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Hsiang Yu, who represented the powerful southern kingdom of
Chu. His opponent, representing the Han kingdom, was Liu Pang.
With a constantly changing cast of allies, these two men fought a
series of wars over the next several years, culminating in the Battle
of Kai Hsia in 203 B.C.
x Hsiang Yu began the battle by leading a charge straight into the
larger army of Liu Pang but found himself surrounded and his
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was immediately besieged by the Han-led army.
x Hsiang Yu determined that his best chance was to break out with
as many of his elite troops as could be saved. He spent the night
drinking and saying farewell to his wife, then mounted his favorite
horse and led 800 of his cavalry in a desperate charge.
x The Han seem to have been taken by surprise; Hsiang broke through
their lines and headed south, pursued by 5,000 of the Chu cavalry.
After receiving some misdirections from a farmer, however, he rode
into a swamp, and the Chu riders caught up and began picking off
his men.
x Eventually, he was trapped on a hilltop with only 28 men left.
Heroically leading his men in a counterattack, he managed once
again to break free, killing more than 100 Chu enemies plus a
general in the process.
x Hsiang now reached the banks of the Yangtze River, where a
boatman offered to ferry him across to safety, but perhaps realizing
that his fortunes would never recover, he refused, and he and his
remaining companions turned to face the pursuing Han. Fighting