Zhao Xie

Biography

Royal Descent and Enthronement at Xindu Zhao Xie was born into the royal lineage of the ancient State of Zhao, one of the Seven Warring States. When the Qin conquerors captured Handan in 228 BCE and seized King Jia of Dai in 222 BCE, the Zhao kingdom collapsed entirely, leaving its royal scions dispersed among the populace. Zhao Xie survived in obscurity throughout the unified Qin empire. In the autumn of 209 BCE, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched the Dazexiang Uprising against Qin oppression. Wu Chen, a subordinate of Chen Sheng, campaigned across the Zhao territories and declared himself King of Zhao, appointing Zhang Er as Right Chancellor and Chen Yu as Senior General. In 208 BCE, Wu Chen's general Li Liang mutinied, launching a surprise attack on Handan and killing Wu Chen along with key officials. Zhang Er and Chen Yu narrowly escaped through extensive intelligence networks, collecting tens of thousands of scattered soldiers. Advisers pointed out to Zhang and Chen: "Both of you are outsiders residing in Zhao; it will be hard to rally local allegiance unless you seek out a legitimate royal descendant of the ancient Zhao dynasty to serve with moral righteousness." Heeding this counsel, they tracked down Zhao Xie among commoners and proclaimed him King of Zhao, establishing their provisional capital at Xindu (near modern Jizhou, Xingtai, Hebei). Chen Yu then counterattacked and defeated Li Liang, forcing the traitor to surrender to Qin supreme commander Zhang Han. ### The Siege of Julu and the Turmoil of Alliances After crushing and killing Chu commander Xiang Liang at Dingtao, Zhang Han deemed Chu troops negligible and led over 200,000 troops across the Yellow River to crush Zhao. Zhang Han captured and razed Handan to the ground, forcibly relocating its population to Henai. King Zhao Xie and Chancellor Zhang Er hastily retreated into the fortified city of Julu (southwest of modern Pingxiang, Hebei). Zhang Han dispatched General Wang Li and She Jian to encircle Julu with more than 100,000 veterans of the northern Great Wall defense, while Zhang Han himself camped at Jiyuan to construct fortified supply roads. Trapped within the besieged fortress, Zhao Xie and Zhang Er faced catastrophic food shortages and dwindled garrisons. General Chen Yu commanded tens of thousands of recruits camped north of Julu, but refrained from attacking due to overwhelming Qin superiority. Frantic messages from Zhang Er urged Chen Yu to advance; when Chen Yu dispatched Zhang Yan and Chen Ze with 5,000 men to probe Qin defenses, they were promptly slaughtered. Julu's outer ramparts crumbled under continuous Qin bombardment and sapping, reducing the garrison to boiling leather and chewing grass roots. In late 207 BCE, Chu generalissimo Xiang Yu crossed the Zhang River, burning his boats and smashing his cooking pots with only three days' rations. In nine fierce clashes at the Battle of Julu, Chu infantry defeated Qin troops, cut their supply corridors, killed Su Jiao, and captured Wang Li alive. Zhao Xie and Zhang Er witnessed the spectacular victory from the ramparts as the siege was finally broken. However, a bitter quarrel erupted when Zhang Er severely berated Chen Yu for failing to relieve them earlier. Chen Yu furiously surrendered his military seal, which Zhang Er immediately seized, permanently alienating the two former allies and destabilizing the Zhao faction. ### Enfeoffment in Guanzhong and Exiled to Dai Following the victory at Julu, the primary forces of the Qin empire surrendered under Zhang Han. Zhao Xie, Zhang Er, and other insurgent leaders marched westward alongside the combined coalition forces led by Xiang Yu. Upon the fall of Xianyang in 206 BCE, Xiang Yu declared himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu and divided the empire among eighteen vassal kings. Favoring Zhang Er due to his high repute and personal presence in the western expedition, Xiang Yu partitioned the fertile territories of Zhao. Zhang Er was appointed King of Changshan with his capital at Xiangguo (modern Xingtai), dominating the central Zhao realm. In contrast, King Zhao Xie was stripped of his primary ancestral domain and relegated to King of Dai, forced to govern the remote and barren frontier territory with his capital in Wei (modern Yu County, Hebei). Chen Yu, excluded from kingship due to not entering Guanzhong, harbored intense fury. Powerless against Xiang Yu's hegemony, Zhao Xie was forced to leave Xindu and lead his retinue into the harsh frontier of Dai. ### Restoration by Chen Yu and Defeat at Jingxing In 205 BCE, Tian Rong of Qi rebelled against Xiang Yu. Chen Yu seized this strategic opportunity by securing tens of thousands of Qi troops to launch a coordinated assault against Zhang Er. Zhang Er was decisively defeated and fled south to seek refuge under Liu Bang, the King of Han. Upon securing Changshan, Chen Yu invited Zhao Xie back to Xiangguo, formally reinstating him as King of Zhao. Deeply grateful, Zhao Xie created Chen Yu King of Dai. Because of Zhao Xie's modest personality and military reliance on Chen Yu, Chen Yu remained in Zhao as supreme chancellor managing civil and military affairs, while his deputy Xia Shuo was sent to govern Dai. In October 204 BCE, Liu Bang dispatched Han Xin and Zhang Er with tens of thousands of troops eastward across the Taihang Mountains through Jingxing Pass to conquer Zhao. Chen Yu mobilized a reported force of 200,000 men to block the defile. Although strategist Li Zuoce advised attacking Han Xin's rear supply lines, Chen Yu stubbornly refused. Han Xin deployed his famous "back-to-the-water" tactic, luring the Zhao army into an all-out pursuit while secretly dispatching 2,000 light cavalry to seize the deserted Zhao camp and plant Han red banners. Seeing Han banners, the Zhao ranks dissolved in panic. Han Xin and Zhang Er counterattacked, annihilating the Zhao army and executing Chen Yu on the banks of the Chi River. Upon hearing the news of the catastrophe, King Zhao Xie fled Xiangguo in panic. Han cavalry pursued closely, capturing and executing Zhao Xie at Xiangguo. Liu Bang promptly appointed Zhang Er as the new King of Zhao, bringing an end to the restored state of Zhao Xie and absorbing the territory into the rising Han Empire.

