Han Xin

Also known as Huai Yinhou

Han Xin of Huaiyin was poor in youth; a washerwoman fed him and a bully made him crawl between his legs. He served Xiang Yu without rising above guardsman, then went over to Liu Bang, and after Xiao He chased him down and vouched for him he was made supreme general. On his advice Liu Bang broke out by Chencang into the Qin heartland. Han Xin then defeated Wei and Dai, crushed Zhao at Jingxing with his back to a river, and on the Wei River broke a dam of sandbags to destroy the Chu general Long Ju, after which he was made King of Qi. When Xiang Yu fell he became King of Chu, but he was soon arrested on a charge of treason and reduced to Marquis of Huaiyin. In the eleventh Han year, accused of plotting with Chen Xi, he was lured into the Changle Palace by Empress Lu and beheaded, and his clan wiped out. The Han bibliography lists a three-section military treatise by him.