From Promised King to Exile: Liu Bang’s Humiliation at Xiang Yu’s Hands

Following his narrow escape at the Hong Gate banquet in 206 BCE, Liu Bang expected to be crowned King of Guanzhong per the “Covenant of King Huai.” Instead, the hegemon-king Xiang Yu relegated him to the remote territories of Ba and Shu in modern Sichuan—a deliberate snub that transformed fertile Guanzhong into the “Three Qins” under surrendered Qin generals. The historian Sima Qian records Liu Bang’s fury: “The King of Han was enraged and planned to attack Xiang Yu.” Only the intervention of strategist Xiao He prevented disaster, arguing with a Zhou Dynasty proverb: “When Heaven bestows and you refuse, calamity follows.” This bitter compromise marked Liu Bang’s first major setback after Hong Gate—exile from the political heartland.

The Art of Strategic Bribery: How Gifts to Xiang Bo Secured Hanzhong

In a masterstroke of realpolitik, Liu Bang and his advisor Zhang Liang exploited personal connections to mitigate their loss. Zhang Liang redirected his lavish rewards—100 yi of gold and two dou of pearls—to Xiang Bo, Xiang Yu’s uncle and their ally at Hong Gate. This calculated bribery bore fruit when Xiang Bo persuaded his nephew to add Hanzhong Commandery to Liu Bang’s domain. Though still exiled, control of Hanzhong provided a crucial foothold north of the Qinling Mountains, positioning Liu Bang to eventually challenge the Three Qins. As historian Wang Liqun notes, “With Hanzhong, returning to Guanzhong became feasible”—a tactical advantage that would soon prove decisive.

The Devastating Departure: Losing Zhang Liang and the Burning of Plank Roads

Liu Bang’s second crisis emerged when Zhang Liang—architect of his survival at Hong Gate—announced his departure to serve King Cheng of Han. On their bittersweet parting at the treacherous Baoxie Road, Zhang Liang offered a final stratagem: “Burn the plank roads to show Xiang Yu you’ve abandoned ambitions eastward.” The conflagration of these cliffside pathways achieved dual purposes—cutting off pursuit while lulling Xiang Yu into false security. Yet the loss of his premier strategist compounded Liu Bang’s woes, as his homesick Chu soldiers deserted en masse during the march to Hanzhong. Sima Qian paints a desperate scene: “Generals and soldiers alike fled daily,” their longing for eastern homelands threatening to dissolve Liu Bang’s army entirely.

The Miracle at Nan Zheng: Discovering Han Xin Amidst Despair

At his nadir in Nan Zheng, Liu Bang encountered the disgraced strategist Han Xin—a former Xiang Yu subordinate now sentenced to execution. Saved by chariot master Xiahou Ying’s intervention, Han Xin’s audacious question—”Does our lord not wish to conquer All Under Heaven? Why then kill a warrior?”—led to an audience with chancellor Xiao He. Their subsequent “Hanzhong Dialogue” outlined a revolutionary strategy: exploit Xiang Yu’s three flaws (reckless bravery, misallocated rewards, and cruelty) while leveraging Liu Bang’s reputation for benevolence. Han Xin’s analysis proved as transformative for Liu Bang as Zhuge Liang’s later “Longzhong Plan” would be for Liu Bei—a blueprint to first reclaim Guanzhong, then challenge Xiang Yu’s hegemony.

The Lightning Campaign: Han Xin’s “Hidden March” and the Fall of Three Qins

In August 206 BCE, Han Xin executed one of history’s most brilliant military deceptions. While openly repairing the Baoxie Road to feign a frontal assault, his main force traversed the Chencang Trail—a “hidden march” that caught Yong King Zhang Han completely unprepared. Within four months, the Han armies crushed the Three Qins: Zhang Han committed suicide after a ten-month siege at Feiqiu, while Sai King Sima Xin and Zhai King Dong Yi surrendered without significant resistance. Han Xin’s incorporation of Ba-Shu’s Cong tribesmen—renowned mountain fighters—proved instrumental in this rapid conquest.

Xiang Yu’s Fatal Distraction: The Qi Rebellion and Zhang Liang’s Misdirection

Critical to Liu Bang’s success was Xiang Yu’s puzzling inaction during the Guanzhong campaign. The answer lay in Shandong Province, where former Qi general Tian Rong had rebelled—murdering three of Xiang Yu’s appointed kings and allying with renegade commanders Peng Yue and Chen Yu. Zhang Liang (now serving Han King Cheng) secretly exacerbated this crisis by forwarding intercepted Qi-Zhao alliance letters to Xiang Yu, while assuring him of Liu Bang’s limited ambitions. This masterful misinformation campaign pinned Xiang Yu’s forces in Qi until 205 BCE, when his brutal suppression tactics backfired—sparking renewed resistance under Tian Rong’s brother Tian Heng.

Legacy of the Three Qins Campaign: Foundations of Han Dynasty

Liu Bang’s Guanzhong victory established the core territory from which he would launch the Chu-Han Contention. The campaign demonstrated three enduring principles of Chinese statecraft:

1. Strategic Deception: Han Xin’s “visible repair, hidden march” tactic entered military canon as one of China’s “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”
2. Peripheral Alliances: Incorporating minority Cong warriors foreshadowed later Han policies toward border peoples.
3. Information Warfare: Zhang Liang’s manipulation of Xiang Yu’s decision-making highlighted intelligence operations’ decisive role.

When Liu Bang finally proclaimed the Han Dynasty in 202 BCE, his Hanzhong exile—once a humiliation—became foundational mythology. The “Three Qins” designation endured as Shaanxi’s poetic name, while Han Xin’s strategies were immortalized in idioms like “明修栈道，暗度陈仓” (Openly repair the plank roads, secretly cross at Chencang). This pivotal year of 206-205 BCE thus marked history’s turning point—when the overlooked exile of Ba-Shu began his transformation into Emperor Gaozu of Han.