Major Activities

Restoring the Ancestral Zhao State to Challenge Qin Rule

Utilizing his unique legitimacy as a royal scion of the ancient Zhao ruling house, Zhao Xie's enthronement at Xindu provided vital political cohesion for northern insurgents, enabling local populations to dismantle Qin administrative control and establishing a crucial base of resistance. ### Holding Out at Julu to Facilitate the Destruction of the Qin Main Army Confronted by superior Qin armies under Zhang Han and Wang Li, Zhao Xie and Zhang Er endured a brutal multi-month siege in Julu. Their stubborn defense pinned down the elite Qin frontier divisions, enabling Xiang Yu to launch the decisive tactical breakthrough that eradicated Qin's core fighting force. ### Navigating the Chu-Han Rivalry in the Upheaval of Northern China Caught in the violent rivalry between Xiang Yu, Zhang Er, Chen Yu, and Liu Bang, Zhao Xie navigated fragile shifts of power between the kingdoms of Zhao and Dai. Though ultimately crushed by Han Xin's military genius at Jingxing, his royal prestige shaped the geopolitical landscape of the northern Warring States restoration.

Personal Relations

• | Relationship Type | Name | Overview |
• |---| --- |---|
• | Royal Ancestors | Monarchs of Warring States Zhao | Rulers of the ancient State of Zhao whose lineage conferred political legitimacy upon Zhao Xie |
• | Kingmaker / Bitter Rival | Zhang Er | Promoted Zhao Xie alongside Chen Yu; fell out after the Siege of Julu, became King of Changshan, and finally assisted Han in conquering Zhao |
• | Kingmaker / Dominant Ally | Chen Yu | Senior General who installed Zhao Xie, expelled Zhang Er, and reinstated Zhao Xie as King while controlling the state as King of Dai until dying at Jingxing |
• | Adversary (Qin Commander) | Zhang Han | Supreme Commander of Qin who razed Handan and besieged Zhao Xie at Julu |
• | Adversary (Qin Commander) | Wang Li | Grandson of Wang Jian who led the frontier army in encircling Julu, eventually captured by Xiang Yu |
• | Imperial Hegemon | Xiang Yu | Hegemon-King of Western Chu who broke the siege of Julu but later demoted Zhao Xie to King of Dai |
• | Conqueror | Han Xin | Brilliant Han military commander who defeated the Zhao army at Jingxing and executed Zhao Xie |

Historical Assessment

Sima Qian recorded in Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji): "Zhang Er and Chen Yu were both heroes of the realm; initially they elevated King Zhao Xie to unify the multitude, yet in the end they turned upon one another in hatred, and Xie could never truly master his own destiny." Ban Gu observed in the Book of Han (Hanshu): "When Qin extinguished the Six States, the royal houses were cast into ruin. Zhao Xie borrowed titles in an hour of mortal danger; encircled by mighty Qin abroad and constrained by domineering generals at home, he inevitably perished with the changing tides of fortune." Sima Guang remarked in Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government (Zizhi Tongjian): "Zhao Xie rose from the marshes to assume kingship. Although exalted in name as the sovereign of a realm, his armed forces were entirely wielded by Zhang and Chen. With every turn of fortune, he was tossed between Dai and Zhao, living out the tragic fate of a puppet amid the contention for the world."