Chen Sheng is from Yangcheng, whose courtesy name was She; Wu Guang is from Yangxia, whose courtesy name was Shu. When Chen Sheng was young, he worked the fields as a hired hand with others. During a break, he sat on the field ridge, sighing and saying, "If I ever make it big, we'll look out for each other, alright?" His companions who worked the fields with him laughed and replied, "A nobody like you getting ahead? Don't be daft!" Chen Sheng sighed and said, "How's a sparrow supposed to know what a roc is thinking?"
In July of 209 BC, the government conscripted poor people to guard the borders in Yuyang, with nine hundred people stationed in Daze Township. Both Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were selected for this mission, serving as squad leaders. They encountered heavy rain, making the roads impassable and causing them to miss the deadline. According to the law, missing the deadline meant death. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang discussed and said, "We're dead either way – might as well die fighting for something!"
Chen Sheng said, "The people have suffered long enough under the Qin. I heard that Qin Er Shi is the youngest son of Qin Shi Huang, who shouldn't have been emperor. The rightful heir was Prince Fusu. Fusu was sent away by Qin Shi Huang for repeatedly advising him and leading troops. Qin Er Shi probably had Fusu bumped off, and most people know his name, but they don't know he's dead. Xiang Yan was once a general of the Chu Kingdom, with many military achievements and a great care for soldiers, earning sympathy from the people of Chu. Some say he is dead, others say he has fled. Let's pose as Fusu and Xiang Yan and rally the troops – we'll get plenty of support!" Wu Guang found his words to be reasonable.
So they went to see a fortune teller. The diviner saw their intentions and said, "Everything will go your way, and you'll be heroes. But are you asking the spirits for advice?" Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were both very happy, thinking about the spirits, and said, "The spirits say we gotta scare 'em straight!" So they wrote "Chen Sheng Wang" on a piece of silk with cinnabar and hid it in the belly of a fish caught by someone else. The soldiers bought the fish to cook and found this note in the fish's belly, which they found very strange.
Chen Sheng and Wu Guang secretly had Wu Guang's troops light a fire in the temple in the nearby jungle at night, and let the foxes scream, "Chu's rising! Chen Sheng's gonna be king!" The soldiers were spooked stiff all night. The next morning, everyone was talking about Chen Sheng, pointing fingers at him.
Wu Guang was quite popular among the soldiers, and they all listened to him. One day, their lieutenant got drunk, and Wu Guang kept talking about running away to goad the lieutenant into a fight. Sure enough, the lieutenant lost it and decked Wu Guang. But Wu Guang was quick—he snatched the sword and killed him! Chen Sheng joined in, and they took out the other lieutenant too.
Then, Wu Guang gathered everyone and said, "Guys, because of the rain, everyone missed the deadline, and according to the rules, missing the deadline means death. Even if I plead for mercy for you, a good chunk of you will die during the period of guarding. Besides, we are warriors; if we're gonna die, let's go down fighting for something worthwhile! Are those big shots inherently nobler than us?" Everyone responded in unison, "We will follow your lead!" So they rebelled in the names of Prince Fusu and Xiang Yan, fulfilling the wishes of the common people, revealed their right arms, a symbol of rebellion, raised the banner of "Great Chu," and even built an altar to sacrifice to the heavens and earth. Chen Sheng declared himself a general, and Wu Guang became a captain. They captured Daze Township, then attacked Qi County. After capturing Qi County, they sent Fu Liren Ge Ying with soldiers to conquer their way eastward. They took over places like Zhi, Zang, Ku, Zhe, and Qiao. By the time they returned from the campaign, their army had grown significantly, with six to seven hundred chariots, over a thousand cavalry, and tens of thousands of infantry. When they attacked Chen County, the county magistrate and others were not present; only the deputy county magistrate was resisting at Qiao Gate. But the defense crumbled, the deputy magistrate was killed, and Chen Sheng's forces seized Chen County. After a few days, Chen Sheng ordered the local elders and heroes to discuss important matters. The elders and local bigwigs chimed in, "General, you wear armor, wield a sharp blade, overthrow the tyrannical Qin, kill the tyrant, restore the state of Chu; you've earned the right to be king!" So Chen Sheng proclaimed himself king, with the title of Zhang Chu.
