After the Qin general Zhang Han defeated the Zhao general Zhang Er, Zhang Er escorted King Xie of Zhao in a desperate flight to Julu. Hot on their heels, Zhang Han dispatched Wang Li, Su Jue, and She Jian to lay siege to the city, tightening the noose with relentless pursuit.
The land of Hebei was shrouded in black smoke, with beacons of war burning endlessly
Upon hearing the news, King Huai hastily dispatched Commander-in-Chief Song Yi, Deputy Commander Xiang Yu, and Lieutenant Fan Zeng to lead 200,000 troops on a grand march toward Julu.
When the army arrived at Anyang (in present-day Cao County, Shandong), scouts reported that the Qin forces were overwhelmingly powerful. Song Yi, the commander, grew fearful and ordered the troops to set up camp on the spot to reconsider their strategy. Thus, the army remained stalled for 46 days. Urgent pleas for help from the besieged city of Julu came in rapid succession. Xiang Yu, growing increasingly anxious, strongly urged Song Yi to march immediately. But Song Yi refused, offering various excuses to delay. Enraged, Xiang Yu drew his sword and killed Song Yi and his son, then swiftly dispatched Generals Qing Bu and Pu with 20,000 troops to cross the Zhang River and relieve Julu. Upon hearing that Xiang Yu's reinforcements had arrived, the Qin general Zhang Han urgently summoned Sima Xin and Dong Yi to join the battle. The two armies clashed, and the battlefield erupted with earth-shaking war cries and flashing blades, fighting so fiercely that the sky darkened and men and horses tumbled in chaos. The Qin forces proved formidable, and the Chu troops suffered repeated losses. Realizing that only a desperate gamble could turn the tide, Xiang Yu led his entire army across the Zhang River. He understood that to survive, they must cut off all retreat. Facing his soldiers, Xiang Yu gazed at them solemnly and declared with resolve, "Sink all the boats, smash every cooking pot, and burn every tent. Our success or failure will be decided in this one battle."
The wind howled with tragic grandeur, stirring the crowd to fervent passion. Everyone understood: only one path remained—fight to the death.
Xiang Yu's lightly armed troops charged forward with no turning back. They clashed again with Wang Li's forces, and the battle erupted once more. By then, reinforcements from various feudal lords had arrived at Julu, but witnessing the Qin army's overwhelming might, not a single one dared to engage—they merely stood atop their fortifications, watching with folded arms. The clash between Chu and Qin was breathtakingly fierce: every Chu soldier fought as if possessed, charging into enemy ranks as though they were empty fields. Not one of them failed to match ten opponents. The sheer roar of the Chu troops' heroic, tragic battle cries was enough to make the onlooking soldiers tremble in fear! After nine rounds of intense combat, the Chu army finally defeated the Qin forces and returned triumphantly to their camp.
Afterward, Xiang Yu summoned the feudal lords and their generals. These once-proud rulers, who had strutted with authority, now crawled into the palace on their knees, not daring to lift their heads to glance around. Xiang Yu's reputation soared, and he became the supreme commander of all the allied forces.
"One against ten" later came to symbolize bravery, meaning one person is worth ten.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Xiang Yu"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "一以当十" came to describe one person is worth ten.