巨鹿之战 / Battle of Julu
巨鹿之战 / Battle of Julu enters the wiki through Qinji 134 as the decisive battlefield after 项羽 kills 宋义 and takes practical command of the Chu relief army. 王离 surrounds 巨鹿, where 赵歇 and 张耳 are trapped, while 章邯 maintains the supply link that keeps Wang Li’s force fed.
The source’s main operational point is that Xiang Yu does not simply rush a stronger Qin army. He first sends 英布 and 蒲将军 with twenty thousand Chu troops to attack the Qin support corridor, whose food flow depends on 敖仓 and protected yongdao works between the Yellow River/Zhang River area and Julu. Once that corridor is broken, Wang Li’s besieging army is separated from Zhang Han and no longer has the same logistical advantage.
The famous 破釜沉舟 move belongs to the second stage. After the Chu main force crosses the 漳水 near Julu, Xiang Yu sinks boats, destroys cooking vessels, burns the camp, and gives the troops only three days of rations. The episode reads this as a death-ground morale device that follows logistics preparation rather than replacing it.
Julu is also a coalition test. 陈馀 remains outside the city with troops but hesitates, Zhang Yan and Chen Ze’s five-thousand-person attack fails completely, Zhang Ao’s Dai troops do not press in, and the other lords watch from their camps while Chu fights. After Xiang Yu wins nine engagements against Qin, those same lords submit to him as coalition commander.
The battle therefore marks both a military and political turn. Militarily, Qin loses the immediate siege force around Julu; politically, Xiang Yu’s personal command authority begins to outrun ordinary restored-state hierarchy. The source treats this as a decisive blow to Qin’s remaining war capacity and morale.
Qinji 135 adds the immediate Zhao-side aftermath. Once the siege is lifted, the unresolved conflict between 张耳 inside Julu and 陈馀 outside it does not disappear. Zhang Er’s accusation, Chen Yu’s thrown seal, and Zhang Er’s seizure of the troops turn the battle’s relief into 将印信任破裂 between the former allies.
Qinji 137 records the Qin-side aftermath: 王离’s defeat or capture and 章邯’s continuing losses leave Zhang Han exposed to both 项羽 in the field and 赵高 at court. The battle’s effect therefore keeps unfolding as a command-survival crisis that ends in Zhang Han’s surrender.
Connections
- Qinji 132 and Qinji 133 - setup through Xiang Liang’s death, Song Yi’s appointment, and Xiang Yu’s command seizure.
- 巨鹿, 赵歇, 张耳, 陈馀, 王离, and 章邯 - siege actors and field layout.
- 项羽, 英布, 蒲将军, 敖仓, and 漳水 - Chu attack sequence and geography.
- 战场围困与断粮, 交通线切割, 破釜沉舟, and 联盟自保失灵 - operational and coalition concepts clarified by the battle.
- Qinji 135, 张耳, 陈馀, and 将印信任破裂 - post-battle Zhao-side rupture.
- Qinji 137, 章邯, 司马欣, 赵高, and 危机信息封锁 - Qin-side command collapse and concealed defeat news.