After the Battle of Julu, Zhang Handan turned his back on the Qin Dynasty and led an army to surrender to Xiang Yu, and was made the King of Yong by Xiang Yu. However, later Liu Bang Hanxin secretly besieged Chen Cang, besieged and flooded Zhang Handan. At that time, why didn't Zhang Handan also surrender to Liu Bang, but instead raised his sword to commit suicide?
Why Zhang Handan surrendered to Xiang Yu, I think there are three reasons.
(Zhang Handan)
First, Zhang Handan admired Xiang Yu. Although Zhang Handan's Qin Dynasty army was only a group of criminals on Mount Li, its combat effectiveness was so strong. Kill Zhou Zhang, break Chen Zhi, lower Wei Blame, and kill Tian Dan. According to the ming dynasty historian Zhang Xuan's evaluation: "Where soldiers go, such as hunting foxes and rabbits, they are not determined by labor. Then, he fought three more battles with the strongest Chu army at that time, and as a result, he broke the Chu army and killed Xiang Liang.
However, such a strong warrior encountered another person who was even stronger, and this person was Xiang Yu. The king of Yu left, killed Su Jiao, burned the wading room, won nine battles and nine victories, and broke the cauldron and sank the boat, winning more with less, and defeated his powerful Zhang Handan in the battle of Julu. The hero felt sorry for each other, and Zhang Handan had to obey.
Second, Zhang Handan was grateful to Xiang Yu. Why Zhang Handan was strong in the early stages and met Xiang Yu so quickly, in addition to Xiang Yu's strong combat effectiveness, the most important reason was that Zhao Gaoqin II was drawing salaries from the bottom of the cauldron. They gave military power to Zhang Handan, and they distrusted Zhang Handan and wanted to kill him. How Zhang Handan still has the heart to fight and is not defeated is strange. And when he surrendered to Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu actually made him king. This "king" was something he could not have obtained in his lifetime in the Qin Dynasty. Xiang Yu not only made him king, but also made sima xin and Dong Feng, two other Qin dynasty generals, as kings. Zhang Handan had to be grateful to xiang Yu who had such feelings and righteousness.
(Xiang Yu stills)
Third, Zhang Handan was afraid of Xiang Yu. After Zhang Handan surrendered to Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu made him king at the same time, but killed 200,000 Qin Dynasty descendants. Such a Xiang Yu, can Zhang Handan not be afraid? It can be said that he did not dare to turn his back on Xiang Yu.
Why Zhang Handan did not surrender to Liu Bang, I think there are also three reasons.
First, Zhang Handan looked down on Liu Bang. In his opinion, Liu Bang was a scoundrel, and Liu Bang was born a commoner, and he especially despised it. In his opinion, the reason why Liu Bang preemptively defeated Xianyang was just opportunism. Therefore, when Zhang Handan heard that Liu Bang was going to fight back, he laughed and didn't believe it, and he didn't look at Liu Bang at all. He did not look up to Liu Bang, and naturally would not surrender.
Second, Liu Bang did not allow him to surrender. Although there is no record in history of Zhang Handan surrendering to Liu Bang, at least Liu Bang did not take the initiative to issue him a letter of surrender.
(Liu Bang stills)
Why didn't Liu Bang summon Zhang Handan? First, the land of the Three Qins is the base area that Liu Bang must take, and with this base area, Liu Bang has the capital to fight with Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang does not want to make a fuss. Moreover, at that time, Xiang Yu was busy, and it was impossible to save Zhang Handan. Playing Zhang Handan is a turtle caught in an urn. Second, Zhang Handan had already lost the hearts of the people, and even if he surrendered, it would not be able to stabilize the hearts of the people of The Three Qins. And Liu Bang once "about the three chapters of the law", and there was a good name among the people of The Three Qins, so only by killing Zhang Handan could he, as always, gain the support of the people of the Three Qins. Third, it was Han Xin who attacked Zhang Handan. We know that after Li Shiqi persuaded the King of Qi to surrender, Han Xin still wanted to attack again. It can be seen that Han Xin is a person who fights "falling water dogs", and he will certainly not let Zhang Handan surrender.
Third, Zhang Handan did not dare to surrender. When Xiang Yu pit killed the Qin Dynasty 200,000 descendants, it can be said that Zhang Handan's retreat was broken. Although Zhang Handan was a king, he was a lonely king, and the people of the Three Qins did not support him. As Han Xin said: "King Xiang deceived Qin into descending more than 200,000 people, but only Handan, Xin, and Feng had to get rid of them, and Qin's father and brother complained about these three people, and the pain fell into the bone marrow." "It can be said that if Zhang Handan leaves the Yongwang Mansion, he will be dead." If he surrendered to Liu Bang, the possibility that Liu Bang would attach importance to him was small, and in that way, he would fall into exile and be killed by the common people in minutes.
(Reference: Chronicle of History)