At this time, the common people in various counties who were oppressed by officials of the Qin Dynasty revolted, killing local officials in response to Chen Sheng. Chen Sheng appointed Wu Shu as a puppet king, leading the army to advance westward to attack Xingyang. He also sent Chen County natives Wu Chen, Zhang Er, and Chen Yu to recover Zhao, and sent Deng Zong from Ruyin to reclaim Jiujang. At that time, the Chu army was everywhere, with countless troops.
Ge Ying arrived in Dongcheng and installed Xiangqiang as the King of Chu. Later, Ge Ying heard that Chen Sheng had already declared himself king, so he killed Xiangqiang and returned to report to Chen Sheng. However, when he arrived in Chen County, Chen Sheng killed Ge Ying. Chen Sheng sent Zhou Fu, a man from Wei, north to reclaim Wei. Wu Guang surrounded Xingyang. Li You served as the governor of Sanchuan County, guarding Xingyang, which Wu Shu failed to capture. Chen Sheng convened a council of national leaders and appointed Fang Jun Cai Ci from Shangcai as the Commander-in-Chief.
Zhou Wen, a formidable figure in the Chen Kingdom, was a skilled astrologer in Xiang Yan's army and later served Chun Shen Jun. He claimed to be proficient in military affairs, so Chen Wang gave him the seal of general and sent him west to attack the Qin Kingdom with a massive army of thousands upon thousands of soldiers, supported by a thousand chariots. The army marched to Hangu Pass and camped at Xixian after arriving. Qin’s chief administrator, Zhang Han, was ordered to unleash the prisoners and slaves of Lishan against the Chu army, resulting in a major defeat for the Chu army. After Zhou Wen's defeat, he escaped from Hangu Pass and stayed in Caoyang for two to three months. Zhang Han pursued him relentlessly and defeated Zhou Wen again. Zhou Wen fled to Minchi, where he stayed for more than ten days. Zhang Han launched another attack and completely defeated Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen ultimately took his own life, and his army never fought again.
Next, let's talk about Wuchen's business. When Wuchen arrived in Handan, he crowned himself King of Zhao, Chen Yu became the Grand General, and Zhang Er and Zhaosao became the prime ministers. When King Chu heard about this, he was furious and ordered the families of Wuchen and the others to be arrested with the intention of killing them all. At this time, a powerful minister said, "The state of Qin has not yet been destroyed. What's the difference between this and Qin? We might as well just go along with it!" Upon hearing this, King Chu sent envoys to congratulate the State of Zhao, moved Wuchen's family and the others' to the palace, appointed Zhang Ao, the son of Zhang Er, as Chengdu Jun (Lord of Chengdu), and urged Zhao's army to advance. King Zhao and his generals discussed, "If we become kings, this is not what Chu wants. If Chu destroys Qin, they will definitely come to attack us. The best way is to not attack Qin to the west, but to send envoys to the north to recover the land of Yan, expanding our own power. We, Zhao, have a great river to the south, and Yan and Dai to the north. Even if Chu defeats Qin, they won’t dare to easily interfere with us. If Chu fails to defeat Qin, they will need to rely on us, Zhao. When Qin is weakened, we, Zhao, can dominate the world." King Zhao thought their plan made sense, so he stopped the westward attack on Qin and instead sent the former county official of Shanggu, Han Guang, to lead troops north to recover the land of Yan. Yan's nobles and bigwigs said to Han Guang, "Chu has already established a king, and Zhao has also established a king. Although Yan is small, it is also a country with a huge army. We hope that you, General, will declare yourself as the King of Yan!" Han Guang said, "No way, my mother is still in Zhao." The people of Yan said, "Zhao is currently worried about Qin to the west and Chu to the south. They can't touch us. Besides, even though Chu is powerful, they dare not harm the families of the generals of King Zhao, so how could Zhao dare to harm the family of the general?" Han Guang thought they were right, so he declared himself as the King of Yan. A few months later, Zhao sent the mother and family of the King of Yan back to Yan.
