In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, people all over the country held uprisings to resist the Qin Dynasty's tyrannical rule. The most famous leaders of the peasant uprising army were Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, followed by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.
In 208 BC, after Qin general Zhang Han suppressed the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, he conquered Handan. The anti-Qin armed forces Zhao Wangxie and Zhang Er were forced to retreat to Julu (now Pingxiang, Xingtai City, Hebei Province) Southwest of the county), was besieged by Qin general Wang Li with 200,000 people. Zhang Han led his 200,000 troops to camp in Jiyuan, a few miles south of Julu, and built a passage with earthen walls on both sides directly to Wangli's camp to provide food and grass. Zhao general Chen Yu led tens of thousands of troops to camp in Julubei, but he did not dare to rescue because of the small number of soldiers.
King Huai of Chu sent Song Yi as the general and Xiang Yu as the second general, leading 200,000 troops to rescue Zhao. After Song Yi led his troops to Anyang (now Anyang County, Henan Province), he remained stationary for 46 days. He was very dissatisfied with Xiang Yu and went to Song Yi and said: "The Qin army has surrounded Julu. The situation is so urgent. Let's cross the river quickly and attack the Zhao army from inside and outside. We will definitely defeat the Qin army."
Song Yi. He said: "We should wait until the decisive battle between the Qin army and the Zhao army." He then said to Xiang Yu: "I can't compare to you when I go into battle to fight with the enemy; when it comes to sitting in a tent and coming up with strategies, you can't compare to me. "
Xiang Yu said: "There is no food in the military camp, but the general is standing still. He does not care about the country and does not care about the soldiers. How does he look like a general?"
No. The next day, Xiang Yu took advantage of the court meeting to draw his sword and kill Song Yi. He raised Song Yi's head and said to the soldiers: "Song Yi betrayed the king (referring to King Huai of Chu). I have executed him on the king's order."
So the soldiers supported Xiang Yu For the general. Xiang Yu's killing of Song Yi shocked the country of Chu and became famous among the princes.
Subsequently, he led all his troops across the Yellow River to rescue Zhao and break the siege of Julu. After all the Chu troops crossed the Zhang River, Xiang Yu asked the soldiers to have a hearty meal, and each of them took three days of dry food. Then he issued an order: "Sink all the ships and break the cauldrons." The boat (called a boat in ancient times) was pierced and sank into the river, the cooking pot (called a cauldron in ancient times) was smashed to pieces, and the nearby houses were set on fire and burned down. This is called burning the cauldron. Xiang Yu used this method to express his determination to advance without retreating and to win.
In this way, the soldiers of the Chu army who had no way to retreat were one to ten, and the sound of killing was shocking. After nine fierce battles, the Chu army finally defeated the Qin army. Some of the Qin army's generals were killed, some were taken prisoner, and some surrendered. This battle not only lifted the siege of Julu, but also defeated the Qin army until it could no longer cheer up. In two years, the Qin Dynasty was destroyed.
The bravery and skill of the Chu army greatly enhanced Xiang Yu's prestige. After the victory, when Xiang Yu met with various princes at the gate, all the princes did not dare to look at Xiang Yu.
Later, "Every ship will sink, the cauldron will sink" evolved into the idiom "The cauldron will sink the boat", which is a metaphor for a desperate fight with great determination.
Extended information:
The first general to use the cauldron and sink the boat
The first general to use the cauldron and sink the boat was a general of Qin Mugong, one of the five hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period. The son of Qin Mu Gong's prime minister Baili Xi. At that time, Qin and Jin were always at war, but Qin was defeated in every battle. On the one hand, it was due to the lack of national strength, and on the other hand, it was also related to morale.
Meng Mingshi suffered repeated defeats in the battles with the Jin State. This did not discourage him, but instead increased his determination to revenge, in order to avenge the defeat and the shame of being captured. He began to put down his airs as a general and shared joys and sorrows with the soldiers, eating wild vegetables and chewing tree bark together. He trained his soldiers hard and thought about ways to defeat Jin day and night.
Three years later, as the training of the soldiers became stronger and stronger, and their morale became stronger and stronger, Meng Mingshi reported to Duke Mu of Qin to request an attack on Jin. Duke Mu of Qin agreed to his request, and he led his army across Qin. The boundary river between the Jin State and the Jin State ordered all the ships to be sunk, and they were either going to fail and die, or go ahead and win the victory. When the soldiers saw this, they were determined to fight to the death. The morale of the Jin Army was far behind that of the Qin Army. In the end, the Qin Army The country won.
Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia - Leaving the Cauldron