During the final years of the Qin Dynasty, among the rebel leaders opposing Qin rule were the uncle and nephew Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu. The Xiang family had served as generals of the Chu state for generations. When Chen Sheng and Wu Guang first raised the banner of revolt at Daze Village, people across the land who hated the Qin's tyranny responded in droves. The Xiangs, highly respected in the Wuzhong region, quickly organized an 8,000-strong army of Jiangdong sons and brothers.
After the uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang was brutally suppressed by the Qin dynasty, and Chen Sheng fell in battle, the rebel commanders from the Chu region all came to pledge their allegiance to Xiang Liang.
Xiang Liang had a strategist, Fan Zeng, who was 70 years old. Xiang Yu called him "Second Father." Once, Fan Zeng spoke about the origins of the Qin dynasty's hatred by the people, saying:
Of all the six states conquered by Qin, none suffered more unjustly than Chu. When King Zhao of Qin proposed a marriage alliance and invited King Huai of Chu for a meeting, the loyal minister Qu Yuan warned, "Do not go to that land of tigers and wolves!" But King Huai ignored his counsel, heeding instead his youngest son Zilan, and went to Qin. He was taken captive and died there. This became Chu's deepest shame. As the old sage Chu Nangong once declared, "Even if only three households of Chu remain, they will surely avenge this humiliation—it is the people of Chu who will destroy Qin."
The old man of Chu, known as Chu Nangong, once made a prophecy that would later prove true.
Chen Sheng's regime first proclaimed its kingdom as "Zhang Chu," meaning to expand the state of Chu, but because he declared himself king without installing a descendant of the Chu royal family on the throne, his rule could not endure.
Fan Zeng advised Xiang Liang, "The generals from all regions now flock to you because the Xiang family has served as Chu generals for generations with outstanding merit, and they trust you will restore the Chu king and revive the state. So you should follow the people's will, quickly seek out the Chu king's descendant, and install him as ruler."
Xiang Liang accepted this advice. Soon, a grandson of King Huai of Chu, named Mi Xin, was found wandering among the people, herding sheep for others. Xiang Liang then installed him as king, still calling him King Huai of Chu.
From then on, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu's fame shook the world, gaining more support and backing, with their strength rapidly expanding. By the eve of the "Hongmen Banquet," they commanded 400,000 troops, while Liu Bang had only 100,000 soldiers.
The Qin Dynasty was overthrown, and it was the peasant rebel army under the banner of Chu that brought the Qin's rule to an end.
The idiom "Three Households Can Destroy Qin" means that with strong determination, even a small force can ultimately achieve victory.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Xiang Yu"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "三户亡秦" came to describe with strong determination, even a small force can ultimately achieve victory.