At that time, a countless number of generals each went to attack different places. Zhou Shi went north to Di territory, where Tian Dan, a Di native, killed the Di county magistrate, declared himself King of Qi, and then rebelled against Zhou Shi. Zhou Shi's army suffered defeat and retreated to Wei territory, where they wanted to install the former Lord of Ningling, Jiu (Lord of Ningling), as King of Wei. After Wei had been pacified, everyone wanted to proclaim Zhou Shi as King of Wei, but he refused. It took five tries before the King of Chen finally proclaimed Jiu as King of Wei and sent him back to his country. Zhou Shi eventually became Prime Minister.
General Tian Zang and others discussed, "Zhou Zhang's army has been defeated, the Qin army is about to arrive, and we cannot capture Réngyáng City. If the Qin army comes, we will surely suffer a great defeat. It's better to leave a small number of troops to defend Réngyáng and send our elite soldiers out to meet the Qin army in battle. This so-called king is too arrogant and does not understand military affairs, making it impossible to reason with him. If we do not kill him, things will go bad." So they used a forged royal order to kill Wu Shu, presenting his head to the King of Chen. The king then appointed Tian Zang as a general. Tian Zang sent Li Gui and other generals to defend Réngyáng City, while he took the elite soldiers west to meet the Qin army at Aocang (a strategically important location). In the battle, Tian Zang died, and his army was defeated. Zhang Han then attacked Li Gui and the others at Réngyáng, defeating them and causing their deaths.
A man from Yangcheng named Deng stationed his troops in Tan territory, where he was defeated by a general sent by Zhang Han, causing his troops to scatter and flee to Chen territory. A man from Zhi territory named Wu Xu stationed his troops in Xu territory, where he was defeated by Zhang Han, causing his troops to scatter and flee to Chen territory. Consequently, the King of Chen killed Deng.
When King Chen Wang became king, Qin Jia from Lingdi, Dong Ye from Zhidi, Zhu Jishi from Fuli, Zheng Bu from Qulu, Ding Ji from Xudi, and others each raised their own armies, besieging General Qing of Donghai in Tandi. When King Chen heard about this, he sent Lord Wupingjun as the general to supervise the army in Tandi. Qin Jia did not obey his orders, declared himself Grand Marshal, and was at odds with Lord Wupingjun. He told the officers, "Lord Wupingjun is young and doesn't understand military affairs; don't listen to him!" Then he used a forged royal decree to have Lord Wupingjun killed.
Zhang Han had already defeated Wu Xu, attacked Chendi, and Commander Fang Jun died. Zhang Han then led his troops to attack the army of Zhang He in the west of Chendi. King Chen personally went to command the battle, but the army was defeated and Zhang He also died.
In December, Chen Sheng arrived in Ruyin, then returned to Xiachengfu, where his driver, Zhuang Jia, killed him and surrendered to the Qin state. Chen Sheng was buried in Dang County and posthumously named King Yin.
Before Chen Sheng, there was a minor official named Lv Chen who was in charge of the warehouse. He led the warehouse soldiers to rebel in Xinyang, attacked Chen County, took over the county, killed Zhuang Jia, and restored Chen County to Chu.
Initially, after Chen Sheng arrived in Chen County, he ordered Song Liu from Zhidi to lead troops to secure Nanyang, then advance on Wuguan. Song Liu had already secured Nanyang, but upon hearing of Chen Sheng's death, Nanyang fell back into the hands of the Qin state. Unable to advance to Wuguan, Song Liu headed east to Xinchai, where he encountered the Qin army. Song Liu surrendered to the Qin state with his army. The Qin state escorted Song Liu to Xianyang and had him publicly executed and quartered.
