at the four characters "Tenfold Ambush" on the sky screen, saying nothing.

Xiang Yu stood outside the camp tent by the Wu River, the sky screen's golden light bathing the entire camp as bright as day.

His bodyguards all watched the sky screen, whispering.

The Hegemon of Chu's hand gripping his sword bulged with blue veins, his jaw clenched with a grinding sound.

Gaixia…Surrounded by Chu Songs…Suicide at the Wu River.

The sky screen told him he would lose.

He, Xiang Yu, the Western Chu Hegemon, unrivaled under heaven, would lose to Liu Bang, lose to Han Xin, and lose to the point of not even preserving his life.

Those around him dared not speak.

Yu Ji stood behind him, glanced at him, and said nothing.

She knew this man's pride weighed heavier than his life.

In the Eastern Han court, Liu Bang set down his tea cup.

He suddenly spoke, "In my life, I have fought many battles."

"Pengcheng was lost, Xingyang was lost, Chenggao was also lost."

"But Gaixia, I won."

Ying Zheng gave him a glance, without mockery.

Liu Bang, as a person, he's not exactly likable, but there is one thing the speaker acknowledges—he can afford to lose.

He fought so many defeats yet never fell, and could still turn the tide at the end; that isn't luck.

Liu Che recorded the High Ancestor's words in the booklet, his pen tip pausing, then adding a line: "The High Ancestor's Account of the Battle of Gaixia."

Detailed Battle Account

203 BC, the Chu–Han Honggou peace talks, using Honggou as the dividing line of the world.

Xiang Yu led his army eastward.

Liu Bang followed the advice of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, tore up the treaty, led his forces in pursuit, and simultaneously ordered Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu and other vassals to converge.

202 BC.

Han Xin commanded three hundred thousand troops to set tenfold ambushes at Gaixia.

Xiang Yu led one hundred thousand Chu troops into encirclement.

Han Xin ordered the Han army to loudly sing Chu folk songs at night.

The Chu army, homesick, saw morale collapse, and soldiers fled in droves.

Xiang Yu, seeing the tide turn, led eight hundred cavalry in a night breakout.

The Han army, realizing this, gave chase.

Xiang Yu fought a bloody retreat all the way to the Wu River bank.

The Wu River pavilion chief offered a boat for him to cross the river.

Xiang Yu laughed and said, "Heaven has doomed me; why should I cross the river?"

He gave his war horse to the village chief and led his troops on foot into battle.

After killing several hundred Han soldiers, he committed suicide.

A picture appeared on the sky curtain.

Gaixia, night.

The Han army's tents stretched for tens of li, their lights like countless stars.

The Chu army was trapped in the center, their tents sparse, the firelight dim.

Suddenly, singing rose from the Han camp, the song being a folk tune of Chu.

The sound came from all directions; the Chu soldiers woke from sleep, hearing the familiar hometown accent, their knife‑holding hands began to tremble.

An old soldier squatted on the ground and wept.

He wasn't afraid of death; he had simply been away from home too long.

The singing grew louder and denser.

In the Chu main camp, people began sneaking out.

One, two, ten, a hundred, a thousand.

Could not be stopped.

Xiang Yu lifted the tent flap and stepped out, looking at the chaotic camp, his face ashen.

Only over a thousand remained beside him; the rest had fled.

In his life he had fought over seventy battles, never losing.

But at this moment he knew he had lost.

He was not defeated by Han Xin, but by those songs.

Yu Ji stood behind him, silent.

She drew his side‑blade and held it across her throat.

Xiang Yu turned back—too late.

In the picture, Xiang Yu rode his Wuzui horse, leading eight hundred cavalry, breaking out of the Han encirclement.

He charged at the front, his long spear sweeping sideways; the Han troops fell like weeds.

The eight hundred cavalry followed him all the way, fighting, until they reached the Huai River, where only over a hundred remained.

After crossing the Huai River, they arrived at Yinling and lost their way.

Asking for directions, they were deceived by a farmer and sank into a marsh.

The Han army caught up.

He killed again.

Only twenty‑eight cavalry remained beside him.

They reached the Wu River.

The Wu River ferryman poled the boat to the shore and said, "Although Jiangdong is small, it spans a thousand li and holds hundreds of thousands—enough to be a king. Please, Your Majesty, cross quickly."

Xiang Yu smiled.

That smile was uglier than tears.

"Heaven has doomed me; why should I cross?"

He dismounted and led his war horse to the ferryman.

"I have ridden this horse for five years; it has been invincible, and I cannot bear to kill it—I give it to you."

He gave the war horse away.

His closest companion in life, he gave away.

Then he turned to face the pursuers and fought on foot.

The Han army closed in, and he alone killed over a hundred.

His wounds grew more numerous, blood trickling down his armor.

Finally he saw a familiar face—Lu Matong, his former subordinate.

"I have heard that the Han offer a thousand gold for my head and a fief of ten thousand households; I will do this for your virtue."

After saying that, he drew his sword and slew himself.

The image on the sky curtain froze at that moment.

The river rushed on; a man who refused to cross to Jiangdong fell upon the bank.

In the Eastern Han court, there was utter silence.

Liu Bang spoke first, his voice hoarse, not his own: "I fought him for four years."

"In those four years, I never won once."

"At the Battle of Pengcheng, my 560,000 troops were scattered by his 30,000."

"I fled all night, even losing my coachman."

He paused, then added: "But I won the final battle."

Ying Zheng suddenly said: "You won, but not by your own hand."

Liu Bang offered no rebuttal: "It was Han Xin who did it."

Liu Che wrote down these two lines in the booklet, his hand trembling slightly.

He was not unfamiliar with the world, but this was the first time he saw the Grand Ancestor's complex expression when mentioning Xiang Yu.

That was not hatred, but something indescribable.