When Qin Jia and his men heard that Chen Sheng's army had been defeated and that Chen Sheng had fled, they then installed Jing Ju as the King of Chu, leading their troops to Fang Yu, hoping to defeat the Qin army and retake Dingtao. They also sent Gong Sun Qing to contact the King of Qi, hoping to attack Qin together with Qi. The King of Qi said, "I heard that Chen Sheng was defeated; how dare Chu crown a king without consulting us?" Gong Sun Qing replied, "If Qi didn't need Chu's permission to make itself king, why should Chu need Qi's?" Tian Dan, however, had Gong Sun Qing executed.
The Qin army attacked Chen County again and occupied it. General Lv Chen fled and regrouped his troops. The bandit leader, Dangyang Jun Ying Bu, gathered his army and attacked the Qin army again, defeating them in Qingbo and restoring Chen County to Chu. At this time, Xiang Liang appointed Wang Sun Xin as the King of Chu.
In June, Chen Sheng had already proclaimed himself as king in Chen. When his old farming buddies heard the news, they raced to Chen and pounded on the palace gates, yelling, "I wanna see Chen Sheng!" The guards wanted to tie him up, but he argued for himself for a while before being released, although the guards wouldn't let him through. When Chen Sheng came out, the man stood in the way shouting Chen Sheng's name. Chen Sheng heard and summoned him, bringing him home. Stepping into the palace, seeing all the fancy buildings and drapes, he gasped, "Wow! Look at Chen Sheng, all kingly and stuff!" Chu folks called a lot of things "huo," so everyone started saying "Huo Shewei Wang"—all thanks to Chen Sheng.
This person became increasingly brazen, blabbering everywhere about Chen Sheng's past. Some people advised Chen Sheng, "This guy is a clueless babbler, talking nonsense and damaging your dignity!" In a fit of anger, Chen Sheng killed him. Chen Sheng's former friends were all scared and left, and no one approached him again. Chen Sheng appointed Zhu Fang as the supreme inspector and Hu Wu as the inspector general, letting them manage the officials. The generals went out to fight in various places, and if they acted contrary to Chen Sheng's wishes, they were immediately arrested and punished. Chen Sheng demanded strict loyalty, punishing harshly any perceived disloyalty. Those whom Chen Sheng disapproved of were not handed over to officials; he dealt with them directly. Chen Sheng trusted them both. As a result, the generals distanced themselves from him, which was the reason for his failure. Although Chen Sheng is dead, the kings and generals he appointed ultimately overthrew the Qin Dynasty because he was the first to rebel! When Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, came to power, he set up a thirty-household garrison in Dang County to guard Chen Sheng's tomb, and they still worship him to this day. Mr. Chu said: The dangerous terrain is used to consolidate defense; military and legal systems are used to govern the country; but these are not enough to make people feel at ease. The ancient wise rulers regarded benevolence and righteousness as the foundation, and the consolidation of defense and legal system as branches, isn't that right? I heard that Jia Yi once said: "Marquis Xiao of Qin occupied the strategic position of Hangu Pass and controlled the fertile land of Yongzhou. With the monarch and his officials united, they defended the borders while coveting the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty. He aimed to conquer the world and unify the country. At that time, Shang Yang assisted him, establishing laws in the country, focusing on developing agriculture and the textile industry, building defensive works, and preparing for war. He united some vassal states and attacked others. Thus, the Qin state quickly conquered the lands west of the Yellow River."
After the death of King Xiao, King Hui, King Wu, and King Zhao inherited the territories left by their ancestors and continued their ancestors' policies. They conquered Hanzhong to the south, captured Bashu to the west, seized fertile lands to the east, and reclaimed important counties. Other vassal states were afraid and discussed ways to weaken the state of Qin. Qin was not stingy in offering precious objects and riches to attract talents from all over the world. The vassal states formed alliances, united to resist Qin.
At that time, there was Lord Meng Chang from the state of Qi, Lord Pingyuan from the state of Zhao, Lord Chunshen from the state of Chu, and Lord Xinling from the state of Wei. These four lords were all intelligent and insightful, loyal and trustworthy, kind and compassionate, who valued and respected talent. They agreed to unite against Qin and also joined forces with Han, Wei, Yan, Zhao, Song, and Zhongshan, among others. The six states employed numerous strategists like Ning Yue, Xu Shang, Su Qin, and Du He to advise them. These included Qi Ming, Zhou Zui, Chen Zhen, Shao Hua, Lou Huan, Zhai Jing, Su Li, and Yue Yi to convey their intentions. Their armies were led by Wu Qi, Sun Bin, Dai Tuo, Er Liang, Wang Liao, Tian Ji, Lian Po, and Zhao She. They amassed an army a million strong, deploying forces across an area ten times the size of Qin to attack at the Hangu Pass. Qin lured the nine-state army into a trap, and the vastly outnumbered coalition forces panicked and fled. Qin did not spend much but made all the vassal states exhausted.
As a result, the alliances of the various states collapsed, with members suing for peace and ceding territory to Qin. With its remaining strength, Qin swiftly crushed the remaining resistance, its armies sweeping across the land in a bloodbath. Even the mightiest states bowed before its power.
Under Emperors Xiaowen and Zhuangxiang, their reign was relatively short and the country did not experience any major events.
Then came Qin Shi Huang. He inherited the foundation laid by his ancestors over six generations and ruled the entire country with an iron fist, conquered the Eastern Zhou and the other feudal states, and became supreme ruler of the land, inspiring fear throughout the realm. He conquered the Baiyue region in the south, establishing the Guilin and Xiang commanderies. The Baiyue rulers quickly surrendered and followed the arrangements of Qin officials. He also sent Meng Tian to build the Great Wall in the north to defend against the Xiongnu, pushing the Xiongnu back over 700 miles, leaving them too terrified to raid and the border people to lay down their arms.
However, Qin Shi Huang abolished the old laws, burned books and misled the people, demolished famous cities, killed heroes, seized all weapons and brought them to Xianyang, melted down swords and spears to cast twelve bronze statues to weaken the populace. Then, he used the Wei River and Xianyang's strategic location to build tall city walls and dig deep moats. The high walls and deep river provided formidable defenses. He arranged well-trained troops and powerful crossbows at important passes, deployed loyal officials and elite soldiers, and inspected everyone passing through. After pacifying the realm, Qin Shi Huang believed that Guanzhong's strategic location and the thousand-mile-long Great Wall convinced him his dynasty would last forever.
After the death of Qin Shi Huang, his shadow still loomed large, intimidating people in remote areas. However, Chen Sheng, who came from humble origins and eked out a living as a humble peasant, drifting from place to place, lacked the virtue of a Confucius or Mozi, or the wealth of a Tao Zhu Gong or Yi Dun. Originally just an ordinary soldier with a lowly status among several hundred, he led a group of disbanded soldiers—only a few hundred in number—to launch a rebellion against the Qin Dynasty. Their weapons were makeshift—tree branches fashioned into spears and bamboo poles into banners. People flocked to his banner, bringing supplies, and heroes from Shandong also rose up, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Qin Dynasty.
After all, the world is not made up of weak small countries! The territory of Yongzhou and the formidable Xiaohanguan Pass have always been like that. Chen Sheng's status was not as noble as the princes of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Song, Wei, and Zhongshan; the farming tools and thorn-made weapons in his hands were not as sharp as the spears and halberds; the soldiers he brought were not as elite as the forces of the Nine Kingdoms coalition; not to mention that Chen Sheng's strategic planning, marching, and fighting skills were not on par with those of experienced military strategists. Yet, the outcome was astonishingly different!
Imagine, if the six Shandong states were to compare their strengths with Chen Sheng, there's no comparison! However, the state of Qin, with its small territory, holds supreme power, suppressing the eight states and making the lords come to pay homage, and this has continued for over a hundred years! In the end, Qin treated the entire world as its own home and the Hangu Pass as its palace. But what followed was that, just because Chen Sheng rebelled, seven ancestral temples of Qin were destroyed, and Chen Sheng himself died at the hands of others, becoming a joke. Why is that? It's because the Qin Dynasty didn't show any mercy, shifting the balance of power!
